How to avoid tourist trap restaurants in Nepal

In the colonialist, capitalist roader, running dog imperialist’s defense, his objection is not so much the extra expense of eating at a “hustler” establishment, as the quality of food is lower.

Albeit, this argument (the presence of someone outside the venue marketing their restaurant, by that criterion alone, means it is low-quality) does seem far from water-tight.
            The youtuber seems to convey that you can tell, from this humble storefront, that Here Is Good Food. A Western tourist would have no inkling that one storefront is better than another. I just don’t find it objectionable for, say, a husband to genially wrangle customers into his family-run establishment, during a break in food preparation. Those extra 1-2 customers per hour could really make a difference to their livelihood.
            A better recommendation would be for the would-be customer to just pop-in and look at the prepared food. And indeed: her array of prepared dishes undeniably looked delicious.

Also, what was up with his casual knowledge that the tap/well water wasn’t that safe and his casual assurance that all tap/well water was “always” boiled first. (Is he the restaurant manager, too?) Boiling all water takes a lot of time/money; one would think this step is often skipped. His comment made me much less confident, not more.

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No difference from my being trans in most of the west then.

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And we now know what happens to youtubers who frequent establishments from which they are banned…

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Did this in South Africa a few years ago. I practiced for months ahead of the trip until I could say, nearly flawlessly, “I’m an American. I’m sorry but I don’t speak Xhosa,” in Xhosa, clicks and all. The white South Africans i met thought I was an idiot (“why bother?”) but it seemed to be at least marginally respectful. Xhosa speakers I met loved it, and seemed to think it was funny and weird-in-a-good-way.

You can go a long way by learning how to apologize for your own ignorance in the native local language. (In Germany I concentrated on learning to order Bratwurst and beer)

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That’s a very good approach. However, concentrating on worn out stereotypes might turn out to be a tad counterproductive.

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Wait, there’s a Planet Hollywood in Nepal I should avoid?

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Not quite, but close.

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Eh? Such as?

Edit: Ah, I see what you’re getting at. My apologies. It was purely utilitarian. We were driving around the southwestern part of the country, heading for the summer music festival in Trier. I read German well enough to get around, but my speaking is god-awful. So those phrases came in very handy in the din of the street party.

And it depends on where you are and which family kitchens you are eating in. Some wells outside of Ring Road are drawn and filtered using a clean cloth, and that’s it. I was also thinking that Karl’s restaurant find was a good one, because the meal does look really good. Ingredients are so scarce throughout Nepal that some of the tastiest Nepali food I have had in the States, where good cooks find what they need and more.

Trans, queer, gay, straight, or other, we will have to eat outside with the sick and hungry when attempting to enjoy a meal with orthodox and single-minded Brahmin families. Hopefully, their ways are changing, and some of them already have–by far.

Well, that’s the point isn’t it? Many people don’t have to wait outside here. They’re the Brahmins here. Though not necessarily bound to Boston.

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