Naturally Nepal

Nepal. We had high hopes for Nepal because my mom and Dan had been there three days previous and it was their favorite place. And it was mostly just exciting to get a break from India, to be in a new country! We were whisked from the airport by a taxi that looked more like a metal death trap than anything and proceeded to bump along the unpaved roads leading into the main city. We didn't need to ask, to know that we'd reached Thamel. A main back packer's haunt, it was like the streets of Pahar Ganj plus the streets of McLeod Ganj mixed together on more narrow, more congested streets. A shopper's dream. We arrived too late to make a day of it, so we had a little look around to get ourselves oriented and then headed to dinner. Fabulous dinner options here are endless. Every ten feet is a cute outdoor courtyard cafe complete with mood lighting and potted plants. I had a feeling our meals for the next few days would be highly satisfying. (Unfortunately a stomach bug on my part prevented me from taking full advantage of the atmospheric joints.) In our hotel, we quickly came to learn that power outages are the norm, so we got used to taking up in four flights to our room in total darkness...yet somehow the wifi still worked?

We knew our time in Nepal would fly by, so we decided to take a half day car to speed up the sight seeing process. Our attempts to start nice and early were thwarted by a student protest, all of the roads were closed. Our driver told us to come back at noon and maybe the roads would be open by then. So we moseyed along the bustling streets, buying a lot more than we should. The difference between here and India was striking. The shopkeepers still urge you to enter their shop and look at their goods, but when you say "no thank you" they respond with "ok have a nice day" and you don't feel their eyes following you for the next 20 meters. So, even though the streets are more hectic and congested it was less draining and overwhelming than anywhere in India. That held true even at the local market that we visited later that day.

At noon we returned to the driver only to learn that the roads were still blocked. With a new meet time of 3pm, we decided to try our luck walking to Durbar Square, home of the living deity. We had no guarantee that 3pm would prove fruitful and we couldn't afford to have an entire day go to waste with so many things to see! We stopped for lunch first at a little Tibetan restaurant where we enjoyed momos and thukpa. The switch from Indian to Nepalese rupees has been very difficult. I saw the prices and was outraged at the cost of momos, but after converting to Nepalese rupees, they were a steal. We didn't actually enter Durbar Square because it cost a lot of money (even by US standards) but we could see a lot from the outer edges. The living deity is a girl picked at a young age as the a living incarnation of a god. She leads a very lonely life and once she reaches puberty, she is discarded. It is considered bad luck to be involved with, or married to a former living deity so she is virtually guaranteed a solitary life.

We did end up making it to some temples because by 3pm the roads were open! We started at the monkey temple. It was the less impressive of the two but still very cool. It is located on a hill overlooking the Kathmandu valley. Despite the view being a little hazy, it was impressive how large Kathmandu actually spans. One thing that was a little disappointing was the number of tourist shops that were inside the monkey temple complex. There were so many shops, I can't even believe that there's a market for so many items up there! It kind of ruined the feel though and in my opinion made the temple pale in comparison. The Boudhanath temple had many tourist shops as well, but they almost added to the feel of the place rather than diminishing it. For one, the temple itself is much bigger and feels mo impressive when surrounded by tiny buildings. The buildings themselves, had ornately carved windows and doors giving off the impression that it could be a section of Epcot. People walk clockwise around the temple and it gives the sense of a mass migration. In a way, it is. Boudhanath is the one of the most important Buddhist temples in the world and is the top pilgrimage site for Buddhists.

The story of how the temple came into being is very interesting. It is a very old temple (and the biggest stupa in the world) and is dated around 400-700. Dates and stories differ but my favorite that I heard involved a poultry woman. She wanted to spend her life savings to build a temple to honor the Buddha. When she petitioned to the king, he granted permission provided it spanned no more than the area of a buffalo skin. The woman, wanting a large monument, cut up the skin into strips and encircled an area that enclosed the massive stupa today. The king refused to go back on his word, despite outrage from his officials and thus the stupa came into being.

We watched the sun set from one of the surrounding rooftop cafes and then descended down at dusk to join the mass of people traveling in a clockwise direction. Dawn and dusk are popular worship times because these are times when praying is said to be most effective.


The next day we decided to get an early start and head to Nagarkot. Nagarkot is in the Bhaktapur district and is one of the best places (near to Kathmandu) to view the Himalayas. On a clear day you can even see Mt. Everest! After a bumpy but scenic ride steadily uphill, we reached the town. The town itself was nothing spectacular just a few run down restaurants and many hotels. The view once you walked outside the town however was stunning. There really is nothing like snow capped mountains. And while it wasn't clear enough to see Everest, the mountain range itself is enough to take your breath away. I found myself frustrated all day that pictures cannot do it justice at all. So I suppose it will have to remain in my mind and I can show you second rate pictures. But know that they pale in comparison. We walked along the downhill road where the Himalayas were visible. Unfortunately I was having tummy problems so once the road no longer had views of the mountain I returned back to town where I had access to constant bathrooms. Alexis went on to discover a cool local village but met me back in town soon after.

We headed to Peaceful Cottages. It is said to have the best view of the mountains in all of Nagarkot. Their roof is the tallest point of the town and allows for a 360 degree view with the Himalayas on one side and the Kathmandu valley on the other. Needless to say our afternoon was spectacular. We watched the sun go down over the Himalayas while reading J.R.R Tolkein on Valentines Day. Right as the sun went down we went back up to the now windy roof and watched as the last pink light hit the snow peaks. We then completed our day back in Kathmandu at the Jesse James bar where we enjoyed the beers and rum and cokes that are so hard to find in India.


Not much exciting happened the next day. We packed a lot into our three day excursion to Nepal and that included shopping. We spent the day split between high stress bargaining and relaxing at atmospheric cafes. The night was my favorite as we spent it at the hookah bar. We watched people get drunk and go to clubs from our cosy corner in the rooftop bar and smoked hookah all the while. There was a live band playing classic American rocks songs such as Born to Be Wild and Smoke on the Water.

Our time in Nepal was a nice break from India. It gave us time to regroup and relax. There were not as many stares and wee weren't hassled nearly as much, it was refreshing. And of course now we're back in India where our first smells were of urine and shit and there was garbage everywhere. Incredible India. We're back.

Cheers,
Liz