Thamel & Durbar Square

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April 25th and 26th
Thamel & Durbar Square

The hardest part of this is the poverty. Nepal is one of the poorest countries on the globe. They receive $4B in US aid (60% of its development budget) & over 30% of its population lack basic food. Many don’t have electricity or running water - and for those that do there are frequent power outages, as power is rationed (my “guest house” has a generator that doesn’t always kick in during the outages). The street animals are heart-breaking: exhausted, sick, malnourished, mangy, neglected dogs. I walk through Kathmandu & see them motionless, coiled up in gutters, skiny, covered in mange. At night in my comfortable near-western guesthouse I can hear one crying in the distance.

I’ve explored Thamel, the tourist area. Its streets are crowded with touts selling Tiger balm oil, flutes & trinkets. Accosted by cab & rickshaw drivers offering to take me anywhere. Small cars, bikes & motorcycles fill the streets and narrowly whiz by the locals & tourists who dodge them. The air is thick with smog, full of the smell of diesel, curry, sweat, incense, festering trash & dust - lots of dust in the air. Many wear surgical masks. People with serious disabilites & small filthy children follow & beg. Once you hand out money to one person you're swarmed. I gag on the air, frequently covering my mouth & nose with a handkerchief to keep out the dust.

Everyone spits. There's a lot of spitting.

The sounds of old rock ‘n roll, techno-pop, Nepal flute, generators, and honking, honking, honking horns fill the air. And it's hot. Stifling hot. I slip into one of the trekking store and buy a knock-off down jacket. Hard to believe in this heat I'll ever need it. But the Himalayan foothills are a few miles off & I'm ready. While I shop the skies open and store keepers gather their wares while school children laugh and play in the down pour. Everyone {even the frantic shop keepers} smile and laugh. Theyr'e ready for the cleansing rain.

I watch children come home from school, and men and women going through their days. There’s no physical contact between the sexes - in fact, the only men & women who walk together are tourists. In Nepal men walk with men, women with women. Women link arms with women, and men walk with their arms thrown over each other’s shoulders.


Toward the end of the day I head south, to Durbar Square. Suddenly the streets are full of police in riot gear & protestors carrying torches. “Are they the Maoists?” I ask to no one in particular.”Yes - those are the Maoists.” “What are they shouting?” “They want the constitution to be obeyed, they want the prime minister to resign & they want their candidate to be instated as prime minister.” I’ve climbed up some stairs, in order to get a better view & to be out of the crowd. “Are we at risk here? Is there a chance of violence now?” I ask. “No - the police are at the beginning and end of the line. They’ll keep order if the protesters aren’t peaceful.” I look at the police. They look like little kids. At least a thousand Maoists chanting and carrying torches & maybe 30 police.

I'm told there’s going to be a general strike soon. I wonder if the busses will be running to Pokera in the morning.

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Photos

Thamel - crowded streets
Streets share with pedestrians, cars, motercycles, rickshaws, bikes

Thamel - boys and rickshaw
Boys walk arms thrown around each other

Durbar Square
Maoist Protest, Police Escort: Durbar Square Kathmandu

Comments

[Heather]

Wow, I really loved reading your post about Durbar Square! You gave such a great account of being there, I felt like I was! I've always wanted to go to Nepal but haven't been yet. Thanks for posting such great details! My blog is looking for travel photos, stories, etc, to share. If you have the time, check it out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com, or email me at [e-mail]. Continued fun on your travels, and stay safe from those riots! Heather :)

[Andrea]

A New Pair of Glasses
Amazing how the conditions and rain would cause me back here to moan and groan, but the same conditions there and people "smile and laugh". Thanks so much for your blog! Love, Andrea