Where in the World Are You, Rob Verger?

The subject of our latest up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world: Rob Verger, who wrote Slumming in Rio and narrated a slideshow on favela tourism for World Hum. His email landed in our inbox just hours ago.

Where in the world are you?

 

I’m in Kathmandu, Nepal, sitting in a restaurant called “Fire and Ice” in the Thamel neighborhood.

What are you doing there?

I just finished lunch—a cheese pizza and Coke—but I’m in Nepal for two reasons. I studied abroad here for a semester in the Spring of 2000 with the School for International Training (now related to an organization called World Learning), so my biggest reason for being here is to reconnect with a country I love, and a place I haven’t visited for eight years. It recently became a republic, so that’s exciting. I’m also in Nepal working as a freelance writer on a travel story for a newspaper.

What do you see around you?

I’m sitting at a corner table facing a stand of green plants that provide some separation between the restaurant and the road outside. Through the spaces between the leaves I can see motorcycles parked in the sun, passing pedestrians and motorcyclists, and glimpses of three Hindu temples. To my right are other people eating lunch: some foreigners and two Nepalis. Behind me is a salmon-colored cinder block wall, over my head is a whitewashed ceiling, and lining its edges are green, white, red and blue lights.

Got a pic?

What did you have for dinner last night and where?

For the past week or so, I’ve been living with my old Nepali host family from when I studied abroad here. When I arrived, my host brother came to pick me up at the airport on his motorcycle, and it was just as if no time had passed. So, last night I had dinner at their house, and I ate the traditional Nepali meal of dal bhat, which is lentils and rice. (It’s almost always eaten with the right hand, and I love eating with my hand, but last night I used a spoon). I had fried potatoes with the meal, and a fried egg, too, which was delicious.

What are you listening to these days?

I didn’t bring my iPod, so I’ve been listening to the sounds around me. At night the dogs on the street outside the house bark loudly, so there’s that to listen to. But I’ve also been hearing a lot of Hindi and Nepali songs on the radio, and the occasional Hindi music video on TV, which I love. Right now, it’s loud here in the restaurant: There’s the thrum of the ceiling fan above me, car and motorcycle engines outside, and plenty of honking horns on the street.

What are you reading?

I left any good reading material at home with my iPod, so besides my guidebook and a language guide, I didn’t bring any books. As a university writing instructor, I feel sheepish about admitting that. Yesterday I glanced through a copy of the Nepali Times, an English-language weekly paper here. A few hours ago I ducked into Pilgrims Book House and bought a book called Emergency Sex (And Other Desperate Measures) by Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait, and Andrew Thomson. The subtitle [on this edition] is “True Stories from a War Zone” and, according to its cover, Philip Gourevitch called it “a hell of a good book.” I’m going to see how it is.

What did you experience in the last 24 hours that you’d recommend?

I find just walking around Kathmandu to be a recommendable experience, and it’s nice to get away from the tourist-centered area of Thamel. For example, in the neighborhood where I’m living at the moment, there are two bridges over a river—a modern one for traffic and an older, narrow one where now there’s a daily bazaar. I usually walk through this market a few times a day, passing under the many blue tarps strung up overhead. They keep the place dry when it’s raining (it’s monsoon season now) and give it a dark, cozy feel.

Where in the world are you headed next?

I’m going to keep exploring Kathmandu for the next few days, and will try to head up to the village of Pharping this weekend. After I arrived here in 2000 with the School for International Training, it was the first place our group visited. It’s in the hills above Kathmandu, and it’s quiet and peaceful, compared to this loud, hectic, dirty city (which I enjoy despite the pollution and trash). There’s a Hindu temple in Pharping called Dhakshinkali, where animals are sometimes sacrificed. And then on Monday, I’m flying back to my home in New York City, by way of Doha, Qatar, and then Geneva.

Related on World Hum:
* Where in the World Are You, Elyse Franko?

©2026 World Hum, All Rights Reserved