Nepal – Part 2

Nepal seems so long ago, but I do want to write it down before it gets any foggier in my mind. The second day we were in Kathmandu we had to get up at an unreasonably early hour in order to be ready for our mountain flight. None of us slept well ... partly because it was so cold, and partly because we were afraid of oversleeping (in spite of ordering a wake-up call). However, the morning was foggy and at 6 Thaman called to say we should have breakfast and he would call again at 6:30. No restaurant was open, so we stayed in the room and shivered. At 6:30 we decided we should call again at 7; by this time the hotel (outdoor) restaurant was open, so we ordered hot drinks. Yumm ... Nepali tea! After one more call to Thaman, who had called the airport several times by now, we went back, ate breakfast and grabbed a cab to the domestic airport. Unfortunately, we took a cab from the hotel and we were halfway down the block by the time I realized we weren’t on a meter and that the ride would cost 300 rupees more than it should have Owell ... a $5 rip off didn’t kill us and if that was my worst mistake of the day ... not too shabby! Once at the airport we were frisked a few times and waited until 9:30 and boarded a Yeti Airlines flight to see the Himalayas and Mt Everest, or Sagarmatha – the Goddess of the Sky. There was a small group of 15 or so on the plane and we all had window seats. The mountains quickly appeared and were truly spectacular ... very surreal. It really seemed as if they could be a great backdrop in the sky. We were so happy Lalit and Thaman were with us. Lalit, as a trekking guide, had trekked near some of the mountains and was able to tell me that some of the mountains may not be climbed, as they are considered holy. I was somehow very pleased to know that. When we landed, no one moved ... it was the only flight I have ever been on where folks weren’t in a rush to get off. We really enjoyed it, although it seemed over in a flash, instead of almost an hour.
That day we went to Kathmandu’s Durbar Square, one of three royal palace squares in Kathmandu Valley, This square is where a very significant massacre occurred in 1846 that initiated the rule of the Ranas . Durbar Square is a cluster of palaces and temples and we saw several babas or Hindu holy men who spend time there. We explored the Kumari Bahal, the palace of a young girl who is worshipped as a living goddess. She is usually installed when she is 3 or 4 and her reign is over by the time she reaches puberty. I remembered reading about the selection of the newest Kumari just after we got here, but we did not see her.

We finished the day with a stop at the Garden of Dreams, a restored private garden of a former important official. The walled garden was locked and remained untended for 50 or 60 years and has just recently been reopened. Right out of the Secret Garden!
The third day we went to Bakhtapur, a Newari town and former capital, and Lalit’s 6-year old daughter, Jessica, came with us. She was silent as could be sitting on Errol’s lap while in the taxi ride. The ride was very long and difficult, as there were demonstrations protesting the extension of poweoutage from 8 to 12 hours per day. We also passed a human rights march, so it seems there was a lot happening. If it weren’t for Thaman filing us in, we all would have remained oblivious!

Bhaktipur is one of the three main towns in Kathmandu Valley and also has a Durbar Square, dominated by the 55-Window Palace. We visited the National Art Gallery and various temples and shrines and walked down alleyways and narrow streets. So interesting!
The place was alive with kids on school trips and seems to be a thriving town of artisans and craftspeople that may have some commerce beyond tourism. However, as always we were approached by kids to engage us in conversation and displayed their knowledge of Canada ... and eventually wanted to take us to a thangka painting school where very intricate mandala and Buddha paintings are created. One of the managers described the process of painting the thangkas and showed us some of the more modern methods as well. In the end we really enjoyed his explanation but did not purchase a painting. They were very lovely, however.
More traffic difficulties resulted in our not being able to see any other places and the day ended with Thaman and Lalit taking us to a typical Nepali restaurant where I finally got to eat dal baat! Such a great meal. As always we appreciated being able to spend time with Thaman and Lalit. I should say Cait gave me a flickr account for Christmas, so I have put all my pictures from Nepal there. We went to bed excited about the next day, when Cait and I were going to finish shopping and then we would all visit Sonrisa, the orphanage Thaman is involved in. Those accounts will have to wait for the next instalment!