A Journey to Nepal – part 1, Kathmandu Valley

This is the first blog post I ever wrote. I used to have it hosted on a friend’s site, but it went offline after a few years. I’ve decided to resurrect this post on my own blog. In doing so, I reformatted from plain HTML to WordPress. The images are scanned slides (Fuji Sensia).

In the fall of 2001 I spent two months traveling in Nepal, mainly in the mount Everest area. This photo essay shows some of the things I saw and experienced on my journey.

I love mountains and I spend much of my free time roaming around the Rockies here in Canada, but for years I had wanted to go see the Himalayas. I kept hearing from friends and people I met about the awesome trail and hut system, the friendly people, the amazing scenery and the fascinating culture that Nepal has to offer. Then, in the summer of 2001, I negotiated a leave of absence from work and bought myself an airplane ticket.

This was not going to be another fast-paced trip, trying to cover as much ground and seeing as much sights as possible in as short a period of time, like most of my previous travels. I found a guidebook on trekking in Nepal, picked out the longest trek in the Everest area, and took the time estimate to complete the trek and multiplied it by two. I wanted to walk to Everest through the Middle Hills, take my time, get acclimatized slowly, and then spend some time checking out the high country in the Everest area. Then I wanted to walk back out to the road in eastern Nepal.

Through friends I got a hold of the wonderful folks at Himalayan Ecological Trekking, who set me up with Nara, my guide/porter for the duration of the journey. He’s a soft spoken, hard working and thoroughly dependable guy. We got along just great. We met in Kathmandu, and after a few days of sightseeing there, off to the hills we went.

Temples of Kathmandu

The Kathmandu valley is nestled in a valley in the foothills of the Himalayas. Many people complain how the arrival of motorized vehicles has transformed this pastoral little mecca into a dirty, noisy, polluted metropolis plagued by severe poverty. This may be true, but Kathmandu is a fascinating, shocking, beautiful, intriguing place to visit. People’s lives happen on the street instead of behind closed doors. Pilgrims converge on temples that are some of the most important in the Hindu and Buddhist faiths. Kids harass tourists continuously, trying to sell tiger balm, miniature violins, or ganja. In the tourist district of Thamel, the streets are lined with shops selling hackeysacks, statues, bongs, jewellery, hippie clothes, tacky T-shirts and Kurkris (Nepali curved knives) to their groovy clientele. Fierce competition among shopkeepers means clever sales tactics and low prices – if you know how to get a good bargain.

Drivers of cars and rickshaws (motorized or pedal driven), people, chickens, bicycles and cows compete for space in the streets. Drivers honk their horns and ring their bells at every opportunity, not out of anger or impatience, but it simply means: Beep Beep, here I come. There are no sidewalks so you have to watch out when you step out of a doorway. Few streets are paved, and the muck and filth on the streets is indescribable. Lepers with missing digits and disfigured limbs writhe in this filth, trying to extract a few rupees from passers-by.

Some people suggest avoiding the human chaos and smoky, smoggy air, and to head directly for the pristine hills. But it is hard not to spend some checking out this fascinating place.

The steps of Swayambunath

The Buddhist temple of Swayambunath sits on a hilltop overlooking the Kathmandu valley. It is also called the Monkey temple by tourists who can’t pronounce Swayambunath because of the many rhesus monkeys that run around here. The monkeys like to swing from the many strands of colorful prayer flags that flap in the breeze at the temple grounds. They also try to steal any food that people bring.

Buddha eyes, Swayambunath.

Prayer flags decorate the central stupa at Swayambunath. The question mark between Buddha’s all-seeing eyes is not a nose. It is the Nepali number 1, and it signifies unity and oneness.

Vendors near the gates of Pashupatinath.

Just outside the main Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, vendors sell garlands of marigolds, prayer beads and flower petals to the faithful that make a pilgrimage to this important shrine dedicated to Shiva. The main temple is off-limits to non-Hindus.

Dye powders.

Vendors sell dye powders to worshipers visiting Pashupatinath. The powders are used to sprinkle on idols and to make a tikka on the forehead.

Sadhu.

I came across this gentleman in a niche near the Hindu temple of Pashupatinath. He is a Sadhu, a holy man. The look on his face was one of serenity and wisdom, and his eyes seemed to look right through me. It was an eerie feeling. He reluctantly agreed to let me take his picture.

Funeral gaths, Pashupatinath.

Two funeral ceremonies are underway at the gaths near the Pashupatinath temple. When the the pyres have finished burning, the ashes are swept into the Bagmati River.

Durbar Square.

Durbar square is a collection of Pagoda-roofed temples that surround a royal palace in central Kathmandu. Most temples here are not currently used for worship. Many of the temples are hundreds of years old, and some are in quite poor shape; the brickwork is crumbling and weeds grow on the roofs. The occasional earthquake doesn’t help either. But this decay gives Durbar square a special rustic character. The pedestals that the temples are built on are good places to sit and observe life on the streets of Kathmandu.

Legume market, Durbar Square.

On the steps of one of the temples, a vendor sells beans and spices. These are used to make Dal Bhat, Nepal’s ubiquitous dish of rice and lentil soup. Orders are weighed on a traditional set of scales.

Morning prayers at Bodhnath.

Buddhist faithful prostrate themselves and spin prayer wheels at the base of the Bodhnath stupa. At the adjacent gompa (monastery) a toothless old lady was furiously pacing around a huge prayer wheel, and she gave me a big grin each time she came around. There was much tinkling of bells, clashing of cymbals, incense smoke and murmured prayers coming from elsewhere inside the gompa.

Buddhist monk.

An elderly monk attends prayer wheels at Bodnath monastery.

Baktapur: roof struts and clay pots.

The city of Baktapur adjoins Kathmandu. Together with Patan, these three cities once formed the captials of three city states within the Kathmandu valley. Each city has its own palace and Durbar (temple) square. Baktapur’s Durbar square was recently restored through efforts by the Germans. Although admission is very expensive by Nepali standards, it is certainly worth a visit.

Changi Narayan.

The Hindu temple of Changi Narayan is located just outside of Baktapur. The present structure is ‘only’ a few hundred years old, but some stones in this temple date back to 323 AD. In other words, this site has been a place of worship for almost 1700 years, and continues to be very active today.

Receiving the tikka.
These women are giving each other a tikka on the forehead. The day I visited Changi Narayan it was a full moon – an auspicious occasion for Hindus to visit this temple, according to my guide Nara.

Temple door, Baktapur.

Intricate carvings on a wooden temple door, Durbar Square, Baktapur.

Erotic roof strut.

Baktapur is famous for these. You have to look way up to see them. Their origin is shrouded in mystery, but the most popular explanation is that the goddess of lightning is a virgin, and she would never strike a building with scenes like those depicted here. I’m not sure whether they actually repel lightning, but they certainly do attract tourists.