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After two and a half hours in immigration queues I finally entered Nepal! On the short, bumpy and very dusty taxi ride into the tourist area of Thamel, I quickly realised that Kathmandu is like a little slice of Delhi. It's a maze of tiny streets that were definitely not designed for two way traffic and herds of tourists. There is a constant tooting of horns, vendors trying to get you in their shops and taxi drivers or rickshaw drivers trying to get you into their vehicles- in short it's intense!
It is safe to say, it's not my favourite place but somehow I ended up staying there quite a while- the lure of internet, western food and bars (where people actually drink!! Albeit only until 11pm, when everything starts to shut down) was quite exciting after Myanmar. I did manage to tear myself away from the cafes to explore some local sights including Swayambhunath also known as monkey temple due to its current cheeky residents, which was pretty impressive. Perched above the city it gives a good view of the sprawl below, whilst the surrounding stupas, spinning prayer wheels and ringing bells radiate quite a spiritual feel.
Durbar square is the heart of the old town of Kathmandu, full of impressive 17th century palaces and temples. I ended up taking a guide there (purely to get peace for an hour or two from the other guides offering their services) and so had a good refresher course on the numerous Hindu gods, which I would see so many of throughout this trip. We also had a really good chat about how Hinduism and Buddhism work together here in Nepal- pretty interesting. Unfortunately my visit did not coincide with an appearance from the Kumari (living goddess). At only 8 years old, I was a little sceptical of her being a 'goddess' but she has been through quite a rigorous selection process- comes from the right caste, has the necessary physical features and most importantly is fearless- proved by witnessing extreme animal sacrifices and spending a night alone in a cave watching other crazy rituals and showing no fear. So she apparently is the girl for the job, which consists of daily appearances at her window (mainly for tourists) and a few annual festivals, until the time of her first period, which is considered less goddess like and she is sacked and they begin the selection process all over again for a new goddess!
I also visited Patan another ancient capital so it too has its own Durbar (means Palace) square. For me Patan was much nicer, less hectic and the temples were much more impressive. There was also a wedding in the town whilst I was there so I got to see all the locals in their amazingly bright and beautiful sarees. Whilst wandering the backstreets I also saw some carpenters and artists putting the finishing touches to some carvings of gods that were to be used in the parade for an upcoming festival. And it seemed I was having more luck with the gods as completely by accident I stumbled upon another Kumari- it was the small group of Japanese tourists that gave her away. So I waited till the crowd left and then went up to her room in an old dilapidated Temple I almost overlooked where she was giving audience. The Japanese group leader filled me in on goddess etiquette; I was to kneel before her and give my offering (minimum 200 Rs) and then could ask for spiritual guidance. I already felt a bit odd kneeling before an 8 year old, never mind asking her for spiritual guidance so settled for a photo with the approval of her mother. It's a completely bizarre practice; even the full face of make-up couldn't hide the look of bewilderment in the little girl's eyes at these weird tourists coming to take photos of her. I had a brief chat with her mum who kept saying she was very lucky, but I wonder how 'lucky' she'll feel when her goddess years are over and she has to deal with the young girl/woman its created. It's said that it is unlucky to marry an ex-Kumari, I would say just plain difficult as surely by the end of it she would essentially be a complete diva.
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