Pashupatinath: This is the Hindu cremation site, with the ghats located on the Bagmati River which flows to the holy Ganges, sometimes referred to as the “Nepali Veranasi.” The holiest Hindu site in Nepal, it’s a veritable village of activity. A flock of Sadhu, Hindu holy men, is resident there. As you approach the site, there are sellers of the various supplies needed to prepare a body for cremation and participate in the ceremonies: flowers and incense, brightly colored powders, materials for the candles. There are several temples, all dedicated to Shiva. In addition to the ghats, there are meditation platforms on the opposite side of the river; there is a home for the elderly who have no families, started by Mother Teresa; and a hospice. There is a constant stream of bodies arriving for cremation, morning to night. As soon as the ceremonies for one are complete and the pyre has been lit, another body arrives to be purified and prepared for cremation. There is much to learn about the beliefs and process, and it’s worth it to hire a guide once you get there. Our guide was able to tell us what was occurring with a body just placed on a ghat, discussed the concept of “first fire” and which family member (the oldest son for the father, the youngest son for the mother) was responsible, a piece of information which is also relevant to the Hindu ideals for number and gender of children. While we were there, a body was brought in a wooden coffin. Our guide said this would be a Nepali who died in another country. Nepalis living and working in other countries arrange to be shipped to Kathmandu for cremation at Pashupatinath, as it is so important for them to be cremated here.

Here again, our guide spoke about the massacre of the royal family in 2000. He described people having their hair shaved off, a Hindu ritual of mourning. Crowds of people were at Pashupatinath, all crying and sobbing. Eight bodies were cremated at the royal pyre that day.

The Durbar Squares: Each town’s Durbar Square is the heart of the city. From the late 15th century to the mid 18th century, the three towns in the Kathmandu Valley were separate kingdoms. The Durbar square is the area facing the palace of the king of these city-states. Each square contains the old palace, a number of Hindu temples and shrines and the house of the Kumari, the Living Goddess. The rulers of these small kingdoms competed with each other to produce the most dazzling architecture, and the Durbar squares are, indeed, dazzling. The last dynasty of kings of Nepal built a new Kathmandu palace at one end of the Durbar Marg, facing the Parliament building at the other end of the street, separating the political center of the city from the religious center of the city. While there are temples and shrines elsewhere in the cities, the Durbar Squares contain the largest concentration of temples and shrines in each city. Each of the Dubar Squares charges an entry fee that goes toward maintenance and restoration of the square. If you would like a guide, there are guides near the ticket office. All of the guides we used were excellent.

Kathmandu’s Durbar Square: The tour of the square (really several inter-linked squares) takes you through Hindu temples, and past even more Hindu shrines. You’ll see photos of many of them once the pictures are posted. At all of the temples and shrines there are people making offerings of flowers, incense, candles. The streets are filled with people selling flowers and incense for offerings. I’ll just highlight a few of the fascinating places in the area – otherwise this report will never get posted!

As you enter the square, there is a large, stepped temple to Shiva, the Maju Deval. Our guide told us that it is “safe” to smoke ganja or hashish for both locals and visitors at this shrine, so there are always people at the shrine enjoying the effects of the smoke. (Indeed, there were many times strolling through the cities when we could smell ganja or hashish being smoked.)

The house of the Kumari is in Durbar Square. The Kumari (the Living Goddess) is chosen though a number of tests, most which have to do with indicating that the child is unflappable (a goddess wouldn’t be afraid of the dark or of loud noises, etc). The child chosen to be the Kumari is typically 3 or 4, and she serves until she reaches puberty. In Kathmandu, she lives in a house in Durbar Square with attendants. She may come to the window and wave to those waiting in the courtyard at about 4 pm. Once the Kumari reaches puberty, she is no longer the goddess and a new goddess must be found. The “retired” goddess is given a pension. Often, she does not marry. One legend says that any man marrying a kumari will die young, but other people say that Nepali men do not want a wife who expects to be waited on, as they want to be waited on. (Note: each of the towns has a Kumari, although the Kumari in the other towns no longer live in the Kumari House on the Durbar Square, but live with their families.)

At one of the temples, the guide pointed out to us that the elaborately carved wooden struts of the temple had erotic carvings on them. He referred to them as “Kama sutra carvings.” His story about them was that hundreds of years ago, the people in the Kathmandu Valley were very reverent and didn’t have many children, so the king had these carvings put on the temple to inspire the locals to have more sex and therefore have more children.

There is a large image of Kala on a wall near the square. Kala is Shiva in his most fearsome aspect, shown here with a garland of skulls around his neck and trampling a corpse. It is said that telling a like before this image will cause one to be struck dead, so it was used in the past as a trial by ordeal. Sacrifices are made here each year during Dasain, when 108 buffalo are beheaded before this image. As this festival had concluded not long before we were there, there were blood stains still evident on the stone of the walls there.

Off of the square, there is a street called Freak Street. A short lane, it is lined with small shops, many of which capitalize on the name of the street. At one time, this was the infamous hangout for young western “freaks” but there was nary a freak to be found when we were there.

Patan Durbar Square: This was my favorite Durbar Square this trip. The area is impressive, with the largest, most impressive collection of temples and shrines. There is a small Buddhist monastery as well. While most of the buildings are of brick, there are several stone temples as well.

The old palace has been turned into a stunning museum filled with exquisite stone, bronze and gilded sculpture. It is often said to be the subcontinent’s finest museum. We spent a couple of hours here, and had lunch in the lovely courtyard café.

There is a lovely, octagonal stone temple to Krishna just across from the old palace. This is one of the most beautiful temples in the valley to my eye.

Also, across from the palace is a tall column topped with a sculpture of one of the Malla Kings, kneeling atop a lotus bud and protected by a cobra. A bird is perched on the cobra’s head. The legend says that as long as the bird remains, the king may still return to his palace. The window of the palace facing the statute is kept open, and the room is ready for the return of the king.

Like in the Kathmandu Durbar Square, there is a temple here with “Kama Sutra” carvings on the temple struts. This guide told us that these carvings were done back in the time when marriages were arranged between children. Because as children, they didn’t know about sex, the carvings were there to teach them about sex once they were old enough.
While there is a Kumari house in the Durbar Square here, the Kumari lives with her family here in Patan and the house is no longer used.

There is a lovely little Buddhist monastery here, called the Golden Temple. This monastery is said to have been established here in the 1200s. There is a lovely courtyard inside, with beautiful sculptures. You can go inside the courtyard as long as you are wearing no leather (or take any leather off). Upstairs is the entry to the monastery, and you can enter the outer room here. There is another Buddhist shrine and another Buddhist monastery south of the Durbar Square. Patan was the only place that has Buddhist shrines or monasteries in the Durbar square.

This is probably a good place to talk about Tibetan refugees. In 1950, when China brutally invaded Tibet, refugees started leaving Tibet and settling in groups elsewhere in an effort to save their lives and their culture and religion. Many refugees came to Nepal, and there was a Tibetan refugee camp in Patan. There is still an area called the Tibetan Refugee camp, but it is now an area of Tibetan rug-making workshops and shops selling rugs and other indigenous crafts. While the Dali Lama went to Dharamsala, India and established a community of Tibetan Buddhists there, there are enclaves of Tibetan Buddhists in a number of areas of India and in Nepal. You see Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in a number of places in the Kathmandu Valley, but Patan originally housed the greatest number of the refugees in Nepal, and still has a substantial community.

Bhaktapur: When I visited Bhakatapur in 1994, I remember being in the Durbar Square and there was no one else there. Occasionally, a local would walk by. But we saw not more than a half a dozen other visitors in our half day or so in Bhaktapur. I loved walking down the tiny lanes, many not more than 6 feet wide, seeing goats tied to doorsteps, and women tossing vegetable trimmings to the goats. Things were really different this trip. Bhaktapur was crowded with tourists. Indeed, it was the place where we saw the most westerners! As you can imagine, it was a different experience. There were still tiny lanes and they were vacant of tourists still and seemed unchanged from 14 years ago.

Bhaktapur looks very different from Patan and Kathmandu, as it is a city made of stone. While in the other two cities, the Durbar Square area is mostly brick with just a few stone temples, Bhaktapur is stone – the buildings and the streets. The city is an intact medieval town. The only people allowed to live in the old part of the town are traditional artisans and their families.

You enter the town gate, and wander a long loop through several squares. Between the squares are streets now lined with workshops and stores selling local crafts and various items for tourists.

The first square you come to is the Durbar Square. One of the most famous buildings in Bhaktapur is the 55 Window Palace. Bhaktapur is famous for its elaborately carved wooden windows. The contrast of the dark word against the light stone really makes these lovely windows stand out. The palace has been restored since I was there in 1994 and it looks lovely.

Near the Palace is the National Art Gallery. We did pay to go in, but were not especially impressed. The gallery is very dark, so it is hard to see the old thangkas on display.

There are a number of temples facing the square. The Pashupatinath temple (a replica of the one on the banks of the Bagmati) has the same sort of erotic carving seen on temples in the other two Durbar Squares. This guide had no particular explanation for these carvings, but just pointed them out. Perhaps the most interesting temple in the square is the Siddhi Lakshmi temple, a tall temple with stairs leading to the shrine that crowns it. On each side of the stairs are attendants, with different animal at each level, horses, lions, rhinos, man-lions and camels.

The next square, Taumadhi Tole, is surrounded by Hindu temples and shrines including the tallest temple in Nepal, the five-story, 30 meter high Nyatapola temple. No temples in the valley are allowed to be taller than this temple. The stairs leading up to the temple are flanked by guardian figures, each high set said to be ten times stronger than the previous set. Just off of this square is the famed Peacock window. This elaborately carved wooden window from the 15th century is one of the most frequently photographed places in Bhaktapur.
Along this lane are several wood carving workshops.

In addition, there is Potter’s Square where artisans make and fire pottery. This square has an entirely different feel to it. It is interesting to watch the potters work, shaping pots and small saucer-shaped items used at Tihar for offerings. There is no enclosed kiln here, and keeping the heat at the right level is an art. They build a carefully-constructed mound of layers of pottery and straw, and covered with ash to fire the pottery.

Bhaktapur still has the dramatic look I remember, but the hustle-bustle was so different from my previous experience. On the other hand, several of the notable buildings have been restored since my previous visit, and the increased economic activity has been good for the town.

Thamel: When I visited Thamel so many years ago, it felt like a flashback to the late 60s, early 70s. Many people looked like they just stepped out of the time machine. There were all the Indian bedspreads every “hippie” seemed to have hung on their walls, plus the curtains of beads they used in their doorways. Much of the merchandise in Thamel looked like the stock of any headshop in the US. I remember being offered hashish back then, and both ganja and hash were readily available on the streets of Thamel. I’m sure that is still true, but I’m now old enough and respectable-looking enough, that (sigh) I had no offers this trip. The streets were small, crowded lanes with no sidewalks but there was a very mellow vibe. I really enjoyed browsing the shops and stalls. I had read about a small crafts cooperative started for Nepali women who had no husbands and were, therefore, outside of the mainstream culture and had no means of support. Out of the blue, I stumbled across the store I had read about, and I filled my suitcase with books of handmade paper created by these women. I remember wandering aimlessly, just enjoying being there.

Thamel wasn’t as much fun this trip. Alas! The time travelers are gone! It is now so overcrowded that walking is difficult. Indeed, I was bumped by a truck and Cheryl almost broke a leg. We both survived with mere scratches, but the incidents illustrate how difficult it is to navigate the streets of Thamel. Browsing in shops was more difficult than before, as looking at anything made you a target for the hard sell. It was louder and more chaotic than ever.
Thamel is the place where most backpackers and young trekkers stay. If you are young and wanting to connect with other young travelers, you might enjoy staying there for a few days.

Thamel is famed as a place where the menus contain every kind of food. Places offer Indian food and pizza, hamburgers and mezze, vegetarian food and yak meat. After trekking for weeks and eating nothing but daal bhaat, trekkers come back to Kathmandu ravenous for familiar food. And restaurateurs have always been glad to accommodate them.

For those who visited Nepal during late adolescence or early adulthood, Thamel felt like a transformative place, a place where like-minded people from all over the world congregated. I could still see and feel that in 1994, but that vibe seemed largely gone this trip. I’ve changed and Thamel has changed – Thamel may still have a bit of that old magic for some, but no longer for me.

We found a wonderful oasis on the edge of Thamel: the Garden of Dreams. This is the home and garden of Kaiser Shamser who built the house and gardens in the 1920s. It has been restored on the last decade and it is lovely, indeed. We enjoyed strolling through the garden. There is also a café there, but we didn’t eat there – it did look lovely. If we’d had more time, I would like to have eaten there for the atmosphere if nothing else.

As always, superb reporting. I'm enjoying reading how things have changed since your last visit ... and mine. Keep it coming Kathie.

kathie...loving your report...now I am sorry we didn't get to KTH. I will have to get Bob busy on that when we are next in the neighborhood. Your report is great and am waiting for the next part. How was the food? Did you eat in mostly hoetel or where? What type of crafts did you bring home? karen

Shopping: Nepal has some unique crafts. Last trip, I brought home puppets, Tibetan carpets, a prayer wheel, a small silver Buddha, mani stones, a Thangka, a copper-covered box from Tibet and an old wooden rice scoop.

Thangkas are meditational paintings, originally made by Tibetan monks. The finest of the thangkas are painted with a brush with just a single hair. There are a number of traditional patterns for thangkas: mandalas, the life of the Buddha, a design by the Dali Lama, etc. If you want to buy a thangka, you’ll find many places that sell them. Generally, you want to buy from a place that specializes in thangkas. Look at the many different patterns and choose the one that “speaks” to you. You want one painted with natural pigments, as these are most resistant to fading. The one I purchased 14 years ago hangs on my fall, still as vibrabt as when I bought it. Thangkas are not inexpensive. Large, well-painted intricately detailed thangkas will run in the $200-$400 range. Less detailed painting by “students” will cost less. Cheryl bought a lovely thangka from a place near Kathmandu’s Durbar Square.

Tibetan singing bowls are another unusual item available in Nepal. The best of these bowls are hand-hammered from a flat piece of alloyed metal. By tradition, the bowls are supposed to contain seven different metals. The bowls have a lovely ring when struck, and “sing” when rubbed with a wooden mallet. The same technique that creates the ringing will cause water placed in the bowl to “boil.” It takes technique to make these bowls sing. There is still at least one family of artisans in Patan making these bowls in the traditional way. We purchased a medium-sized bowl for about US$75. There are lots of inexpensive machine-made bowls available. The hand-made bowls are thinner and light and have a different ring to them.

Bhakatapur is famous for its wood carving. I bought an intricately carved wooden window at one of the workshops there. There are a broad range of sizes available. I bought a medium-sized window for about US$75.

I love hand-woven textiles, so I wanted to buy some of the Dhaka weavings from eastern Nepal. The Lonely Planet recommends a fair trade crafts shop, Mahaguthi, located in Kopundol (an area of Patan). This was a great place to shop, with a good selection of items. The hand-woven textiles are gorgeous – and the price per large piece was about US$10 each (they were on sale when we were there – 25% off the regular price). I bought an arm-load and wished I’d bought more. There are other items here, such as hand-made paper books, some small paintings, and pashimas (I later wished I’d gotten one there).

Eating: Food at the Hyatt was excellent. The downside of staying at the Hyatt is that we did not venture out for dinner. We had wine and canapés in the Club, and chose to eat a full dinner only once, in Rox, the hotel’s Italian restaurant. The food was very good, though the price is rather high for Kathmandu.
My last stay in Kathmandu Ghar – E –Kebab was considered to have the best Indian food outside of Delhi. It still exists, but is only open for dinner, so I didn’t get to re-visit my favorite restaurant in Kathmandu.

We ate a number of places away from the Hyatt. The most notable were:

Bawarchi, and Indian restaurant in the Lazimat area of Kathmandu. This place was recommended to us by the manager of the Annapurna Hotel on the Durbar Marg (where Ghar-E-Kebab is now located). Very good Indian food.

1905 on the edge of Thamel is located in an old house and garden. We had a table on the bridge over the pond – a beautiful setting. The service was slow the food was pretty good. They serve a wide variety of foods, but the emphasis at lunch seemed to be Mediterranean cuisines.

The café at the Patan Musem. The setting was really beautiful – the courtyard of the old palace with flowering trees shading us. The food we ordered was Indian and was very tasty.

Tihar: Being in Kathmandu during Tihar was a wonderful experience. In the lobby of the Hyatt, a large round “painting” was made with colored grains of rice, marigold petals and candles. We saw other such paintings being made at other places (such as the Mahaguthi crafts shop). We were out and about for the first three days of the festival and would have enjoyed seeing even more of it. One day honors dogs, and we saw logs festooned with flower garlands. The next day was the day for the worship of cows, and the cows were fancied-up with applications of colored powders. The first one I saw was so garishly colored, I initially thought it was a statue! There were wonderful photos in the newspaper of various parts of the celebration. The day we left was a day for brothers and sister to honor each other, and the cities close down for this family holiday.

I could go on and on about Nepal, but I’ll stop now. Cheryl will have the photos up soon she says.

I’m glad to answer questions. I know there are several of you headed for Nepal soon.

Thanks to all of you for your feedback and encouragement. Obviously we had a great time in Nepal – our eight days were packed!

Let me go back and try to repond to questions and comments:

MaryW – re: Your husband’s wish to visit Nepal on motorbike – yipes! I read somewhere that the leading cause of death among young Nepalis was motor bike accidents. I suppose the traffic would be much less out in the countryside, but roads are worse. You could certainly keep yourself well-occupied in Kathmandu while he’s off on his motorbike.

Magical – I loved your memory of having to filter the water…

Dogster – no question, your memories of Kathmandu go back much father than mine. I’d be interested in your reflections on changes in Nepal during the time you’ve been visiting. And not much in the way of drugs, sex or rock ‘n roll this trip – sorry to disappoint you.

And I agree, Bob and Dogster, that I think Nepal is “India lite” in some ways. India is still on my to-go list, so I can only make comparisons from the reports I’ve read.

Craig, the weather was a bit warmer than we expected, but certainly cooler than Bangkok. Typical highs in October are in the mid to low 70s, but it was about 80 all the days but one. October, November December are good times to visit (I was there in December last time). Skies were clear and we were able to see the peaks of the Himalayas.

Hanuman – I think your daughter would enjoy Nepal. And, no doubt, you and Dang would too.

JohnH – the kid who attached himself to me was pretty young – perhaps 5, but I expect it’s a well-know trick to get money out of visitors!

Tracy – have a wonderful time in Kathmandu! One more thing to consider doing is the flight to see Everest. You are in a small plane that flies along the ridge of the Himalayas – a spectacular flight. I did it years ago – once was enough!

Kristina- You had the luxury of a food, long time in Nepal and got to do lots of things I’ve wanted to do, like visit Pokara. I expect you would find many things changed, as I did.

Travelaw – It doesn’t take long to visit Changu Narayan, go there in conjunction with Bhaktapur. It adds perhaps an hour to the trip. Not only is the temple worth seeing, just being out in the countryside is wonderful. Have a wonderful trip!

Excellent report Kathie and we are looking at going in the future.

Bob,

Mace!

Thanks again Kathie for so much information. My husband and I were talking about the motorbike part again last night. He'd just been out yesterday riding with friends who have just done such a trip - both husband and wife ride - there are now good "package" trips on bikes - a very small group with back up, guide and mechanic - but even so it was pretty hard work. Mainly very rough roads which they are okay with but big trucks that were a real problem. I'll definitely stay in Kathmandu if he does go riding (and just hope) Hopefully he will go off the idea! I worry all the time when he's off on the bike but there is no point in stopping someone doing what they really want to do.

what are the stones you refer to??

will you go back any time soon??

Kathie you are great. We have been home from Bhutan nearly 2 weeks and I am yet to put pen to paper so the speak. To be honest I spent any "computer' time I had this weekend going through trip photos which was very enjoyable. Yours is a great report. I was first in Kathmandu in the mid 80's & the last trip was '98 so I can only imagine the changes again.
Thanks for your report.
J

Bob, mani stones are small (natural) stones with the mantra om mani padme hum carved into them and painted. They are sometimes given as offerings at Buddhist stupas. This time, I saw none left as offerings, so others must buy them as I do to take home.

Jules, we all have our own ways of telling stories - I look forward to your story about Bhutan. My advantage is that someone else (Cheryl) is taking care of the photo part. She has an enormous number of photos she's going through, so it's quite time-consuming.

It's the photos that I expect will wow people. I'll let you know when they are posted.

Thanks for the enouragment kathie! I always say there is a reason I am in science I cannot write!! I look forward to seeing your photos to see if I can see the changes in KTM since we were last there. I will definately write about Bhutan we had a great trip, which I have so enjoyed reliving through the photos this weekend. Do you think I could convince Dogster to give it another chance??!!!!!
J

Kathie I forgot to ask where you plan for your next trip??

lets urge her on to india and burma

I go for India.........

Kathie,
What a fantastic trip report, so detailed and vivid. My list grows longer and longer of places to visit.

Thank you for writing it.

Great stuff this, Kathy. Of course, you put my tawdry wanders to shame.

AND to add insult to injury, you've found a whole lotta stuff I didn't. Damn you woman. I better lay off those Hashish Grilled Cheese Slices.

Enchanting reading, Kathie -- evocative, instructive, meditative, and analytic, all in good measure. It is especially interesting to read your thoughts on how Kathmandu -- and you -- have changed between visits.

I look forward to seeing the photos and have added SHOPPING FOR BUDDHAS to my reading list. Thank you for introducing some of us to the culture of Nepal.

LOL, Dogster, let's just say we each saw different things in Kathmandu!

Where to next? Of course, we have a long list of places we want to visit. Yes, both India and Burma are on the list. Also, the new Pandaw cruise in Sarawak, central Java (I've been but Cheryl hasn't), southern China... the list goes on and on.

Yes Kathy we are hoping to do the Everest flight...and yes.it seems we all see different things when we travel, that is the fun of it!!