You can tell as soon as you get to the customs line at the Kathmandu airport that the tourists in Nepal are a different breed than those in India. There were no flower children to be found in the group of NorthFace, hiking boot clad men and women we stood behind as we waited for our visas. This trend continued when our taxi dropped us off at the Kathmandu Guest House, where there were a group of people sitting around a table discussing rock climbing gear as we checked in. Most people have come to do the multi-day treks or extreme sports that Nepal has to offer. I feel a little out of place since we have a one day trek planned, but other than that we are spending most of our time exploring Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Chitwan National Park. This itinerary even seems a little ambitious for our ten day trip after two main obstacles have arisen - Dasain, and the unpredictability of road travel in Nepal. Dasain is one of the largest Hindu festivals in Nepal, and since the country is overwhelmingly Hindu, almost everything is shut down as people take off work and travel to their native villages. This has gotten in the way of booking buses but makes walking around Kathmandu a very interesting experience.
The first day we woke up early and watched the presidential debates in our swanky hotel that actually had a television. (Go Obama!). Then we headed out to try and visit the Kathmandu Durbar Square and the Patan Durbar square. These were the centers of two of the three Nawari Kingdoms so each one had a palace and several ornate temples for various gods set up by the rulers over the years. Because it was Dasain this is also where people were congregating to pay their respects to the various Hindu idols in each temple. In fact all through the city there are small temples and shrines where people were making the rounds with their family members to present their god of choice with rice, grass, papad, and color. Color is a brightly died chalk like substance that is splattered on the idol's statue and around. This color was also added to the papad (crispy flatbread) and bright pink food could be seen strewn in the streets and piled in front of the statues.
In Durbar Square there were more offerings taking place. People were waiting outside of the main temple in a line that stretched across the square to pay their respects and witness the sacrificing of two hundred water buffalo, or that's what we were told. I'm not sure this number is accurate but the headless water buffalo calf that rolled by us in a cycle rickshaw. Further down a blood strewn statue to a hindu god also proved that there were animals who had given there lives to make ganesh, parvati, pashpuhtanath, or whatever manifestation of god happy. After this appatizing site we decided to remove ourselves to a rooftop restaraunt for lunch. From there we were able to take in the other major event going on for Dasain, kite flying. Most of the roves in Kathmandu are flat and everyone takes advantage of this on their day off for kite fighting. Small children could be seen running down the street clutching kites everywhere. At the second Durbar Square that afternoon it was pretty much the same story but less traffic and more erotic woodcarvings. Kara and I hung around in the Palace courtyard to watch one of these water buffalo have its head lobbed off, although I chose to just sit to the side when everyone crowded around the doomed animal. It was interesting to people watch since everyone and there family was out for the day flying kites, visiting shrines, or watching animals have their heads removed. Honestly what better way to bond with the family?
The following day we visited Pushphathanath and Bodhnath, the largest Hindu and Buddhist temples respectively. Pushphatanath is the site of the cremation ghats and the funeral pires are clearly visible for everyone to see as they walk around the temples. It was really eerie knowing that the smoke I could smell was coming from burning bodies. Because of the religious significance of the temple the place is littered with Sadhus, Hindu holy men who have given up all worldly possessions in their quest for enlightenment. They are housed in temples and practice yoga and meditation, but their dreads and layers of prayer beads make them quite photogenic. However, these men charge a lot more than one would expect of someone who has given up worldly good, and the willingness of some to pose with their beards held in the air in comical positions for 50 Rupees leads me to think that some may have further to go to reach enlightenment than others.
After two days in Kathmandu we hopped a bus to Pokhara in the west. Our bus rides in India have generally been less than comfortable so we did not have high hopes for this ride. However, we were quite surprised to find our bus was actually clean and thanks to the cooler temperature and lack of choking exhaust fumes (well at least less than India) the journey was quite pleasant. We even stopped for a bathroom and snack break at a nice restaurant. In India the bathrooms on bus rides were dirty enough that i think I could have caught a flying mutant parasite just from squatting over the toilet. Anyways, Nepal buses are great, but we hit a slight rough patch at about 10:45. Our bus ground to a halt in a line of vehicles, and when we peered out the window we noticed that the line continued along the highway as far as we could see. Taking a cue from the passengers on other buses we hopped out and began to walk down toward the cause of the delay. all along the road people had gotten out of their buses and were playing cards or enjoying an early lunch. A few chat and ice cream wallahs had even set up shop along the road, indicating that we might be here for a while.We went for a good mile before we finally found the source of the delay. There was a large Lori parked across the road and large rocks positioned behind that. Further along the road ran through a town's central market, but all the shops were closed and any vehicles we saw were sitting idol in the center of the road. After asking a few people we found out that the town was protesting the death of a local boy who had been hit by a bus. The family wanted the police to return his body and wanted repatriation payments for his death. Until the demands were met the town was shutting down the main intersection that was the only route to Pokhara. In the center of town we found the bus that started the problem. It had its windows smashed in and riot police were sitting nearby idly waiting for instruction should things escalate. Deciding it might not be best to stick around we headed back to our bus after finding a stall down an alley way that would sell us bananas when no one was looking (technically all the businesses were closed but the owners would still supply you with food and water if you weren't too obvious). It was two more hours after we got back to the bus, four hours total, before the blocks were removed and we continued on our way.
The first day we woke up early and watched the presidential debates in our swanky hotel that actually had a television. (Go Obama!). Then we headed out to try and visit the Kathmandu Durbar Square and the Patan Durbar square. These were the centers of two of the three Nawari Kingdoms so each one had a palace and several ornate temples for various gods set up by the rulers over the years. Because it was Dasain this is also where people were congregating to pay their respects to the various Hindu idols in each temple. In fact all through the city there are small temples and shrines where people were making the rounds with their family members to present their god of choice with rice, grass, papad, and color. Color is a brightly died chalk like substance that is splattered on the idol's statue and around. This color was also added to the papad (crispy flatbread) and bright pink food could be seen strewn in the streets and piled in front of the statues.
In Durbar Square there were more offerings taking place. People were waiting outside of the main temple in a line that stretched across the square to pay their respects and witness the sacrificing of two hundred water buffalo, or that's what we were told. I'm not sure this number is accurate but the headless water buffalo calf that rolled by us in a cycle rickshaw. Further down a blood strewn statue to a hindu god also proved that there were animals who had given there lives to make ganesh, parvati, pashpuhtanath, or whatever manifestation of god happy. After this appatizing site we decided to remove ourselves to a rooftop restaraunt for lunch. From there we were able to take in the other major event going on for Dasain, kite flying. Most of the roves in Kathmandu are flat and everyone takes advantage of this on their day off for kite fighting. Small children could be seen running down the street clutching kites everywhere. At the second Durbar Square that afternoon it was pretty much the same story but less traffic and more erotic woodcarvings. Kara and I hung around in the Palace courtyard to watch one of these water buffalo have its head lobbed off, although I chose to just sit to the side when everyone crowded around the doomed animal. It was interesting to people watch since everyone and there family was out for the day flying kites, visiting shrines, or watching animals have their heads removed. Honestly what better way to bond with the family?
The following day we visited Pushphathanath and Bodhnath, the largest Hindu and Buddhist temples respectively. Pushphatanath is the site of the cremation ghats and the funeral pires are clearly visible for everyone to see as they walk around the temples. It was really eerie knowing that the smoke I could smell was coming from burning bodies. Because of the religious significance of the temple the place is littered with Sadhus, Hindu holy men who have given up all worldly possessions in their quest for enlightenment. They are housed in temples and practice yoga and meditation, but their dreads and layers of prayer beads make them quite photogenic. However, these men charge a lot more than one would expect of someone who has given up worldly good, and the willingness of some to pose with their beards held in the air in comical positions for 50 Rupees leads me to think that some may have further to go to reach enlightenment than others.
After two days in Kathmandu we hopped a bus to Pokhara in the west. Our bus rides in India have generally been less than comfortable so we did not have high hopes for this ride. However, we were quite surprised to find our bus was actually clean and thanks to the cooler temperature and lack of choking exhaust fumes (well at least less than India) the journey was quite pleasant. We even stopped for a bathroom and snack break at a nice restaurant. In India the bathrooms on bus rides were dirty enough that i think I could have caught a flying mutant parasite just from squatting over the toilet. Anyways, Nepal buses are great, but we hit a slight rough patch at about 10:45. Our bus ground to a halt in a line of vehicles, and when we peered out the window we noticed that the line continued along the highway as far as we could see. Taking a cue from the passengers on other buses we hopped out and began to walk down toward the cause of the delay. all along the road people had gotten out of their buses and were playing cards or enjoying an early lunch. A few chat and ice cream wallahs had even set up shop along the road, indicating that we might be here for a while.We went for a good mile before we finally found the source of the delay. There was a large Lori parked across the road and large rocks positioned behind that. Further along the road ran through a town's central market, but all the shops were closed and any vehicles we saw were sitting idol in the center of the road. After asking a few people we found out that the town was protesting the death of a local boy who had been hit by a bus. The family wanted the police to return his body and wanted repatriation payments for his death. Until the demands were met the town was shutting down the main intersection that was the only route to Pokhara. In the center of town we found the bus that started the problem. It had its windows smashed in and riot police were sitting nearby idly waiting for instruction should things escalate. Deciding it might not be best to stick around we headed back to our bus after finding a stall down an alley way that would sell us bananas when no one was looking (technically all the businesses were closed but the owners would still supply you with food and water if you weren't too obvious). It was two more hours after we got back to the bus, four hours total, before the blocks were removed and we continued on our way.
3 comments:
It's such a pleasure to read your posts. Thanks for taking the time to write about all the details; it's fascinating.
Love,
Mom
I like them more and read them more often.
Dad
Wow Julia, it sounds like things are really going well. I am always pleased to "tune in" and catch up. I hope you are taking lots of pictures as I look forward to seeing them when you return.
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