Kathmandu - a city of dramatic perspectives

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Report from the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal. I am here in one of the few internet stations I could find open this late afternoon, as the power has been cut as usual. The sound of rock music penetrates the air, and the commotion of the streets of Thamel is ever present. I have now been a week in this fascinating city. I have been captivated and moved by it, and this is where I caught my breath, relaxed, and unwound. The power just cut on/off again. It is coming the usual around here. YOu get used to it.

I am not sure how to begin how to describe my journeys here in this ancient city. Upon arrival, I was captivated and moved. I arrived on 10 April around 12 noon, the day of the much anticipated national election. Little did I realize as I walked off the tarmac from the Silkair A320 which had efficiently and pleasurably carried me from Singapore that morning that the entire city was virtually shut down for the elections. This would be very fortuitous for the afternoon's explorations.

My travel partner for the next several days would be Lorraine, a retired primary school teacher from Sydney, Australia, whom was my seat mate on the flight over. Our conversations soon turned into "let's travel together". Upon the relatively easy formalities, the only option for transport to the Thamel district was government run buses with police/military escort. No taxis were running today. It took over an hour to fill up the bus, but soon we were off. I was enthralled by the city from the start. It was so different, yet not threatening at all. And there we were, left on the relatively deserted streets of Thamel. I had arrived.

90% of everything was shuttered and closed. Kids played cricket in the streets. There was laughter. There was the swat of the bats. There was filth, especially air pollution. There were the touts, asking for trekking, asking to send us to hotels, asking to take a rickshaw. "No, no thank you, no thanks" --- and on and on. Lorraine had a very good way with them, and I soon followed. It soon came so ingrained, so automatic from both sides, that soon the responses come automatic, a smile, a wave of the hand. I don't even hear them now after a week. After getting completely lost, we eventually found our way to the most excellent Holy Lodge ( just a name I had from one of my books) and found friendly, cheap, accommodation and warm staff. We unloaded our bags, and we started our explorations on foot. Lorraine and I tried to estimate how many km we walked over Kathmandu over the next three days -- we knew 20-30 km would be at least in the ballpark, likely more. Where did we go, and what did we find?
The election was magical. The streets were empty of vehicles save the EU and UN election watchers in their SUVs. We eventually found ourselves ad Dubanar Square (spelling) which was polling place itself. We would tour the ancient temples in a few days, but today was for the election. We wandered, watched the Nepali vote, and watched as everyone anticipated the results. The architecture here is fascinating, with buildings and temples built back to at least the 14th century or before. Fascinating. I was overwhelmed, but in a very good way. After a quick drink on the famous Freak Street, we took a late afternoon walking tour through the neighborhoods to the south. The images of that late afternoon walk will be with me for the rest of my life.
The children playing in the ever present courtyards, all saying "Hello" to us (as we were the only travelers out); the images of women washing their clothes on the street. The lean and very inactive dogs everywhere. THe nepali men clustered around the radios awaiting election results. The broad array of vegetables being sold on the street. No more touts. No vehicles on the roads. Just the families. And life. The filling of the water buckets on the street for the water supply. The sounds. The squares with the small temples and people worshiping there. I was hooked. I was fascinated. I was also at peace. I wanted to see more, as the daylight soon was giving way to dusk. Lorraine and I had to find our way back to our accommodation. This would only be the beginning of our travels on the streets of Kathmandu...

Quick note == headed off to Besishar tomorrow morning (if I can find a seat on a bus) and to the Annapurna! I will update as I can!

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