Namaste Kathmandu

5/9-5/10

First things first, the American Embassy. I had met a tour organizer, Bikram, who helped me get around. Originally, he tried to convince me to book a tour with him. Later, I learned that he was looking for a business partner or even someone to help in with his site. I offered to do the latter, started, but I think he thought better of it. I obviously don't go well with business since travelling shouldn't be about the money. I'm glad he was honest with me with the prices in the end (for the most part), for his advice for going around Kathmandu, and for introducing me to another Naruto fanatic from the French part of Switzerland, Elian.



Kathmandu Darbar Square

Elian accompanied me the rest of the day and the next to Darbar Square, Monkey Temple, Pashupatinats Hindu Temple, and Nagarkot. Darbar Square, also known as Freakish Street in the 1970s, seemed like the heart of the city. As we walked out of the square, we walked along the river. Now this river was shocking. It wasn't just an unpleasant feast for the eyes; the smell was enough to make your lungs collapse. Here I thought Kathmandu was cleaner than other Asian cities as I watched the shopkeepers vigorously sweeping the streets and splashing water to settle the dust. Boy was I fooled. All the trash gets funneled to the river where many people still fish, and water buffalo and birds still feed. Poverty, pollution, corruption, and trash...so many issues to deal with.

At the Monkey Temple, I had to deal with more mosquitoes. As I stood very still for a long exposure shot, my elbows got chewed. So sad since the picture didn't come out anyways. Elian pinched me but still laughed on calling me his bug repellant (probably the fourth time I've been crowed that vehement title). If you wish to see interesting interactions between monkeys and stray dogs, be sure to put this temple on your bucket list Oh yeah, another issue for Asian countries, stray animals.

The next day, we hired a scooter and went to two of the four planned places. Besides starting late, we stopped every 20 minutes or less to ask for directions (road signs are next to non-existent here). At Pashupatinats, the largest Hindu temple in Nepal, we witnessed endless cremations. The corpse was blessed, washed (feet and mouth), redressed in white and orange (symbolizing purity and holiness), old clothes tossed into river, blessed and set alight from the mouth. If you would like to know about the long process, click here.

The family going around the cremation site three times before setting the body down to be set on fire.

We also met two different types of Sardu's. The first ones were colorfully painted, sitting there waiting for you to pay them to take pictures. The second was still learning to become Sardu, devoting every day to learning the way. He called the first ones fictitious, or their appearance is that of a Sardu but if you peel the exterior, the interior is not. As our guide around the temple put it, Nepal has three main religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Tourism. Many of the citizens have adopted the last one to fund their material desires.

Already running low on time to catch the sunset at Nagakot, we headed straight there. However, mistaking the sunset to be around six, we sat down for a late lunch after arriving at five. When we finished our meal, a local corrected us. Our only consolation was that the skies were cloudy anyways. The promised view of the mountain ranges were not visible that day either. On a clear day, it would have been an jaw-dropping view. Oh well, c'est la vie.