Urban Nepal

OCTOBER 2019

Our Nepal adventure covered three distinct environments, the rural and forest area of the west, the Himalayan Mountains in the north and Nepal’s two biggest cities.

Our arrival in Nepal was at its capital, Kathmandu. On this occasion we would only stay one day and two nights. A good night’s sleep aided the recovery from yesterday’s long flight and prepared us for a day of organising and sightseeing. With the organising completed in the morning, there was time for sightseeing in the afternoon.
A short walk from the hotel was the very impressive Great Boudha Stupa. This Buddhist monument has an amazing dome, 141 feet high and 100 feet in diameter. Records suggest that a stupa has stood on this site since 400AD, but has had many reconstructions since then. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the principal centre of Himalayan Buddhist worship in the Kathmandu valley. We joined many other tourists and worshipers admiring and exploring the whole site, which extends beyond the stupa itself.

Aerial view of the Great Stupa in Kathmandu

The great Stupa, Kathmandu

The Great Stupa, Kathmandu

Ten days later we were back in Kathmandu after an amazing visit to the west of the country, see blog “Western Nepal”. This time our good friends Glenn, Guylaine, Olivier and Carole were with us, having joined us during our stay in western Nepal. Our location was also different, this time we would spend two nights in the historic district of Patan.
Our accommodation was a beautifully restored 300-year-old historic Newari house called Hira Guest House. Access to the guesthouse was through a dark stooped entrance in to a courtyard, at which point could really appreciate the charm of the building. Inside the décor was a beautiful with carved wood everywhere, exposed wobbly roof beams, low ceilings that some would catch out even the shortest of people and elegantly decorated bedrooms. Two charming sisters who immediately made us very welcome run the place. We loved it so much we decided to stay again on our next Kathmandu visit.

Hira Guest House facade, our bedroom is the one with the elaborate window on the first floor

Our bedroom at Hira Guest House

For our one-day stay we decided to explore what the district of Patan had to offer. The town of Patan was very important in its own right before it became engulfed into greater Kathmandu. It’s been, and still is, a centre for craftsmanship, artisans and religious worship. In its centre is Durbar Square, which was the ideal place for us to start learning about its history. We hired the services of a local guide and then spent three fascinating hours visiting historic buildings and receiving a detailed explanation of the town’s 1400-year history. In addition to the amazing sites, we were also treated to various celebrations that were going on all around us, as it was the end of the Dasain Festival.

Durbar Square, Patan

Palace in Durbar Square, Patan

Durbar Square Palace, Guardian & Demon

Courtyard in Palace of Durbar Square

Queen's bath in Durbar Square Palace

Dashain ceremonial dance in the courtyard of the Palace, Durbar Square

Golden Temple, Patan

Golden Temple offering ceremony

Exhausted and full of new Knowledge we escaped the heat and noise of Patan’s narrow streets to have a mid-afternoon siesta, before celebrating our last night all together. This would be the last time that the six of us would be in Nepal together and celebrated the occasion at a highly recommended Pizza restaurant called “Fire & Ice”, and it didn’t disappoint.

The following morning we said goodbye to Glenn and Guylaine. The remaining four of us headed for Kathmandu domestic airport for a flight to Pokhara, and the start of our mountain adventure, see blog “Northern Nepal”.

Flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara

Himalaya mountains view from the plane

Terraces of farming view from the plane on our way to Pokhara

View of Pokhara from the air

We had one night in Pokhara before our onward journey and made the most of it with a walk around its famous lake. Even though clouds had formed on the mountains in the distance restricting the view, there was plenty to see at lake level to keep us interested. One thing in particular was “Disneyland Pokhara”. Not much more than a fun fair really, but with ageing attractions that wouldn’t pass a health and safety check if in Europe. A bit of window shopping and a nice evening meal completed our first stay in Pokhara.

Pokhara Lake

Disney Land Pokhara

Disney Land Pokhara, not for the faint hearted

We returned to Pokhara at the end of our Upper Mustang adventure, see blog “Northern Nepal”, and had more time to explore on this occasion. However, this soon turned into a couple of relaxing days, enjoying the hotel comforts with Anne and Carole taking advantage of a reasonably priced half day spa treatment.

Electric work in Pokhara. The ladder looks dodgy too

View from Pokhara Airport of the Himalaya

From Pokhara we flew back to Kathmandu and enjoyed some amazing views through the aircraft window. Olivier and Carole had left the day before but we were able to catch up with them again just before they flew back to Canada.

View of Kathmandu

We were staying once again in the Patan district of Kathmandu and at our favourite accommodation, Hira Guest House. Our stay was longer this time, which gave us a chance to really explore all the narrow streets and hidden courtyards; it was a feast for the eyes.
Sometimes it’s very difficult to put into words the fascinating things you see in everyday life; the following photo’s will help, but I will try anyway.

The first thing that hit us when we emerged from the relative calm of the guesthouse courtyard was the traffic. On this occasion I refer to traffic as anything moving in the narrow streets that make up Patan. Namely cars, motorbikes, bicycles, carts, people, dogs and even cattle occasionally. All of which move slowly but purposely in what can be best described as organised chaos. Cars and motorbikes negotiate people, bicycles, dogs, street stalls and endless other obstacles with amazing skill and plenty of use of their horn. When you first encounter all of this you freeze and think, there are no pavements, how can I get anywhere, but very soon you join throngs of people and just walk. Providing you don’t stop and dither, the traffic will go round you, missing you by centimetres but missing you all the same.

It's not only for pedestrian but cars and motorbike also use the same street

Street of Patan

Once you are on the move and comfortable in the traffic you begin to look around you and with every turn of your head something catches your eye. There is the incredible detail carved into the wood and stone that make up each building.

Patan Building

Eye opening design

City reservoir

Ornate wood work

There is the abundance of colour everywhere, from the clothing worn, to the spices sold, together with the powders used during festival times.

Coloured powder ready for Diwali festival

Traders preparing for Diwali Festival with colour powder for sale

Then there is the noise, car and motorbike horns announcing their presence, people shouting as part of their trade, bells ringing as part of the Hindu worship, dogs barking at anything they take a dislike to, and many more.
And if the streets weren’t narrow enough already, traders set up stalls outside shops and sell fruit and veg, and still the traffic seem to pass without too much fuss and annoyance.

Patan bakery

bicycle trader with fruits, veg and scales to weight them

Open market

Cushion Trader on the move

Vegetable street trader

Patan is renowned for its metal craftsmanship

With Hinduism and Buddhism being the predominant religions of Nepal it isn’t surprising to find temples, stupas, shrines and other religious monuments amongst the streets and buildings. But what is surprising is how numerous they are, I don’t think I would be exaggerating if I said there was some sort of structure every 100 meters.

One of many street little temple in Patan

Another surprise was the number of public bathing areas. These varied in size from a single spout in a small chamber in the ground to lavish bathing pools with multiple ornately designed spouts. With home plumbing becoming more the norm, public baths are being used less so many are falling into decay. However, a lot are considered historic monuments and are now being restored, a case in point is the 600 year old bath in Patan’s Durbar Square.

Public bath

Public bath

Patan public bath

At night Patan was different again. Street lights and night markets added a different colour to the area and locals were now free to be out and about socialising. We enjoyed our evening walks, watching all that went on around us, and feeling very safe in this friendly environment, even when we got ourselves a bit lost down tiny back alleys.

Patan by night during Diwali Festival

Patan, Durbar Square at night

Diwali festival dance

Patan by night during the Diwali Festival, fight of light over darkness

During our stay it was the time of the Diwali Festival, one of Nepals most important, so this added to the activity and colour on the Streets. Diwali activities means lots of firecrackers, marigold garlands (even on dogs during one the days), painted trails and beautiful coloured emblems on the ground, usually outside a house or shop.

Diwali festival showing the way for good to enter and chase away evil

Day 3 of Diwali is dedicated to the Dogs, guardians of the house and are being blessed with garlands

Diwali decoration

Diwali Decoration

A decoration in front of a house during Diwali Festival

Even though we loved everything Patan had to offer we did venture away for a day trip to Bhaktapur. Similar to Patan, Bhaktapur was also an important town in years gone by and with a rich history. We spent time exploring its historical monuments, many of which are still showing the damage inflicted by the 2015 earthquake, together with its busy narrow streets.

Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Bhaktapur is famous for it's potery

5 Story pagoda in Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur Nyatapola temple a 5 story pagoda

Palace woodwork, Bhaktapur

Clay pot storage

Street scenery

For our last few days before we left Nepal we decided to escape the noise, dust and fumes of downtown Kathmandu and head for the hills. Just 30 minutes drive from Patan and still part of greater Kathmandu is the town of Budhanilkantha. Our accommodation here was at the Chandra Ban Eco Retreat, in an apartment perched on the hillside with great views over Kathmandu nestled in the valley below. We didn’t venture far from our very comfortable lodging and its great restaurant, except to visit the “Sleeping Vishnu” in the nearby town.

Sweet trader in Budhanilkantha

Budhanilkantha Temple sleeping Vishnu

Marigold garland on sale for the offering to the Sleeping Lord Vishnu at Budhanilkantha

Religious man in Budhanilkantha temple

And that was Nepal, a country we liked more and more the longer we stayed and one to revisit sometime in the future. An afternoon flight then whisked us off for new adventures, next stop Bangkok, Thailand.

Personal Observations & Interesting Facts

Nepal
Nepal is a landlocked asian country with China to its north and India to its west, south and east. It has a population of around 29 million, most of which live in the more low lying south. To the north are the Himalayan Mountains and some of the highest peaks in the world, including Mount Everest. It is also famous for having the worlds only triangular flag.

Nepal flag, the only triangular one in the world

Earthquake
On 25th April 2015 a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, toppling multi-story buildings in Kathmandu, the capital, and creating landslides and avalanches in the Himalaya Mountains. Nearly 9,000 people died and more than 22,000 suffered injuries. Still today, a lot of buildings and infrastructure are in need of repair. Wooden supports hold up many buildings whilst funds are awaited for the work to begin.

One of the many buildings damaged by the 2015 Earthquake

A Postcard from Nepal
In this modern technological age the sending of postcards is becoming a more rare occurrence. But because our family and friends express a great deal of pleasure when they receive them, we continue to send them. We tend to send around 20 or 30 from most countries we visit, depending on the length of our stay and the cost involved.
The cost of sending a postcard from Nepal is possible the lowest we have encountered any where, about 10 rupees (£0.07) for the card and 35 rupees (£0.25) for the stamp, so we took the opportunity to send a lot.
To send a postcard you first have to buy it and write it, which is the same all over the world. What is different in Nepal is the posting process, as we found out when we visited the district Post Office in Patan, Kathmandu.
Firstly you are greeted by the counter assistants, who check that you have attached the correct value of stamps to each postcard depending on their destination. Then they will advise you what additional stamps you need. Some of our postcards had stamps, some needed extra and some were without stamps, so a stamp purchase was required.
To purchase stamps you need the assistance of the cashier at a different counter. Fortunately, she had just arrived when we were there and able to help us. From the floor of her compartment she produced a small, but heavy, safe and placed it on her side of the counter. She then unlocked the safe, produced the stamps we required and we paid her.
The next task was for us to stick the stamps on the postcards. Having been caught out on other occasions we had left sufficient room this time for them to be attached.
It was now time for the third phase of the postage process. An older guy appeared and produced a wooded date stamp and ink-pad. He then aggressively stamped a date seal over our postage cards. Aggression was required as he had little ink left in his pad.
Then came the final phase. Our postcards were taken from us and thrown in a plastic bin underneath a table in the Post Office foyer. The bin did have “Postal Services” written on it, which did give us some optimism that they may reach their final destination, only time will tell.