Blogs from Durbar Square, Bhaktapur, Nepal, Asia

How can you tell when a Nepali travel agent is lying to you? His lips are moving. Try as I might; I could not get a clear idea of what the situation was like up in Lukla, the airstrip closest to Everest. I talked to my hotel's travel agent in Kathmandu. He reported that everything in Lukla was fine and that I should buy my ticket as quickly as possible before they sold out. I held off. I went out to the airport the next morning when the Lukla flights were scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu. It was a hot mess. Passengers from Lukla reported two to five day waits for flights, sudden cancellations, Lukla hotels gouging trapped tourists with doubled rates and food shortages. So much for Everest. You do what you can do and ... read more

Following our trip to Chitwan, we ended up back in Kathmandu. The next morning we caught a bus to Bhaktapur, once the capital of Nepal, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. The Durbar Square includes many ancient temples running along cobblestone streets, which are free of traffic, surrounding the beautiful Palace of 55 Windows, built in the early 15th century and home of the king until the late 18th century. It now houses the National Gallery. Not far from the palace, and perhaps sharing the status of the chief site of Bhaktapur, is the Golden Gate, which acts as the entrance to the Hindu-restricted Taleju Temple, dedicated to the goddess Taleju Bhawani. We headed to Pokhara the next day. There isn’t much to do in the town except fatten oneself up before and after the Annapurna Circuit. ... read more

Having heard so many good things about Bhaktapur, I just knew I had to make it there one day, only had to fit it in my busy schedule somehow... ;) But finally a wonderful opportunity came up to share this experience with my dear friend (that would be you Grant! :)). We thought about taking a local bus there first, which could’ve been an interesting experience on its own, but since it was well over 30C degrees outside, we just decided to spoil ourselves a bit and took a driver instead – and what a treat it was, a sports car with airco! It just doesn’t happen in Nepal… Once we got to Bhaktapur we were offered guide services straight away, the guy seemed very nice and his price was very good also, but having him ... read more

After 2 days both spent in bed due to food poisoning, we had to alter our plans to go hiking for 2 days in the outskirt of the Kathmandu Valley and make our way to Nagarkot then Bhaktapur by Taxi. A heafty taxi fare in local terms but the thought of being able to lure Mt Everest in the distance at Sunrise was too tempting. Although we were able to see part of the Himalayas we were not quite fortunate to see the big one this time round. On our way back from Ngarkot we visited the beatiful city of Bhaktapur; hopefully the city can remained preserved as it has been so far, both me and Carmen very much enjoyed walking down the streets and squares that still remain intact with time. This was our final ... read more

As we promised last time, we will tell you more about Tihar, the festival that took place from 4th to 7th of november. On fifth, there was Laxmi-puja. Everybody burns lots of oil-candles (and nowadays also more and more colorful electric lights, like we use in Christmas-time) around the house. This happens when sun is going down so it creates a very nice atmosphere in the city. In the same time, girls are dressed up and go dancing and singing in front of shops, so they will receive some money and sweets. We also made a nice colorful flower in front of the house, and a line going inside the house. This because Laxmi (the goddess) can find the way to our moneybag (people believe that she will come either to take money, or to bring ... read more