Nepal
The world's rooftop
We arrived at Kathmandu's small airport on a short flight from Delhi. On the way out we couldn't find the sign with our name on it, so a very kind policeman arranged a wifi key for us so we could contact our agency. Helena immediately confirmed that Dill, their representative in Nepal, was in the car park and would pick us up, and he did.
Dill was the person who accompanied us during those days except when Baijan, the very correct and friendly Spanish-speaking guide who did the tours for us, was there. Baijan was without a doubt one of our favourites during our adventure in India and Nepal.
The climate in the mountainous country was significantly colder than in India, so we had to bundle up in the mornings and evenings. Of course, this is the land bordered by the Himalayas.
Arriving at the very nice Nepali Ghar Hotel, in typical local architectural style, we were placed in a spacious room. Then Dill helped us with the currency exchange from Indian rupees to Nepali rupees.
The hotel is located in the very touristy Thamel district, so we went for a walk to the New Orleans Café, a classic in the city as Helena had told us. Kathmandu's alleyways were also lined with tourist shops, but the offer was quite different from India's. For starters, Nepal is a destination for mountaineers, so there are many shops offering warm clothing for trekkers and climbers. There are also plenty of tibetan bowls and gongs and, it must be said, also hashish dealers, a substance that was legal until a couple of decades ago.
Once in the courtyard of the restaurant, we ordered the classic momos and a large typical dish with vegetables and rice, which we accompanied with a Nepalese white wine from the Pataleban winery. A live music show was scheduled but we didn't make it. We decided to go to bed early as we had to get up at dawn the next day to catch the scenic flight.
Dill picked us up and took us and the driver to the domestic terminal for the Buddha Air flight. This is an experience to see Everest from high altitude, as well as the most significant peaks of the Himalayan range. The boarding pass indicated that our flight was 100 and our seats were 5 A and 5 D. It so happens that they only sell window seats, so as to ensure a very good panoramic view, which also allows you to move between the seats on one side of the plane and the other. It takes about an hour; while the stewardesses indicate which mountain is in front of you. Superb.
Then we went back to the city centre for breakfast, and by ten o'clock in the morning Baijan was waiting for us in the lobby to start the circuit designed for that day.
We started at the Ason market, strolling among the stalls of spices, flowers, copper pots, hardware, bowls, clothes and of course pink Himalayan salt. Well, very colourful. Yes, much neater than the markets in India. The comparison was inevitable as we were visiting Nepal after three weeks in the neighbouring country.
We continued on to Durbar Square. A particular fact. Many of the buildings in the main squares of the Kathmandu Valley are World Heritage Sites, so although they are public, a ticket must be paid for foreign tourists in each of them.
We crossed it with some haste as it was time for the appearance of Kumari, the living goddess.
She is a girl in whom the goddess Taleju manifests herself. Kumari means princess in Sanskrit and in Nepali it means virgin. She is chosen by the priests and, in the case of the Kathmandu goddess, the girl does not leave the palace and only attends the scheduled ceremonies and prayers until puberty, when she loses her status and begins her secular life. She also goes out during the festival that honours her, which takes place in August. The Kumari comes from a Buddhist family but is in fact a Hindu manifestation.
In the case of the Kumari from Baijan village near Patan, she is allowed to go out and even attend school.
After Kumari's appearance, when photography is absolutely forbidden, we returned to the square to discover all its architectural, cultural and religious value.
Unlike India, the predominant religion in Nepal is Buddhism. They are two different countries, with different cultures, different ethnic groups and different religions, but we had decided to visit them on the same trip.
At the Birendra Museum in Basantapur Durbar, Baijan told us a little about the history of Nepal. They were always independent. In fact, the British were never interested in them.
In 1768, due to the expansion of the Gorkha kingdom and the unification of kingdoms, the Gorkha Empire was formed through the intervention of Prithvi Narayan Shah, who is considered the father of the country. That empire lasted until 2008, when the Federal and Democratic Republic of Nepal came into being. During those years Nepal was ruled by the Shah dynasty.
Then we passed the Hindu temple Taleju Bhawani.
We also visited the largest Buddhist stupa in the Kathmandu Valley, Swayambunath, which is located on top of a mountain. We had told Baijan about our interest in getting a good Tibetan singing bowl and our total lack of knowledge about it. It was there that he invited us to visit one of the typical shops for tourists offering bowls of all sizes and models. The man in the shop explained to us that the good ones were the ones made with a mixture of seven metals, even better if they were made during the full moon, and that the older ones had a different price. The smaller ones are called sound bowls, while the bigger ones are called healing bowls. In these larger ones he demonstrated with water, which, when vibrated, begins to move as if it were boiling.
Dill had offered us a typical dinner with a folkloric show. As travellers as we are, we always avoid these scenes, which are set up for tourists, and which feel a little bit naive... Well, a little because we were tired after more than three weeks in Asia, or a little because we were caught off guard, at some point during the trip we had confirmed that we would do it. By the time we arrived at the hotel, exhausted, we regretted the size of the gag. There, while we were having dinner together with many other tourists, the dance show was taking place on a small stage. According to what we were told, the sequence followed this order: Newari, Manjushree, Kumari, Dhimal, Sherpa, Maruni and Hudkeli. The menu was a succession of typical dishes, so we started with momos and aloo tareko (spicy fried potatoes) and pakoda vegetables, followed by a vegetable soup and for the main course a mix of white rice, sautéed spinach, black lentil cream, panner cheese, mushroom pickles and vegetables. A highlight was the local beer. Nothing outstanding of course but we really appreciated the quality of the show, more than worthy, and how funny it was as we laughed out loud.
After breakfast we set off by road to Patan, formerly Lalitpur (which took about thirty minutes), also in the Kathmandu Valley.
We wandered through the narrow streets along with Baijan until we reached the central square. In this Durbar Square we also paid the entrance fee charged to foreign tourists.
There are many temples that survived the great earthquake, so we strolled around and got to know them, such as the five-storey Kumbheshwor Temple (perhaps one of the oldest). There we met some locals, in their typical dress (black, white and red), who were celebrating a religious festival and invited us to join in, after taking each other's photographs. Very nice. We then entered the Golden Temple (Hiranya Varna Mahavihar) and the Rudra Varna Mahavihar (known as Uku Bahal).
Mientras paseábamos fue frecuente encontrar artesanos haciendo sus obras, o los pintores que diseñan los tAs we walked around it was common to find craftsmen doing their work, or the painters designing the traditional mandalas. Also on many doors the eyes of Buddha are painted on their sides, as a way of auguring good fortune.
At one point, we enter through a narrow passageway to see the Maha Boudha temple, known for the one thousand and eight Buddhas carved into the bricks that form this Shikara (tower).
We then continue our journey to Bhaktapur, formerly Bhadgaon, where time seems to have stood still and the locals still wear their typical newari clothes. A ticket is also required to visit the Durbar Square.
In Dattatreya Square and Pottery Square, potters worked on their wares, assembling their pieces and leaving them to dry in the sun. In the small streets, the stallholders were preparing to arrange their produce, vegetables and fruits for sale.
We then took some nice pictures of the Taumadhi temple and the fifty-five window palace of the National Art Gallery. In the square, we also passed the five-storey Nyatapola pagoda and the knife-themed street and military dress of the ghurkas, the mercenary soldiers from this region. On our way to the meeting point with the driver, we came across another beautiful scene. Some locals were out celebrating, in their typical black, white and red outfits, singing, lighting fires and celebrating. It was only a matter of getting a little bit closer before the nice women invited me to join in. One older lady held my hands and kept smiling. It felt like a blessing.
Back in Kathmandu city, we headed for the Bodnath Stupa in Gokarneshwar. It is quite unique, as it is surrounded by buildings, whose terraces offer cafes and restaurants where you can look down on it from above, appreciating the mandala that is generated in its silhouette.
It was there that we got our healing bowl. We asked for prices in various shops and negotiated (read bargained) until we reached a reasonable price. And on top of that we got a small Ganesha figurine as a gift for our house, where we keep collecting @tripticity_'s trophies.
As a snack we had a delicious coffee in one of the bars, watching the comings and goings of devotees, seated right next to some Tibetan monks who - just like us - were enjoying a gourmet espresso. There are particularly many Tibetan monks hanging around in that stupa, as tradition dictates.
The last visit was to the crematoriums of Pasupatinath, in Bagmati, whose entrance ticket (for about a thousand Nepalese rupees) had a legend that said that after visiting this sacred area, the soul, body and spirit would leave blessed and sanctified. There we witnessed the whole ceremony. Once again we distinguished the differences from the cremations in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges.
In India, there is no pain, but rather a sense of peace for the relatives who manage to complete the process which, in Hindu belief, implies cutting off the cycle of reincarnations. In Kathmandu, on the other hand, the anguish of the loss of a family member is felt.
Back at the hotel, we packed our luggage and then went out for a last stroll through the Thamel district, where we did some last little shopping, as at around nine in the evening we had to leave for the airport to catch our return flight after an incredible adventure through India & Nepal.
Thus ended one of our strongest travel experiences of our liv