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Friday outing
Samir Khadka has had a heady week. Progress reviews, negotiations with important clients, preparation for the board meeting all combined in a matter of just six days.
Samir, 35, manages a division with over 30 employees and works Sunday to Friday and puts in over 10 hours every day normally but this week has been a little too exhilarating. Samir needs to unwind to face yet another grueling week and he wants to go out with his buddies and have a good time.
Late in the afternoon, as he glances over the engagements column of a daily newspaper, he comes across events peddling post modern theater, tabla recital on one end to trance music session on the other, but Samir just wants to go out, have a few drinks, chat, eat and enjoy some music.
Samir only knows too well that on Fridays that the bars and discos that are regularly featured in PartyNepal.com tend to be swarmed with X-generation groupies whose sense of having a good time is staring blankly at the world and he wants to avoid those venues at all cost. Samir dislikes the crowd of rich kids who really do not understand the true value of Friday evenings.
So what are the viable options for a much deserved time out for Samir this Friday? Here are few suggestions.
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Moksh, Pulchowk: Just the kind of venue for guys like Samir to be in on any Friday evening. This venue just relocated in the Pulchowk area has either generous 1974 AD jam sessions, Nepal’s international standard rock outfit or other equally well-tuned musicians on Friday evenings. The crowd that does not hang out in overtly expensive joints yet prefer good value for money is likely to be found in Moksh. Of course, you will most likely end up drinking beer straight from the bottle while swaying to quality music and, in a place like this, no one orders presumptuous cocktails like vodka martini. At the most it is vodka with tonic water or good old whisky with soda and four cubes of ice to accompany the delectable Kalimpong momos. Nevertheless, do not expect the food and drink prices to be rock bottom. The price is the median of hi-end bars with rocks and steel and chrome as their primary building material and low-end dance bars with Yeti wall-to-wall carpets.... if you know what we mean.
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Upstairs, Lazimpat: The loo at Upstairs is one of the very loos in the whole of Kathmandu where the well heeled diplomatic community of Kathmandu actually squat. This is just an indication of how well this puny little joint is accepted in the social circle. This place driven by the musical depth of Cadenza, a jazz band with superb virtuosity, draws crowds from various spectrums of the Kathmandu social circle. Though one cannot guarantee the presence of the band on all Fridays, this is one place that guarantees a rollicking good time. Extremely unpretentious Upstairs is a place that is dedicated to the values of Jazz music.
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Rum Doodle, Thamel: On a Friday evening in Rum Doodle you will most likely meet hard working folks like Samir enjoying their well earned night out. This outlet is reputed to have offered free life-time food and beverage to all the conquerors of the Mount Everest summit. Thousands of Yeti footprints signed by amateur and serious expeditioners adorns the walls and space within the premises. RD is one place where the beer is seriously chilled and pre-dinner snacks really hot. Try their mushroom or chicken basket to comprehend the true meaning of delectable. In a typical year in the month of May or June, one even gets to celebrate the meaning of success by chatting with mountaineers.
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