Kathmandu 31/05 - 04/06

---

We got a hot and sticky bus back from the mountains back into civilisation which took almost the entire day. First problem was a huge section of the road had disappeared into the valley so there were 3 diggers creating a new route to drive along. That took about 2.5 hours, then we had to stop at garage for some reason or another and then we had a tyre blow out as we were snaking a hill. By late afternoon we were back in the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu. We showed Jaap Shantipur Hostel and he decided to check in too. We all headed up to the roof terrace and sipped Masala Teas watching the sunset over the bustling city. After a long day cooped up on the bus we wanted to stretch our legs so walked out through Thamel to have dinner. We took Jaap to the little tandoori Maik had showed us and had some delicious spicy curries. We were just thinking of hitting the hay when Stefano said he was still in town! He met us at the rooftop with Jose! It was such a nice surprise to spend a few beers with them and catch up finally.





The next day we had big plans to do all of our shopping for friends and family back home. Jaap went out to explore and left us to it. We had a big list and so set off to buy our wares! We went into the shops with our haggling hats on and pretty much visited every shop, some twice. We had tea with some lad who was selling us art and so got a nice deal. We made a few people unhappy with our ridiculously low prices and then 10 minutes later grumpily accepted our money as it was their only business for the day! We only had breaks for coffees and snacks and by the end of the afternoon we had pretty much smashed our list (with a few extras too). As we had worked so hard we spent the rest of the day on the hostel rooftop taking in the views, eating and drinking.



After our day slogging through every tourist shop in Thamel we decided to explore some culture. We headed first to a temple called Pushpatinath where Hindus go to cremate their dead. We knew from speaking to Jose and Stefano that it was going to be a bit shocking but we all felt that we wanted to go and see it whilst we were here. We arrived and first walked through a street of stall holders selling colourful jewellery, idols and incense. Once we walked into the main temple area by the river we were immediately face to face with a woman screaming and sobbing and being helped through the crowds of people by two others. We walked across the bridge and sat watching the ceremony for what must have been the woman’s relative. He was wrapped in orange and white cloths with necklaces of marigolds draped all over him on a pile of logs. Relatives were taking it in turn to walk up, pour water on them and kiss their feet. It was then time to light the fire, more upset and the smoke began to fill the sky. We then turned at some harrowing crying and screaming and saw a tiny coffin being carried towards another pile of logs. The child must only have been 3 or 4 and the men lifted her from the coffin and pulled her foot from out of the cloths she was wrapped in to dip her toe in the water. She was then left half uncovered in the heap of sheets lying alone on the ground whilst the fire was being prepared. It was very shocking and hard to watch so we soon felt that we had seen enough and left walking back along the river past more bodies laying wrapped in cloth. Our taxi driver asked “did you like it?”, honestly, no, not at all, but after the initial shock we all agreed we were glad we went. After this we decided to go and check out Kopan Monastery as we had heard the courses and facilities there were amazing and we wanted to see if there was anything available for people that only had a short period of time. Unfortunately, like so many of the courses, they only offer 10 day programmes. In hindsight we wished we had booked something like this before coming to Nepal but we’ve decided instead to complete a Vipassna course when we return to England (this is a 10 day silent retreat which originated in India). Once back at the hostel we got some food, and chatted to Jaap about his philosophy studies. We both enjoyed listening to his opinions on not following religion but having faith in a personal God. He has put quite some time and effort into exploring religion and faith and so we are planning to tag along on his quest and keep updated on what he finds out! After this we went to the Irish bar and had a great time slugging beers laughing and chatting. Back at the hostel Jack taught Jaap some songs on the ukulele and must have done a pretty amazing job because Jaap’s now planning to buy one for when he is back in Amsterdam.



The next day we pretty much spent the whole day feeling sorry for ourselves. We were hungover and not in the mood to be out and about! We did try one excursion out into the city but it quickly started to rain so made a mad dash for it back to our haven - the rooftop.



After a refreshing sleep (and less alcohol) it was our last full day in Nepal - and the whole of Asia! We decided to head to a region on the outskirts of Kathmandu called Bahktapur. We made the 30 minute ish walk to catch the 15p bus. When we arrived it was clear that the town had been severely affected by an earthquake previously. Because of this we had to pay $15 to enter the nice part where “Dubar square” is! Obviously this being crazy we tried to sneak into the centre. After a few times at getting told to turn around or pay we found an alley where nobody was watching and suddenly found ourselves in the square! We had a celebratory coffee and then had a stroll. It was full of tourists and locals going about their business. The streets were narrow and selling all sorts of bits and bobs similar to Thamel. There was an art school/shop where students were painting meditation circles (Thakas) with real gold paint where some of the patterns were so intricate that they only use one hair of a paint brush! Char took some time to chat to the teachers whilst Jack and Jaap had a browse around some shops. “Dubar square” itself was a big multilayered Buddhist temple centuries of years old with some smaller similar designed out houses. The patterns were typical Nepalese with tigers, elephants and big ornate faces flanking the stairs leading up to the top. After a bite to eat we hopped on another bus to Kathmandu with the help of some friendly women who were going the same way. We got back, had some grub, showered and relaxed until we had to say goodbye to Jaap and catch our last flight of the whole trip to Bratislava. We were going to miss that lad.

---