Blogs from Jhocchen Street, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia

Yesterday I took a decidedly harrowing taxi ride from Bouddha to Jocchne Tole (or Freak Street, as it was called in the 60's and 70's). Taxis here are barely distinguishable from regular beat-up hunks of junk, except that they may say "Taxi" somewhere on them. They're tiny, seat-belt-free (like Thailand!) Noddy cars from the 80's that seem like they're going to fall apart if your luggage is over a certain weight. Anyway, the way it works is, you negotiate the price, throw your stuff in the car, and hope to god(s) the driver actually understood your directions. Mine didn't, he mistook "Jhocchen Street" for "airport" - easy enough mistake, I suppose, so we pulled over to negotiate. I eventually found and pointed it out to him on the map, so we were off. At this point ... read more

Just two days after the big bhoj we had a chance to take a journey out of the Kathmandu Valley. The town of Dolkha is north east of Kathmandu, and is a gateway to the mountain regions that lie beyond it. Ben’s nephew Dipen has been living and working there as the manager of the local hospital which serves the rural population in that area. Dipen’s mother is Ben’s first cousin yet both she and her husband are of the older generation. Neither of them ever have an opportunity to take a trip, lacking both the financial resources as well as the intrinsic motivation to do so. They are also both in poor health so anything involving walking must be done with care. When Ben suggested the trip to Dolkha, however, they were enthusiastic about the ... read more

On this blog I frequently mention favorite places. Boudhanath Stupa may be my truly favorite place. It is the largest stupa in Nepal and the pilgrimage site for Tibetan Buddhists from all over the country. While Tibetan Buddhist ethnic groups are the majority there, people of all ethnicities and religious traditions come to Boudhanath to enjoy the beautiful architecture, and receive spiritual upliftment through the open and peaceful atmosphere that surrounds the area. When I was a student, the area around the stupa was relatively undeveloped. It was possible to walk around the top and enjoy a view of the surrounding valley, hilltops, and rice fields. Since that time the entire radius of Boudhanath has been built up, obscuring all the views. Part of this development has been a dramatic increase in the number of monasteries ... read more

A few days after the big festival at Pashpatinath we headed there again in the morning with Lilia’s aunty Ami. On a normal weekday morning, life at Pashupatinath is lively but not overwhelming. Ascetics in orange robes, many of them from India, make Pashupati their place of residence. People from all over the country come there for various rituals, some for good luck, some in honor of departed people, some to mark special life occasions. Pashupati is an extremely ancient holy site, consisting of acres of land. It covers a large sprawling area, with hidden nooks and crannies containing hundreds of temples of varying sizes and ages. As a holy Hindu temple site, Pashupati is an important place for cremations. Along the Bagmati river there are stone platforms that are used for that purpose. When a ... read more

The day after the puja we woke up early in the morning, as Lilia is still suffering some jet lag. We decided to take a long walk so we bundled up and headed off towards the monkey temple. At first Lilia decided to do some complaining, not yet being in the habit of taking such an early walk. After we wound through the streets a bit, she became more enthusiastic. Early morning Kathmandu is still wonderful, and we were able to walk unimpeded by cars, motorcycles, buses, and other sundry vehicles that fight their way through the streets later in the day. En route to the monkey temple are several historic temples to see, making the walk more interesting. Lilia particularly liked the cable bridge across the river. It swayed and jiggled as we were crossing ... read more