Kathmandu

Differences noticed by Rob

Coming back to Kathmandu was a lot like coming home, but to a place where all the chairs have been moved around a little bit.  The first place I could notice a change was at the airport, where we did not have to battle to keep hold of our bags, find an ATM (admittedly the ATM was either out of money or without power - so not much has changed there).  My Nepali language skills were extremely rusty but I managed to convey to our driver that I wasn't a "regular" tourist, I had actually lived here before (I think this was more important to me than to him).

Our ride to our hotel was punctuated by me attesting to Kat "I used to work there", "wait, I have no idea where we are" to "oh, now I know" to "I don't remember there being this much/this little traffic".  Truly, I spent that ride taking in the smells, the sounds and the feeling of being back in Nepal.

Taxis - don't pull the lever

Before long I showed Kat along the road, eager to revisit Lazimpat (my old neighbourhood) and introduce her to my friend Gunga who owns a teashop there, and even hopefully to eat at Katherine (Ensler's) and my old Lazimpatian haunt the "LGC" (Lazimpat Gallery Cafe).  The whole area has changed a great deal and I could not even identify where the LGC used to be.  What used to be a bustling 2 lane main road with a giant hole in place of a sewerage access point is now what appears to be a 4 lane highway through to the northern part of the ring road.  The businesses on either side are shiny and even flashy, with bakeries sporting espresso machines and fancy new signs.  The road down to the Radisson and Katherine's old house is also newly paved.  My old apartment building still seems to exist, but hidden behind a development or two that initially led me to believe it had been knocked down. There was no trace of the old local rubbish tip where garbage was left for up to a week until magically carried away in the dark of night.

The longer we spent there, the faster the Nepali words and inflections came back to me, it is remarkable how much more comfortable I felt in Nepal because I had some of the language skills to navigate the place, as compared with Malaysia or Vietnam.  With Malaysia, there's a tendency to feel pretty comfortable because most things and people behave the way an Australian would probably expect them to and for a large part, you can fall back on English.  In Nepal, even when there is a good smattering of English, having a phrase here or there can really turn things in your favour (with the exception of the bike incident). 

Politically, not a great deal has changed, at least on the surface.  There is no constitution, what was to be the priority of government outlined during my time there.  The people in many regions are still plagues by power outages and a lack of essential infrastructure.  However, change moves slowly, and having had 7 years away, you can see some things here and there that give you hope.  Street kids were not to be seen anywhere we went in Kathmandu - I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing, as they had to go somewhere...

Mr Dahal (also known as "Prachanda the Fierce") is still yelling and shouting whenever you turn on the TV.  I have no doubt that his popularity has waned in the years since I left.  Having fought and "won" an insurgency that he started in 1996, he rose to power while abolishing the monarchy with astounding popularity (August 2008) and then gave it up in a tantrum (May 2009), all in the time I lived there.  All my memories of seeing him or hearing about him were of a man with strong conviction but a fierce temper; although he is no longer Prime Minister, it seems both are still with him.

Kat's first impressions
It was great to see some of the places Rob had told me so much about. (Even if everywhere we walked was either half or double as long as Rob remembered!) I enjoyed seeing him excited at being back and was enthusiastic about putting a picture to the stories I had heard.  I saw where his regular hole-in-the-wall store was that he bought eggs and some of his old hang-outs. Apart from this my first impression of Nepal was not wholly positive. Kathmandu airport is a strange, old place and the Nepali customs man was not altogether welcoming. Then out on the street, the dust and air pollution really irritated my nose at first. Maybe I cannot remember but I did not feel like that in New Delhi, India, despite the fact I think they are comparable in this regard. 

What I did like was mo mo's (actually having them in Nepal!) and one of our first walks through Kathmandu valley to Swayambunath temple. Although the view from the temple was hazy, it was a beautiful structure and nice to watch people doing their morning rituals up there, whether it be prayer, exercises, tea or singing. People were, as always, feeding the monkeys and the puppies also seemed to be 'looked after' in Nepal. Overall it was a good first couple of days before we headed off the mountains, probably my preferred habitat! 

Swayambunath

Dogs dreaming of biscuits at Swayambunath (just wait until they wake up!)

Catching up with/meeting Rob's friends

Shivaratri, Durbar Square and Pashupatinath 

We visited Kathmandu's famous Durbar Square on Maha Shivaratri (Hindu festival celebrating Shiva and the day he married). Krishna had explained that it is a day Nepali Hindu's wish for a good husband or wife (or that they remain good). It was an excellent day to visit Durbar Square because it was alive with people and colour. We sat there for a fair while watching as people queued for the temples, prayed and made offerings. A marching band, an army brigade, matching outfits (not just couples), children playing and the distinctive architecture captured our attention for quite some time. 

We visited the Royal Palace and saw endless exhibits about the last King of Nepal. Some of it was really interesting (parts that showed what was happening in Nepal at the time) and some of it weird (a fake aquarium that looked like a primary school diorama and was apparently owned by King). In the end it got very repetitive as it contained every picture taken of the King, his coin collection, his book collection, etc, etc. This mostly shows how important a figure he is in Nepal, but for us a small portion of the museum was enough. It was great climbing up the tower and looking down at views of Kathmandu. 

Later that evening we attempted to visit Pashupatinath, one of the most sacred temples in Nepal. We barely made it within cooee of the temple. The best we could hope for is to join the masses walking near the temple and watching others in a ginormous queue. (One of the most formal queues ever to grace the city!) Oh and we also paid an absurd price for fairy floss due to the tourist tax (The first guy tried to sell the tiniest fairy floss to us for 300 rupees! That is around AUD$4. We still paid probably 3 times the locals at about AUD$1, which of course was absolutely fine and completely worth every cent!) Even though we did not get to see the temple, it was nice being amongst the festivity. 

One of the day's many colourful queues

Shivaratri at Durbar Square

For sale - outside the temple

Nescafe lady: Why limit such things to sporting events?

Kala Bhairab - god of destruction at Durbar Square 

He stood here for ages

Army marching through Durbar Square

Marching band

Garden of Dreams
A well-known retreat from the dusty streets of Kathmandu is the Garden of Dreams, a walled European style garden with fountains, pavilions and flower beds. Once owned privately, the garden was restored by the Austrian government from the beginning of this millennium. Having paid the entry of Rs. 200 per person (for Non-Nepali), you can visit the cafe or enjoy the atmosphere from the benches or pillows on the grass. We enjoyed a morning and lunch here and it was a nice change of pace.

A retreat from the city: Garden of Dreams

Boudhanath
A highlight of our time in Kathmandu was visiting Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in the world. Rob has visited a few times previously but was keen to go back. We both enjoyed the sensation of walking around the stupa clockwise with a mass of people. (If you walk anti-clockwise you do not gain any merit and also generate negative karma.) The rhythm and movement of the uniform walking and the spinning of prayer wheels made it quite peaceful. It almost became hard to stop walking around. Eventually we stopped for a rooftop tea break and attempted to catch a sunset. (We didn't have must luck on this front whilst in Nepal unfortunately.) 

Boudhanath

Sea of people moving with the current

Hostel we liked: Sister's Guesthouse
We stayed in a few hostels in Kathmandu over the month. Our last one was easily the best because the owner, Biman-Didi, was friendly, welcoming and helpful, the food was great, the wifi and hot water were fairly good and the rooftop was good place to hang out or do yoga. It was right in the thick of Thamel so expect some noise, but if you can handle this, it was a winner. It is also one place you can get the tongba (warm Tibetan beer). One of the only beers I have ever enjoyed. When we left, Biman-Didi presented us with a khata (traditional Tibetan Buddhist scarves) that give you good luck for travelling. 

Dinner with Krishna
Our trekking guide, Krishna, had kindly invited us to dinner with his family towards the end of our stay in Nepal. He lives with his brother, sister-in-law, sister and baby niece. It was great to meet them all and we felt lucky to be invited into their home. His sister-in-law and sister cooked us a delicious dahl baht but did not eat with us and we were already home by 7:30pm!