.....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!).
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| Happy to have arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal |
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| 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!)
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| We're totally in love with this old beauty |
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| We took good care of ourselves! |
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| Thamel sign, Kathmandu |
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| Sal chuckled every time we passed this one! |
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| Trinkets for sale, Thamel, Kathmandu |
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| Waiting for a fare, Thamel, Kathmandu |
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| Charming souvenir shop, Kathmandu |
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| A tangle of electricity wires, Kathmandu |
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| Warning up, Kathmandu |
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| 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.
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| Drizzly day, Kathmandu |
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| Wonky shop, Kathmandu |
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| 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!
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| Men with tool for fluffing cotton, Kathmandu |
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| Pretty Kathmandu woman |
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| Man in the morning sun, Kathmandu |
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| Shy young man, Kathmandu |
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| Beautiful woman selling snacks, Kathmandu |
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| 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.
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| Carrying a load through the streets, Kathmandu |
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| Carving on a discarded column, Kathmandu |
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| Street scene, Kathmandu |
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| Water pump on street in Kathmandu |
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| Old and knackered, but still running, Kathmandu |
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| Topi hats for sale, Kathmandu |
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| Browsing at the bead market, Kathmandu |
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| Pulses galore, Kathmandu |
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| Shop selling all sorts, Kathmandu |
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| Startled man, Kathmandu |
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| Peaceful part of Kathmandu |
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| Young man in chowk, Kathmandu |
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| Self explanatory? |
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| Little skeleton statue outside temple, Kathmandu |
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| 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!
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| A selection of teeth for sale, Kathmandu |
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| 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).
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| 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.
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| 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!!!
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| 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.
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| Looking at the stupa from about half way up |
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| Close up of gorgeous carving on shrine, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu |
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| Wooden carving, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu |
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| Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu |
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| Devotee, Kathmandu |
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| Don't know who this fellow is, Swayambunath Temple |
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| Morning at Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu |
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| 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 7th 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.
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| Lying down Vishnu, Budhanilkantha |
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| 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.
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| Strange temple filled with plates and pots, Chobhar |
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| Footprints, Chobhar |
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| Snack on our village walk, Chobhar |
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| Sun's out!! Chobhar |
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| Village man, Chobhar |
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| 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.
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| Another temple in ruins, awaiting renovation, Kirtipur |
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| Beautiful temple, Kirtipur |
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| Kirtipur window |
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| 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.
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| Butter lamps in Kathmandu |
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| Detail of a carving on a Kathmandu temple |
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| All seeing, Kathmandu |
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| Temple scene, Kathmandu |
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| Holy man, Kathmandu |
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| Giant prayer wheel, Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu |
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| 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!!
