Nepal

Mandatory picture of Mt Everest/Annapurna

To me this is a Dr. Seuss kind of place, full of its own contradictions. Some major streets that are so narrow they cannot take two cars side by side below visions of the biggest mountains in the world. Quirky electric, charming people, poor people presenting their best face. Nepal, like India is 80% Hindu but the other 10% is Buddhist, while in India they are only 1%. And because of this makeup and the lower density it is a calmer place. And its in the mountains. We were blessed with a clear day coming in and could clearly see Annapurna (Mt. Everest). Also 8 of the 10 highest peaks in the world are here. But here in the Kathmandu valley it is warm enough to need air conditioning. We have seen remarkable electrical wiring in Viet Nam and India but here the lines drag down near the ground and you have to walk around them. I understand that in some poor countries 15%+ of the electricity is stolen. I wondered how this could be, just follow the line. That would take serious determination here and just as a tap is located and removed, 100 feet behind you another would being put in place. We are staying in the high end part of town, line of sight to the former Kings Palace (now a museum after the Maoist revolution). The street is sort of their Rodeo Drive, but even though there isn’t an obvious system wide power failure each shop has a small generator chugging away. Nobody notices.

Generators

 

 The Maoist are in charge and doing some very capitalist things like removing squatters. Over the last 50+ years people extended their homes into the street area until most roads were barely two cars wide. These were the major roads. So now the government is pushing back and removing the structures to restore road width and improve sewers. This means that major parts of town are now only one lane as the deconstruction process continues. The main road to the airport was one of these.  At one point our driver had to drive over a pile of dirt to proceed. Hope they get this done before the rainy season.

Building deconstruction/road widening

Nepal is proving to be an unexpectedly fascinating place. It is dirt poor, poorer than India, a working person may make $300 a month. Yet the place is vibrant. Everyone is on their cell phone hustling for a living. The ancient is mixed into contemporary life. While the Indian Moguls sacked the town they could not hold the country so it has a history of not being conquered.

Exploring Kathmandu

We are about to learn a lot about the history here. We visit the  Swayambhunath temple which has been used continuously for 2,500 years. We see the famous stupa with painted eyes on all four sides, to see everything, like the all seeing eye. The temple is about as old as Buddhism itself.

The eyes have it

We visit Durbar Square, a complex of palaces, courtyards and temples built from the 1200s, seat of the ancient kings.

Amazing palace, one of three in the city

We have lunch at a roof top restaurant overlooking the square. On to Pashupatinath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the most sacred Hindu shrines in the world. Non-Hindus are not allowed inside the walls but we see the temple roof gilded in gold and observe ritual cremations in process on the river that leads to the Ganges.

outside pillars

inside pillars

The final part of the days explorations focuses on the Tibetan area of the city.  This area always had a Tibetan population from medieval trading days but after 1959 about 100,000 Tibetans fled Tibet  and settled there. They had no source of income so the king allowed them to sell thankas and religious paintings. Previously it was illegal to sell any such items in the country whether antique or new. This has resulted in an artistic community and art schools producing prodigious amounts of sacred paintings many of which would look great in our home. The community continues to perform their ancient rites, hundreds are circumambulating the stupa, spinning prayer wheels, chanting, burning incense. A number of the monks are western and languages from around the world are heard. We sit in an espresso bar watching monks check the internet with their ipods.