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Published: January 30th 2012
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Well . . . . Kathmandu, Nepal. This is a bit different.
I think it’s only now that we have realized just how mad India is. The word “frenetic” comes to mind. Although it does have its own charm, it was completely bonkers. If people were cold, they just lit a fire on the pavement or in the road, if they wanted a wee, they just had a wee wherever they were, if they wanted to drive somewhere, they just pointed the car in that direction and put their foot down.
In Nepal, the vibe just seems a whole lot calmer.
We were met by a lovely man called Mark (traditional Nepalese name) who draped silk scarves around our necks and welcomed us to Nepal. After a (calm) drive through busy traffic he explained that Kathmandu had no night life (everyone just goes to bed), that we shouldn’t walk the streets at night because it’s dangerous (not from crime, there is very little crime, just we might fall down a pothole) and that they currently are experiencing 14 hours worth of power cuts a day (because they don’t have enough hydro-electric power).
So, when we arrived at
our hotel, it seemed wrong that the long drive up to the entrance was blazing with thousands of fairy lights (hotels don’t get the power cuts, just the shops and the public) !!
The hotel is absolutely something else. In the lobby they asked us to sit down on some couches while a band played us live music (sitar, tablas, flute). We felt like Mohgul Emperors. (In fact, we decided to have one the musicians executed by having his head stamped on by one of our elephants, just to see what it was like. How we laughed when his head cracked like an egg and the yolk of his brains splashed all over our robes).
After a restful night’s sleep, we awoke and I had a sumptuous traditional Nepalese breakfast - beercan, frood oggs, baicd beenz, munchrums, turst and corfi ( Moi is still disguised as a vegetarian and just had scrumbled oggs ) – mmmmmm.
Then off sightseeing. First place of special interest was a laptop repair shop ( closed today as it’s a public holiday ), so on to Swayambhu, aka the Monkey Temple, a fantastic Buddhist stupa and temple complex overlooking Kathmandu (with the
added bonus of meeting so many relatives too) !
Then into Kathmandu itself and a look round the old city. Lots of temples ( there’s still an active Hindu community here, so lots of Hindu temples and influences ). There’s even a temple to a living Goddess who is a 10 year old girl they call Kumari. She lives in the temple with her friends and is only allowed out 9 times a year. When she gets to puberty, she goes back into the normal world and the priests go out and and choose another child ( aged 4-7 years ). She has to pass many tests to become the living goddess, one of them being to spend two hours alone in a temple where priests wear frightening masks and try and scare her. Only the one who shows courage and remains inside for the full two hours goes through to the next round !!
After that we visited another city across the river - Patan - even older than Kathmandu. This too had an ancient square with lots of temples and (abandoned) palaces.
Then back to the hotel and a look at the Himalayas ( pronounced
“Himarlias” in the setting sun ).
The Nepalese people are really friendly, we have not feel threatened at all. The people in the North of Nepal are of a more Chinese persuasion while the people in the South are more Indian (understandably). Everyone seems to be smiling (even me). I think we’re going to like it here.
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Duller
non-member comment
Namaste!
Have a good and safe journey here in Nepal.