Durango Meets Nepal

Pager item text :

Durango Meets Nepal

Image:

Durango Meets Nepal

 

Durango residents and tourists are so happy that Karma Bhotia decided to open a restaurant here four years ago. The Himalayan Kitchen on 10th & Main remains a constant favorite due to the delicious food, friendly staff and beautiful atmosphere.

Some of the “secrets”, in his recipes are the use of fresh herbs and spices. Bhotia uses fresh tomatoes, vegetables and herbs from his own garden as much as possible. He uses simple spices that don’t overpower the original flavor of the food and never uses MSG or food colorings. An added bonus to many with restricted diets is that 95% of the menu is gluten free.

“It’s cave man food- mostly meat and vegetables, with not so much rice and bread,” he explains.

Along with photography, cooking has always been a hobby for Bhotia. He began cooking at the age of 11, when he left his family in their small village to go off to school in a bigger town. He made meager meals of rice and meat or vegetables for himself in his small bamboo room. The only other ingredients he had were oil, salt and chili.

The big town and new school were difficult to adjust to because he did not speak the language there. Everyone in school spoke Nepalese and Bhoti spoke, Lhomi, a Tibetan dialect. “For the first three months, I was totally lost. There were 50 to 80 students in the room and I was very shy. Before going to the big town, I worked on the farm with my family and studied to be a lama, or monk with my grandfather and father.”

Learning quickly, he graduated from high school with the ability to read and write-which are rare accomplishments in Nepal. “My mother, two brothers and three sisters, still do not read and write.”

Living in the big town exposed him to more people and opportunities. He was expected to become a teacher, but wanted a different lifestyle. Following the advice from a friend, he got into the tourism industry. Tourism was big in Nepal, the salaries were good and he spoke English.

Starting out as a porter making the equivalent of $.25 a day, he began carrying bags for tourists trekking in the mountains. “I was young and small and they didn’t believe I could carry the required 40 kilos, which is about 90 pounds, plus my own clothing and food. Getting the job is very competitive, so I had to prove I could do it.”

He was on a huge expedition with 280 porters. At the second camp, the leader messed up the calculations and they couldn’t track who had been paid and who hadn’t. He overheard a conversation and offered to help. He formulated a system, corrected the math, tracked all the baggage and organized
the whole expedition. Although it was a lot of responsibility and mentally challenging, he did not have to carry any more bags.

“The leader was so happy that he gave me a bonus of 800 rupees, asked me to stay on and doubled my salary. People who have an education and can read and write don’t want porter jobs, so he was thrilled to have me.”

His life was drastically changed by a friendship with an Austrian guide, while they were trekking together with a large group. The men bonded during the trek and decided to do another one with just two other friends. They were in extreme weather conditions without enough food and water. Bhotia saved the man’s life and he was forever indebted. When he got back to Austria, he sent a fax inviting Bhotia to come to Austria. He paid $2,000 for Bhotia’s airfare and his father put up an $80,000 guarantee to secure Bhotia’s visa.

For eight years, he guided treks half the year in Austria and half the year in Nepal. Utilizing his other passion, photography, he was soon coming to the US and showing slide shows to entice American tourists to come on treks. That was how he ended up working in a Nepalese restaurant in Madison, WI. Another friend he’d made trekking invited him to come visit. Always dreaming and planning for a better life, he jumped on the opportunity to stay in America.

From Wisconsin, he went to southern California and was working in a Nepalese restaurant. The restaurant was going very well and they wanted to open a second location in a nearby town.

Then, he got a phone call from a chef saying the restaurant where he worked was for sale. Opening a restaurant in Durango was not really on his radar, but he had driven through Denver on his way to California and loved the mountains which reminded him of his home. In a synchronistic turn of events, Bhotia had actually been asked to buy this restaurant in Durango years before. He was busy with his restaurant in California and couldn’t join as a partner. He did share his recipes and gave the owner some decorating ideas.

Now, an offer had come around again. His friend urged him to go to Durango to check out this restaurant. “He said it has mountains and you will love it.”

“It took my wife and me sixteen hours to drive here because we kept stopping. Durango reminded us of Europe and we loved it. We wanted to live here even if we couldn’t make money in the restaurant.”

“The town has such positive energy and the people are so nice. Everybody is helping each other. In the beginning, I worked in the restaurant all day, and remodeled it at night, investing a lot in the building.”

Bhotia and his family are very happy here in Durango. His sons attend Fort Lewis College. The tourists enjoy the authentic Nepalese food and the locals support the restaurant by frequenting it often. His choice to take over the existing restaurant has been a win-win for everyone involved.

Submitted by Malia Durbano

http://writingmatterscolorado.com

 

Share This Post On