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Published: March 26th 2010
...well the journey continues. I've spent two extraordinary days here now and I still think this is a pretty special place.
Yesterday started off with no plan, really... just wandered through the area I'm staying in and then down towards Durbar (Palace) Square, the main tourist area of Kathmandu. The square is full of buddhist and hindu temples, but quite honestly, I hadn't a clue what was going on and was sitting there looking a bit lost, when approached by a guide, who offered to give me a tour of the square. This is supposedly common here, and you're generally warned that it probably isn't the best way to spend your money, but having talked to the guy for ten minutes (more about trekking and Nepali politics than guided tours), I figured it would be worth EUR6/7 for an hour or so to learn a bit more from somebody local.
We finished up about five hours later... having seen every temple in the place, witnessed the start of and annual harvest festival procession, and seeing the Kumari...
The Annual Harvest festival consisted of a huge chariot with big, solid wooden wheels, which locals and children had spent all morning preparing. On top of the chariot, there was a very precarious wooden, leaf-covered spike, pyramidal in shape, about 30 metres high, but just one metre squared at the bottom. To huge cheering, throwing of coins and flowers, and setting fire to leaves and incense on the streets, the chariot was pulled by rope, very slowly, through the narrow streets around Durbar Square. I discovered that last year, within the first 10 metres of moving, the spike fell over and smashed through the Palace Roof, causing untold damage. Hence the general scenes of hysteria and panic as the procession rumpled underway yesterday. Laugh a minute...!!! Got to see Nepal's famous (and apparently brutal) Gurkha Army. I'm sure they'd tear you to bits in a second, but I'm REALLY not sure about the bright yellow socks!
We then went to visit the Kumari Temple, home of Kathmandu's Living Goddess, a four year old girl who is chosen as a very young female (through a fairly horrific selection process, involving checking of 32 physical attributes as well as having to endure scenes of 108 live animal sacrifices, and a night-long in a darkened temple being taunted by men in monstrous masks (if you can endure that at the age of 3+, you're considered to have what it takes to be a living Goddess)... Then, she is taken from her family (who can visit her a few times a week) and looked after by a group of Hindu priests until her first period, when she is set back into normal society...
So this girl appears at the window inside the courtyard of the Kali Temple after 4pm once a day, or appears on the streets, in a golden chariot, about 12 times a year. On account of it was the festival, though, she came out yesterday for a look, and JM managed to get some close-ups... As I was standing amongst throngs of people as she passed, she sat there, glancing around very regally (impressive, for a 4-year old). As I took a picture, she looked straight towards the camera - it was one of those rare shots where everything works out despite the fact everything should go wrong - and the photo, if I may say so myself, is almost haunting. She's the same age as Alex (my niece) and yet has thousands of people flocking to see (and worship?) her. I can't wait to get the picture up on the web somehow.
Last night was quiet... Indian food and a wander through Themal, but early to bed.
Today, met Ram (my guide) and went to two Buddhist Temples (or Stupas), one called the monkey temple, and one called Bhoudha Nait, which is apparently the largest Bhudda Stupa in the world. I learned (what feels like) everything there is to know about hindu and buddhism (but what is probably 1% of what you NEED to know to know anything!). Then went to Pashupatinath, I think the largest hindu temple in Nepal on the banks of the River Bagmati. This huge complex includes what are called the Cremation Ghats, which is where a huge proportion of the people living here wish to be cremated when they die. It was the most extraordinary, and yet peaceful place I've ever been. By and large, my camera was kept tucked away, as you are literally standing across a narrow (and horrifically polluted) river from families, as they say goodbye to their cloth-wrapped deceased and then, very slowly and very somberly, set them alight on the banks of the river, in the middle of this huge temple complex, as other visitors, mourners, or knob-tourists like me, look on. Very sobering.
Anyway, I was rightly cheered up after that and in the mood to go on the lash, so went for food and 2 beers at Bhodinath. Then had an hour long taxi journey (which consisted of about 2.5 miles of the worst traffic I've ever seen - Dublin, you ain't seen nothing yet!) to the next town from Kathmandu, called Patan (as in Dolly). I think Ram wasn't as enthused about the going-on-the-lash bit as me, and fell FAST ASLEEP in the car on the way! Once we were outside the city of Kathmandu and into the outskirts, I felt like I was getting a much truer image of the town and the people, and as we drove through dusty, muddy and rubbish-strewn streets, full of belching traffic, crumbling buildings and shacks, and 3 or 4 year-old kids running around on the side of the road amongst mangey, stray dogs and monkeys, covered in dust, I realised that for some of the people living here, life still must be extremely hard.
Patan was amazing - cleaner and more tourist orientated than the centre of Kathmandu, but I was sight-seen-out and besides, I had just met a french photographer woman to whom I showed my prized picture of Kumari (gloating? Yes), and she judged the composition to be unbalanced and the shot to be overexposed. Despite that fact that she's got an exhibition approved by the German embassy here in the Summer, I think she was just jealous! So then I just wanted to come back here for a shower and a rest. Instead, I had a beer on the roof of the hotel, watched the sunset over the mountains (Himalayas, they're called!!!), and chatted to an American girl from Texas, who was helping supervise her daughter's school-tour (for twelve 13-15 year olds). "What are they doing for their school tour", I asked. Trekking up to Everest Base Camp... suddenly, it doesn't feel like that bit of the trip is quite so special anymore!!!
More tomorrow.
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mona perdue
non-member comment
Second entry
How lucky to happen upon the Harvest Festival and take a chance on the guide. You probably got a better value than one preplanned through an agency. Hope you get your "unbalanced/overexposed" Kumari photo up sometime in the future. I saw her briefly in the regular temple viewing where no photo is allowed, but a packet of postcards are for sale by locals just outside. Have since seen a video of how she lives, etc. which you might want to view sometime. Wish I were there right this moment. Your descriptions make me feel that I am. Thank you!