Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn…

OK, so the occasional rooftop pool was a nice touch…

Our New Standards for Accommodation 

On our previous trips and adventures, when we were booking hotels of Airbnbs, we always asked about a couple of things:

-       Does it have a pool?

-       Are there adjoining rooms?

-       Is breakfast included?

We gave a place extra credit points if it had a really nice shower/bath or if the curtains really blocked out external light and sound.

We now have a new list of ten things for which we will (I hope) be forever grateful and not take for granted:

1)    Is it or can it be made warm or cool on demand regardless of external temperature extremes?

2)     Is it or can it be made quiet during the times we want to sleep there?

3)    Is there consistent electricity we can access through some combination of adaptors?

4)    Are you sharing the space with insects or other animals?

5)    Is there consistent access to drinkable water?

6)    Is there consistent access to food that a majority of us will eat?

7)    Is there plumbing and/or does the presence/absence of plumbing make the space spell like human waste?

8)    Is there a shower and does that shower provide consistent access to hot water?

9)    Is there internet or cell phone service?

10) Is there an easy way to obtain or make coffee (with extra credit points if it is not terrible)?

Our hotel in Katmandu was simple, but lovely

New bonus if:

a)     You can flush toilet paper in the toilet rather than putting it in a bucket nearby

b)    You can drink the water from the tap

c)     You can do laundry

d)    There are a sufficient number of beds or soft surfaces for each person to have their own

e)    There is a kitchen with supplies for creating your own meals

As in so much of this trip, the goal is gratitude afterwards