A TAD CHILLY! January in Kathmandu

.....our previous post on the trains around Scotland......

Our last three months were spent at what is now becoming our "regular" place on Ko Fruitopia. It is lovely to have a familiar place at the beach on our favourite island to return to- relaxing with many friends every year is very special. However, we are usually raring to go when the time comes to hit the road again!!

Our re-introduction to Nepal started upon boarding the plane in Bangkok. The Nepali people all had way over the luggage limit, and there were some hold ups while they tried to argue with the strict ground crew to let them board the plane with their massive hand luggage- with no luck, amazingly. One old Nepali man in a kurti passed the waiting time squatting alarmingly in front of us every few seconds on the crowded bus. At Kathmandu airport things became more amusing. Luckily, we had filled out our visa form on-line in advance, so sailed through to the smiling man who took our US$100 each (90 day stay), and waved us over to the immigration lines (we passed the “Senior Citizen and Breast Feeding Office” on the way!). All lines were for a 30 day stay, apart from one- ours, and of course it was the one that was unattended. Rich went to find out what was going on, and came back with the information that the officer was just finishing his cup of chai. He strolled out eventually grinning broadly and asked us questions that sounded suspiciously for his own interest rather than for official reasons. “Madame, I see you are an investigator!” he exclaimed to Sal (she puts invigilator on all official entry forms now), and began a lengthy conversation about her work. After this, and when he had all the information he wanted about Rich's family, we were eventually able to break free. This could have been the most charming and funny immigration office we've ever had the pleasure to encounter! We found a taxi to take us to town for a reasonable price (no flashy airport buses here!).

Happy to have arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal

First glimpse of Kathmandu from the plane

Although we knew it would be cool in Kathmandu, arriving from sweaty and humid Bangkok was quite a shocking and dramatic change in temperature. We had been advised by veteran Nepal travellers to try Paknajol area to stay. It's close to the shops and hustle of Thamel, but quieter- great advise! We found the warmest room we could and hoped the solar shower would work now and again. The ten days we spent in Kathmandu were quite chilly, but we adjusted quickly and learnt to sleep in late, eat dinner early and snuggle down under the duvet at night. We were very happy to learn the famous electricity outages or “load shedding” rarely happen any more, and apart from one rainy morning, we had electricity 24 hours a day.

Our first job was to buy warm clothes, and Thamel was the place to shop. Sleeping bags, walking boots, puffy jackets, prayer flags, singing bowls, funky hippy clothes, juggling balls, liquor shops, travel agents and restaurants were all there. We picked up the obligatory colourful gear that seemed to be de rigour here, and looked like a couple of idiot tourists! We spoke to all the travellers we could- there weren't many around in January, but those that were about were very friendly and helpful with information. A plan was developed of what to do during our time in and around Kathmandu. Almost all travellers come to Nepal to “trek”, but we were open to try to see and understand more of the cultural side of Nepal (and of course, to appreciate the stunning scenery!)

We're totally in love with this old beauty

We took good care of ourselves!

Thamel sign, Kathmandu

Sal chuckled every time we passed this one!

Trinkets for sale, Thamel, Kathmandu

Waiting for a fare, Thamel, Kathmandu

Charming souvenir shop, Kathmandu

A tangle of electricity wires, Kathmandu

Warning up, Kathmandu

Tiny music shop, Kathmandu

We found Kathmandu to be an easy city, with little of the hectic traffic or terrible pollution we had heard about. The roads were mingled with cars, motorcycles, bicycles, cycle rickshaws, trucks, tiny taxis and minibuses, but it never seemed to get to a chaotic level. Admittedly, the conditions weren't the best for the many pedestrians, due to the lack of any sort of footpaths. Everything was covered in dirt and dust, as the monsoon season was long over, and after a couple of rainy days, it turned to mud and was unpleasant to walk around.

Drizzly day, Kathmandu

Wonky shop, Kathmandu

Stalls in lovely old houses, Kathmandu

The Nepali habit of hocking up and spitting on the ground was revolting and took some getting used to (do they do it even more than Indians, or has it just been a while since our last trip there?!). There was no sign of paan chewing involved here, but side-stepping the globs of mucus EVERYWHERE was bad enough.

Kathmandu has an overwhelming population of scabby dogs, and those who know us can imagine how much we loved that. But they shared the personality trait with the human residents of being very laid back, and we never had the slightest problem with them.

The people in the city were very gentle and relaxed, with no hassle at all from stall holders and tour operators (there are ALOT of those, and in January they were desperate for business). We were especially pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming presence of women everywhere- in shops and on the streets, and how beautiful they were- the Nepali are good looking people!

Men with tool for fluffing cotton, Kathmandu

Pretty Kathmandu woman

Man in the morning sun, Kathmandu

Shy young man, Kathmandu

Beautiful woman selling snacks, Kathmandu

Laden with gold, Kathmandu

The streets around the old part of the city were beautifully atmospheric, and we spent a few days in different parts gazing, exploring and snapping away at the old wooden buildings. Much of the detailed carving was on the second level, so we were constantly looking up and trying to dodge street sellers, pedestrians and traffic. Then there were many sunken niches and shrines to look out for, often with people squatting in them lighting butter candles. Fascinating busy market squares, hidden courtyards, small stupas and temples were scattered randomly around the city- often mingling with resident's homes and lives. So many of the old brick and wooden buildings around Kathmandu were still in the process of being renovated after the earthquake three years ago. The Newari people are largely responsible for much of the the typical architecture in the Kathmandu Valley, including the classic square, tiered-roofed wooden temples.

Carrying a load through the streets, Kathmandu

Carving on a discarded column, Kathmandu

Street scene, Kathmandu

Water pump on street in Kathmandu

Old and knackered, but still running, Kathmandu

Topi hats for sale, Kathmandu

Browsing at the bead market, Kathmandu

Pulses galore, Kathmandu

Shop selling all sorts, Kathmandu

Startled man, Kathmandu

Peaceful part of Kathmandu

Young man in chowk, Kathmandu

Self explanatory? 

Little skeleton statue outside temple, Kathmandu

Tempo city transport, Kathmandu

As well as a plethora on dentists, the dental street included a bizarre shrine where people who have toothaches nail coins in hope of curing their pain!

A selection of teeth for sale, Kathmandu

Shrine for people with toothaches

We had a trip down memory lane one afternoon with a visit to Freak Street, the original hippy overlander area, and where we stayed on our last visit to Kathmandu 20 years ago. Although Rich amazingly remembered the guesthouse we stayed in (looks exactly the same), the area has changed beyond recognition, and now days travellers mostly stay in Thamel (or Paknajol, where we were).

Old abandoned sign down a laneway, Freak Street, Kathmandu

There were a few close sights to the city that made reasonably interesting day trips.

Swayambunath Stupa is one of the three most important Buddhist sites in Nepal, and a short distance from where we stayed. On the walk there, we were shocked to cross the Bisnumati River and see the devastating extent of the rubbish problem here. We thought Indonesia was bad, but it's nothing compared to Kathmandu. The idea that all that rubbish would be washed down to India when the rains came was horrifying.

Bisnumati River, Kathmandu

We managed to arrive early enough at Swayambunath to avoid most of the crowds, but stopped in our tracks upon seeing the troupes of Rhesus monkeys hanging around the stairs to the top. After assessing the situation, we realized they were chilled out Nepalese monkeys, and we walked between the groups without issue- we would never do that in Thailand!!!

Nice, calm monkeys, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu

The summit was lovely, and we were impressed with the stupa itself, the thousands of colourful prayer flags, and the plethora of smaller shrines around the hill. The shrine dedicated to the Goddess of small pox seemed inordinately popular, with streams of people handing over fistfuls on money for blessings. We joined the pilgrims for the long walk clockwise around the bottom of the hill, watching the colourful Tibetan ladies turning the thousands of prayer wheels and muttering prayers to themselves.

Looking at the stupa from about half way up, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu

Close up of gorgeous carving on shrine, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu

Wooden carving, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu

Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu

Devotee, Kathmandu

Don't know who this fellow is, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu

Morning at Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu

Tibetan pilgrim, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu

Budhanilkantha was a short bus ride away and rather built up in the LP (as most things in and around Kathmandu were). But the 7^th century large, black stone statue of Vishnu lying down upon a twisted snake on the “cosmic sea” (ie. a typically dirty pond), was a first for us, and worth the trip to see. Some kind of orphanage was in the temple grounds and for a while we watched the grubby little boys playing an energetic game with a rolled up piece of string.

Lying down Vishnu, Budhanilkantha 

Vishnu fan, Budhanilkantha 

One day's mission was to walk between three villages on the outskirts of Kathmandu. The polluted haze, piles of rubbish strewn all over the place, and the hazy views of the heavily mined Chobhar Gorge were the downsides. But it was generally very pleasant to walk in between villages on small tracks with no traffic, wander some small lane ways, see people sitting in the sun outside their tall houses and admire some of the medieval architecture.

One particularly atmospheric temple in Chobhar had pots and plates nailed up by newly weds to ensure a successful married life.

Strange temple filled with plates and pots, Chobhar 

Footprints, Chobhar 

Snack on our village walk, Chobhar 

Sun's out!! Chobhar 

Village man, Chobhar 

Rugged up in Chobhar 

The main square in the old part of nearby Kirtipur was characterful with once grand carved wooden houses surrounding it and a giant temple with sweeping views at the end. Again, there was a lot of rubble and re-building going on in these villages.

Another temple in ruins, awaiting renovation, Kirtipur

Beautiful temple, Kirtipur

Kirtipur window

Lovely face, Kirtipur

The bus ride to the start of the walk was fun and crowded, and we had a job to squeeze through the bodies from our seats at the very back to get out.

We realized quickly, that Buddhism and Hinduism mingle together here in Nepal in quite an unusual and complex manner. After trying to get our head around why, we just went with it in the end, and accepted the fact.

Butter lamps in Kathmandu

Detail of a carving on a Kathmandu temple

All seeing, Kathmandu

Temple scene, Kathmandu

Holy man, Kathmandu

Giant prayer wheel, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu

Temple lady, Kathmandu

An interesting side note- many temples we saw in and around Kathmandu had erotic carvings placed subtly on a small portion of a beam. No one seems to know what this is all about, but it struck us as quite charming in a bizarre sort of way!! We have to include a few examples here....

Of course, we indulged in delicious food, revelling in the different tastes and flavours. We tried many hole-in-the-wall eateries before settling on a favourite. Dal bhat is king here, a basic dal, rice and curry plate, as well as momos- steamed or fried dumplings. Another delicious local speciality is thukpa or thenthuk (noodle soup), and samosas were our mainstay snack. We loved the curries, particular aloo jeera (spiced fried potatoes), aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower), rajma (red beans), and chana masala (chick peas). Add some piping hot parothas or chapatis, and we were in heaven. We became serious chai addicts, drinking many cups of the spicy delicacy throughout the day- a cheap and delicious way to keep warm! It was a bit like our shake and coffee fixation whist in Vietnam. There was quite a variety of fruit and vegies on offer considering it was the end of winter, with oranges, pomegranates, grapes, cauliflower and peas being amongst the produce in season. Although not as prevalent as India, we sought out some local sweet shops to indulge in our favourite milky and nutty barfi sweets. It actually felt good to be eating less and more healthily (haven't been brave enough to eat meat as yet!), and not to be drinking alcohol. Not sure how long it will all last!!

Street snacks, Kathmandu

Typical eatery, Thamel, Kathmandu

Seasonal fruits, Kathmandu

.....next stop Gorkha.....