Midnight in Kathmandu

(at my hotel in Kathmandu)
I made it! I made it! I even made it with no money. The guy was there to pick me up even though my flight was a few minutes early. A different guy even helped me find my guy and didn't ask for money. In the less than ten minutes it took me to pass through customs, grab my bag, find my guy and get in his car I was asked 3 times for a tip. On the other hand because the gentleman beat back most cab drivers I only got 4 offers for rides. The guy from the hotel is very sweet and the actual driver waited for us in the car. The reason I didn't hand out money on my way through was simply because I didn't have any. No exchange station in the airport would accept my card and I had no dollars. My saviors stopped at two different ATMs on our way to the hotel, neither of which worked. And you know what they did? After the second one failed to produce anything of use one of my guys asked if I really needed cash tonight. I said I needed some to pay him for my hotel room. His reply was 'don't worry about it.' Seriously! I kid you not I am lying in bed typing this in a hotel room with hot water and haven't paid. That isn't even the craziest part though. Before he took me upstairs he said if I needed some money in the morning I could just borrow cash from the hotel!

So far the only hiccup is that my lock on my bag won't unlock. I sat on my bed for an hour (or so it seemed) trying different combinations with no success So right now I have access to my hair ties, power bars and alcohol pads. I contemplated bringing my bag back down stairs to the boys for help but I don't want to climb that mountain tonight. Tomorrow morning I will get them to help me. I am actually a little excited because it will give me a great opportunity to see in Nepali men will respond to a problem by rallying around it and forgetting about other things. We women watch our men countless times get frustrated by something and become consumed with solving the problem (even if it requires buying $100 worth of new tools they were going to get anyway or dismantling half the house looking for that spare bulb they bought months ago and stuck in a safe place).