Namaste to you all, this is the Nepalese greeting - also used in India it means "the divinity in me bows to the divinity in you" Thanks for the messages, lots of them too, it's great to hear from back home. In answer to the question that has been puzzling some of you, we are lucky enough to have a south facing balcony and so we washed our smalls before bedtime and they were dry by morning. Oh the degradation! I did also buy a couple of emergency tops. Our week has been a full one soaking up the sights, sounds and smells of Kathmandu (food, herbs, spices, incense and the occasional waft of sewage and refuse which had me gagging)
On our first full day, Saturday we headed for the Ghats, these are riverside steps upon which Hindus will bathe - not in that water they won't!! The riverbank had manynshrines, stupas and temples - rivers being sacred places. Our trek there - in high heeled ankle boots and that was just Paul - took us along the backstreets of Kathmandu. The streets with no pavements are essentially old dusty brick paths with major potholes. Everywhere teems with life and colour, fruit sellers, spice sellers, flower offering sellers, beautiful saris, babies with Kohl pencil eyeliner and the meat stalls - have you seen enough of those yet? Paul can't pass one without taking a photograph. Not forgetting the national pastime of spitting - with the pollution it is unavoidable. The river was really bad, I guess the monsoon eventually washes it all down to India. I was feeling particularly weak that day and could not stop retching. Sunday was an uphill walk to the Swayambhu Temple (a Buddhist Stupa) - more popularly known as the Monkey Temple or it could be the Dog/pigeon/eagle temple as they are in more abundance. The temple is a further walk up many steps and so has great views over the Kathmandu valley. Monday was a busy day with hopeful trips to the airport squeezed around visits to two other World Heritage sites - Boudha, a 43m high Buddhist Stupa and Pashupatinath a Hindu temple complex. Boudha is a huge stupa - 120m in diameter - the area around it has been developed by refugee Tibetans, they have businesses selling prayer beads and other stuff for the pilgrims. Pilgrims circle the Stupa in a clockwise direction, spinning the prayer wheels that line the outside. Next was Pashupatinath - a fascinating look at the death rituals of the Hindus. The sprawling complex of temples, courtyards and mausoleums is built along the riverside, where the funeral pyres are started. There were musical processions with drums and horns - parading what we assumed to be flower-decorated containers for ashes. There were many families in the courtyards and lawned areas eating picnics and taking part in other rituals such as stoking the votives. Holy men with their white and orange faces were everywhere - no photos though they are very sharp and hustle you for money. Monday night was the sacred opening of the cases - hooray!
Tuesday was another walk in comfortable shoes and clean clothes to Patan Durbar Square. Patan is a vibrant artisan area with Durbar (Palace) Square at its heart. The Buddhist square was a residence for the Patan Royal family. It has a huge palace, courtyards and many temples. Kathmandu is another shining example of Buddhists and Hindus co-existing harmoniously. Wednesday's spectacular thunderstorms meant we took a break and sorted out our next destination. And finally...today we had another trek round the very walkable Kathmandu we climbed the 213 spiral staircase steps of a tower called Dharasara, (used historically to gather people for important announcements by sounding the curved horns) a last look round the remaining areas that we had missed. We walked round a more modern 'paved' shopping area with glass fronted shops like a 'Kathmandu One' (a scouse joke there!). We also saw a Nepalese wedding today - a horse drawn carriage led by a horn and drum procession. Sad to see the beautiful bride and groom (pictured) wearing make-up to make them look whiter - this is a despicable campaign by the western beauty industry. A quick mention of the food - I've had vegetable curry and rice every day - always delicious. We both had vegetable Malai Kofta curry, a spicy Korma type dish and vegetable Pakoras (deep fried veg patties). Nepalese dishes include Momos, which are like Sui Mai parcels containing meat or veg. Today we had our third Nepalese set - rice with a collection of side dishes (Dhal,Spinach, Veg curry etc.) in bronze bowls - see Kathmandu 2 photos.
Tomorrow we are off to Chitwan National Park for a couple of days to trek through the jungle.