No, we are not crazy or have succumbed to altitude sickness; Nepal's official Vikram Samwat calendar started in the spring of 57 BC, so to the Nepalis 2013 is 2070.
NEPAL
Nepal is 800 km long and 200 km wide, and the landscape rises from just above 70m above sea level at the Indian border in the south to 8848m at the tip of Mt Everest! Nepal is said to get its name from Nepa, the name given to the Newari kingdom of the Kathmandu Valley. Nepal just opened its borders to outsiders 50 years ago, and the monarchy was abolished in 2008 after a decade of civil war. Nepal has around 30 million inhabitants; 80% are Hindu, 11% Buddhist, and 9% are other belief systems, and there is almost no religious or ethnic tension. Life expectancy is 66 years, adult literacy rate is 49%, average age is 21, and it is estimated that the money spent by each tourist supports 10 to 11 Nepalis for one year! So your dollar goes a long way here! The dominant cultural concept is the cast system, which determines a person's status, career and marriage partner.
VISA ON ARRIVAL
If you don't get a visa for Nepal before you leave home, bring US dollars so you can pay for the visa upon arrival at the airport. We didn't, and the ATM in Arrivals wasn't working, so we had to deposit our passports at the airport, wondering if we'd ever see them again, and pick them up the next day when we had gotten the cash! It all worked out, but the experience cannot be recommended. Furthermore, our Canadian debit cards didn't work at most banks, even when they had the familiar PLUS sign, so we had to take out cash advances on our credit cards - ouch in fees!
KATHMANDU
There is around 1 million people living in Kathmandu, and it seems like they are all out in the streets at the same time, all the time - quite overwhelming. The cars and scooters are hooting as there are not many side walks, so pedestrians are weaving in and out between traffic, and the pollution is uncomfortable, due to the low quality gasoline. Many people are understandably wearing masks covering their mouth and nose. We didn't, so it wasn't long before our throats started to hurt a bit.
We stayed at Annapurna Guest House in the Thamel area, which is the main tourism area, but also quite a central location, as we only had a few days in Kathmandu. Somehow, we managed to exchange the 5:00am Muslim Call for Prayer, which we had heard evert morning for 5 weeks in Turkey and Jordan, with a 5:00 a.m. rooster wake up call in the middle of Kathmandu! What's next? This rooster was staying of all places, on a 4th floor balcony, directly across from our window! Sometimes, you just can't win!
Because of the rooster, we sure knew when the sun was rising!
By the spring next to our hotel, people were washing themselves and/or their clothes. Many of these people are homeless, or have no washup facilities where they live. There are many of these places throughout Kathmandu.
At Hanuman-Dhaka Durbar Square we had a wonderful cup of Himalayan coffee. GOOGLE?
Durbar Square is a World Heritage Site, and located in the heart of the old city. It is a huge complex (35 courtyards) of beautiful temples and shrines, both Hindu and Buddhist, built between the 12th and 18th centuries, and it was here the kings of Nepal were crowned and ruled - the Palace is now a museum.
Behind Andy is the Maju Deval, a Shiva temple, with erotic carvings on its roof struts. The purpose of these Tantric carvings are unclear; might be a celebration of an important part of the life cycle.The small white temple is to Kam Dev, the Hindu god of love and desire. No wonder Andy is smirking!
Nepal has a living goddess, The Kumari Devi, who is living in the Kumari Bahal building. The girl is selected from a particular caste of Newari gold- and silversmiths when she is somewhere between 4 years old and puberty, and she must meet 32 strict physical requirements ranging from the colour of her eyes and shape of her teeth to the sound of her voice. Her horoscope must also be appropriate. When chosen she moves into the building with her family, and make several ceremonial appearances a year. Once she gets her first period, she reverts to the status of being a normal mortal. It is said that it is unlucky to marry an ex-Kumari, and it is believed that taking on a spoilt ex-goddess is to much hard work!
The huge stone image of Kala Bhairav represents Shiva in his destructive manifestation. It is said that telling a lie while standing in front of Kala Bhairab will bring instant death, and it was once used as a form of trial by ordeal. We kept our mouths shot when passing by.
There were so many people, ricks jaws, motorbikes, taxis and people so it was very difficult to move. We were going to walk the 2 km back to our hotel, but it was getting dark, so we didn't feel like it. We found a taxi, showed him the map and address of our hotel, and in we jumped. It turned out he didn't know where it was, and let us of in central Thamel. We had no idea which way to go, didn't recognize any landmarks, and there were no street signs. We started walking, and an hour later after having asked at several hotels - we were directed to Annapurna Mountain Guesthouse, not Annapurna Guesthouse - we finally recognized our street and found the hotel. We felt safe, and people were very helpful, so we could only laugh at that experience.
The following day we visited the village of Bodnath, which is the centre of Nepal's Tibetan community, and home to Asia's largest stupa. Stupas were originally built to hold the relics of the Buddha.
The all-seeing eyes of the Buddah at the top, and the 13 levels of the spire represents the stages that a human being must pass through to achieve nirvana (ultimate peace and no re-birth into human life).
Andy is holding a string of prayer flags with a mantra given as a prayer offering.
And off we went to Kopan Monastery to start our 10 day mediation retreat!
