So we survived the bus journey and somehow managed to find a place to stay in the Thamel area of Kathmandu, the hub of all things backpacker. Through the wonderful medium of technology that is the internet, we discover that Adam and Alicia have arrived in Kathmandu at pretty much the same time after their trek to Everest base camp, so we arrange to meet up the next day to explore.
The next morning, Thamel is in full flow. The streets are narrow with no pavement, the traffic is always busy, a mixture of cars, motorcycles and rickshaws each try and squeeze through the gaps between pedestrians, who in turn are trying to avoid hawkers selling anything from Tiger Balm to Gurkha daggers to opium. The air pollution is pretty bad, you can actually taste the exhaust fumes in the air and this is not helped by the fact we have somehow picked up heavy colds. We find Adam & Alicia and set off on a ‘walking tour’ of Kathmandu, ably assisted by the Lonely Planet. The architecture of the surrounding buildings is almost ramshackle, reminiscent of Tudor style buildings back home with the first floor projecting out above the ground floor, they are clearly very old and craftsmanship of the timber fret work around the windows and doors is very high. We walk past numerous temples, both Hindu and Buddhist and after a few wrong turns, finally arrive in Durbar Square.
The streets of Kathmandu
Buddhist Prayer Wheels
Buddha Eyes are watching you!!
Durbar Square is home to around 50 temples and the royal palace of the Malla kings, most of the architecture dating somewhere between the 14th and 16th centuries, so there is a lot to take in. We wander into the Kumari Ghar, a palace that is home to the Living Goddess (Kumari). The Hindus believe that the Kumari is the manifestation of divine female energy and the bodily incarnation of Durga. The selection process for the Kumari involves a series of tests for pre-pubescent girls (the current one was selected aged 4), they only come from a certain caste, have specific physical attributes and as one of the final tests, must sit in a temple that has the heads of 108 slaughtered goats and buffalo, while men in masks dance round trying to scare them. The Kumari is worshipped as a Goddess until the time she begins menstruation, when it is believed the Goddess vacates her body and she returns to common status. Unfortunately for us, the Kumari doesn’t put in an appearance while we are there.
Kumari Palace
Temples, Cows and Pigeons, Durbar Square
The next morning, we meet up with our Kiwi friends again and after some serious negotiations with taxi drivers (our Lonely Planet was way off the mark with the suggested taxi fare), we head to Bhaktapur, a large town about 30 minutes outside of Kathmandu. The road to Bhaktapur is in the process of being widened, so for 50% of the journey we were on smooth new tarmac, with the other 50% of the time being on the crushed concrete sub-base. The main issue was the level of pollution, which had made us all feel nauseous and/or light headed by the time we reached our destination.
Bhaktapur also has a Durbar Square, similar to that of Kathmandu, however the buildings are better preserved and also has the advantage of having no traffic. The temples are once again numerous (both Hindu and Buddhist) and some also contain timber carvings of the Karma Sutra, not dissimilar to those we saw in Khajuharo in India. The streets were narrow and we once again got lost among the small shops and alleyways of the old town, selling anything from dried fish to puppets. We even stumbled across the set of a Bollywood production in one of the squares.
Durbar Square, Bhaktapur
One of the many temples
Artwork on a building
Actors in the Bollywood Production
Our original plan was to head to Tibet from Kathmandu, but due to various reasons (the Chinese government cancelling our $300 visa’s and making us re-apply for a new one when we left Tibet being one) meant that we had to change our plans. So instead, we booked a flight to Beijing, via Hong Kong that left a few extra days in the city. Fortunately for us, Adam and Alicia were also in town for a few more days. so most of our time in Kathmandu was been spent soaking up the atmosphere in bars, cafes and restaurants, watching the madness of the outside world pass by.
- Mark ‘Free Tibet’ Cleverly
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