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Published: December 7th 2008
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The flight to Kathmandu was full, mostly Nepalese returning home and volunteers that want to make a difference somewhere in the world.
We saw the Himalayas from the plane. It was so impressive the mountains were higher than the clouds and covered with snow.
We touched down shortly after 5pm. Kathmandu is situated in the Kathmandu Valley and I could see and feel the mountains around us. The traffic was crazy and frustrating…. everyone just driving everywhere and anywhere but we survived and arrived at the Crown Plaza Hotel.
Half an hour later I met up with Cloe and we walked down the street and visited the shops. Later we took a taxi to the famous Thamel Street. Here you can buy clothes, shoes, bags, local arts and crafts and all your mountaineering equipment for your Everest exhibition and…. you can bargain for it!! Hungry and tired, we stopped at the first….. sort of clean place we could find called, the Fat Belly. Cloe ordered a pizza and I had fish that looked like ‘beef’ so we called it “beefish”. Most stores were closed by then and we headed back to the hotel.
The following morning, I had
a great breakfast at the hotel and hit the streets with the help of the unique Kathmandu taxis’. The roads are in a very poor condition, so, telling you it was a bumpy ride is an understatement. The taxi dropped me in the middle of the historic Durbar Square. Durbar Square is a cluster of ancient temples, palaces, courtyards and streets that date back to the 12th and 18th centuries. The square is known to be the social, religious and urban focal point of the Capital City. Seems like everything revolves around this square, the people and traffic here is endless.
I met a guide who convinced me to hire him for an hour. He was so insight full and I was impressed by his English. Our first stop was the Kumari Bahal (House of the Living Goddess). Until today they still believe in this Goddess. She is said to be a living incarnation of a Hindu goddess and an incarnation of Tara by the Buddhists. She is selected from a group of young girls (age 5). She must have the correct horoscope and has to meet 32 physical requirements (eye colour, eyelashes, neck, body, teeth and the sound
of her voice). She is then placed in a darkened room with buffalo heads displayed around her and men with masks making scary noises. During this ritual she must not show any fear. Once selected as the Kumari, she moves into the Kumari Bahal. She does not leave except for several festivals. During her period as being the Goddess, her feet are not allowed to touch the ground (she will walk only on carpets that will be laid down for her). When she reaches puberty and has her fist period or if she has a serious accidental blood loss another girl will take her place. For the rest of her life she gets paid a few thousand $ a month by the government. The latest Kumari was selected only a few months ago.
Another important building is the Old Palace of Newar Kings. It has 3 windows where the king and his 2 wives would appear to make announcements. A bell and a drum were sounded (rung and beaten) to inform the locals that there will be announcements. My guide pointed out to me, that people are stealing the artefacts of the various buildings. I cannot believe that it’s not
enclosed and one can still go up to the buildings? (mostly renovated).
Kathmandu got its name from the temple called Kaasthamandap. This structure contains no nails and legend has it that it was built using only one tree. Here my guide showed me to always walk clock wise around the temple and to ring a bell that will remove all my bad luck. There are constantly people praying and ringing the bell.
We went to some more temples with basically the same traditions but built for different reasons and in different times. I’m still confused by the mix of Hindu and Buddhism but the differences are clear. My guide then took me up, about 5 stories, to a restaurant where I paid him and said goodbye. From the restaurant I could see my next destination...
After another bumpy, hooting, scary taxi ride I arrived at Swayambhunath Stupa (Monkey Temple). This temple is one of the most sacred sites of Buddhist pilgrimage in Nepal. 365 steps and I reached the top and was noticed the monkeys watching me if I had something for them to eat. From there one can see the whole Kathmandu Valley. Like in Thailand, there are
dogs and puppies walking around everywhere. One puppy was rolled up in some sponge screaming for his mother, but she was to busy guarding her territory.
I made good time with all my sightseeing so, before going back to the hotel I went back to Thamel Street for some shopping.
Back at the hotel, the sauna helped end a perfect day followed by a snooze before the flight. We were happy to hear that in economy we would only have 99 passengers. This time we flew back in the smaller A320. We did all the services and then entertained each other in the galley until we arrived back in Doha.
Namaste! (Blessings)
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