Earthlooping at Kathmandu's Durbar Square
Unfortunately I'm writing this post after the earthquake that devastated Nepal last April. We were lucky enough to leave the country 15 days before the tragedy, so we could enjoy this beautiful country and see all the impressive monuments. Now, most of the places we saw are just gone or are a pile of ruines and a lot of people we met are still suffering and trying to recover. However, Nepal is a really beautiful country full of lovely people, so the best thing you can do to help is go and visit it. Even after the earthquake, it has still lots of things to offer for the traveller. No doubt about it!
This is how we saw Nepal a few weeks before the earthquake.
This is how we saw Nepal a few weeks before the earthquake.
The crossing from Tibet into Nepal was quite a shock. After the thrilling drive along the Friendship Highway, we just crossed the Friendship Bridge and we were in a total different culture: Women dressed in colorful sarees, English widely spoken, friendly people... and chaos, quite a chaos everywhere if only being a small border town.
Kodari, the border town with Tibet, is just an unpaved road with a few shops, guesthouses and restaurants around and a bus stop at the end of the road. The first thing we did was to have our Nepali visa stamped valid for 3 months in a small office in Kodari, and after that we went straight to the bus stop to take the first bus heading to Kathmandu.
Kodari, the border town with Tibet, is just an unpaved road with a few shops, guesthouses and restaurants around and a bus stop at the end of the road. The first thing we did was to have our Nepali visa stamped valid for 3 months in a small office in Kodari, and after that we went straight to the bus stop to take the first bus heading to Kathmandu.
The initial idea was to spend a couple of days in the surroundings of Kodari, as there's a good river for rafting and a good bungee-jumping bridge, but being low season and still a bit cold, we decided to head straight to the capital.
And so we did. We jumped in our first Nepali bus and we tried our first Nepali road. And it was official: we were in a total different country, nothing to do with Tibet or China. It was an old bus literally full with people, with windows you could hardly open and even if it was a bit cold outside, it was hard to breathe inside, even more with our winter clothes from Tibet.
And so we did. We jumped in our first Nepali bus and we tried our first Nepali road. And it was official: we were in a total different country, nothing to do with Tibet or China. It was an old bus literally full with people, with windows you could hardly open and even if it was a bit cold outside, it was hard to breathe inside, even more with our winter clothes from Tibet.
Kodari: Our first impression of Nepal
The trip to Kathmandu was a pain in the ass: the bus was supposed to take 3 hours but it took 5, the road was the worst ever, it was stopping everywhere... and we were totally destroyed after having woken up at 4 in the morning in Tibet. Still, the views were quite nice and we had a first impression of what Nepal had to offer: rivers, mountains, rice terraces, small villages... But make things worse after the bus ride, once we arrived in Kathmandu we had to deal with the chaos of the city: dust, pollution, traffic and noise everywhere. Not the best welcome into the new country but somehow we made it to the hostel and soon afterwards we went to have something to eat, we were starving!
We were located in Thamel, the main touristic neighbourhood of the capital of Nepal. This had good things (nice bars, Western food which was quite appreciated after months on the road and the monotonous Nepali food and shops and supermarkets to make your life a bit easier) and bad things (touts everywhere offerring you all kinds of tours and things, tourists everywhere and higher prices than in the rest of the city).
After a good pizza and finding out that in Nepal everything is quite cheap except beer, we went back to our hostel to have some good rest. We planned to wake up late the following morning but the owner of the hostel told us there was the annual Hindu festival at Pashupatinath Temple that day, and we shoud go and see it, as it is a very special celebration. OK, no long sleep, then.
We were located in Thamel, the main touristic neighbourhood of the capital of Nepal. This had good things (nice bars, Western food which was quite appreciated after months on the road and the monotonous Nepali food and shops and supermarkets to make your life a bit easier) and bad things (touts everywhere offerring you all kinds of tours and things, tourists everywhere and higher prices than in the rest of the city).
After a good pizza and finding out that in Nepal everything is quite cheap except beer, we went back to our hostel to have some good rest. We planned to wake up late the following morning but the owner of the hostel told us there was the annual Hindu festival at Pashupatinath Temple that day, and we shoud go and see it, as it is a very special celebration. OK, no long sleep, then.
Pashupatinath Temple and... yes, a corpse.
As recommended, the following day we went to the temple, and yes, it was a really special thing: full of people, celebrations, saddhus (these holy men that live from donations and have long beards and dreadlocks) and monkeys for the first time in our trip. But probably the most impressive thing was to see for the first time how Hindu people deal with death: they wash the corpse in the river and then they cremate it. Shocking. We spent almost the whole day there (we were also "painted" with the Hindu Tika, this paint or dot they wear in their forehead as a third eye and sign of protection) until the place was too crowded, when we decided to go back home, which was quite an experience, too. We jumped into a minivan prepared for 6 people but in which we were 12. In Kathmandu, you have different options of transportaion, and you never know which one you will take. It is a matter of stopping Tuk-Tuks (3-wheelers), buses, minivans or whatever it looks like a public transport and ask if it goes to your destination.
The following days in Kathmandu were devoted to rest, sleep and take everything easy. Actually Nepal was the first country we didn't have to rush. We had a 3-month visa, so that allowed us to have days without doing anything, just go for a walk, try some Nepali food (basically momos and dhal-bhat) update the website a bit, go to the Western supermarket, etc.
The following days in Kathmandu were devoted to rest, sleep and take everything easy. Actually Nepal was the first country we didn't have to rush. We had a 3-month visa, so that allowed us to have days without doing anything, just go for a walk, try some Nepali food (basically momos and dhal-bhat) update the website a bit, go to the Western supermarket, etc.
And that's what we basically did. In the meantime, we discovered a place with really good chocolate doughnuts and another one with a mouth-watering lassi, we confirmed beer is expensive, we saw the biggest amount of tourists in the whole trip, and the biggest concentration of fake outdoor sports shops in the world, probably, which would be good to make some shopping if we planned to go trekking in the Annapurna Range.
Besides resting and eating, we also did some sightseeing and visited the landmarks of Kathmandu and of the Kathmandu valley. We spent a total of 12 days in Kathmandu (if you just want to sightsee, 2 days are more than enough) and in that time we got used to the city and everything related to it. And without having been yet to India, the feeling was that the Nepali capital could well be an Indian city (not only for the fact that most of the people are Hindu, though). Kathmandu is full of dust and pollution, most of the people wear facemasks to protect themselves, the traffic is heavy, when it rains it rains dust and it is almost impossible to walk on the street, you have to get used to the loadshedding (power cuts of 13 hours every day) and live without electricity more than half of the day...
Besides resting and eating, we also did some sightseeing and visited the landmarks of Kathmandu and of the Kathmandu valley. We spent a total of 12 days in Kathmandu (if you just want to sightsee, 2 days are more than enough) and in that time we got used to the city and everything related to it. And without having been yet to India, the feeling was that the Nepali capital could well be an Indian city (not only for the fact that most of the people are Hindu, though). Kathmandu is full of dust and pollution, most of the people wear facemasks to protect themselves, the traffic is heavy, when it rains it rains dust and it is almost impossible to walk on the street, you have to get used to the loadshedding (power cuts of 13 hours every day) and live without electricity more than half of the day...
Monkey Temple
But Kathmandu has also positive things: people are nice, much nicer than in China, for example, most of them speak a good English, they are always willing to help... and even if being a chaos and having the feeling that you can die at any moment driven by any of the vehicles in the city, exploring Kathmandu on foot and visiting its landmarks is a really good experience.
During these 12 days, we went to the Monkey Temple to enjoy beautiful views of the city, to Durbar Square to be impressed with the ancient temples and palaces, to Pashupatinath Temple to enjoy the annual Hindu celebration, to the surrounding villages in the Kathmandu Valley of Patan (the most beautiful Durbar Square in Nepal plus the experience of being blessed by the local Kumari or living goddess), Bouddha (the biggest stupa in Asia) and Bhaktapur (a realy nice Durbar Square and an even more beautiful pottery square) and we just got lost in Kathmandu's alleys discovering stupas, temples and small shops.
During these 12 days, we went to the Monkey Temple to enjoy beautiful views of the city, to Durbar Square to be impressed with the ancient temples and palaces, to Pashupatinath Temple to enjoy the annual Hindu celebration, to the surrounding villages in the Kathmandu Valley of Patan (the most beautiful Durbar Square in Nepal plus the experience of being blessed by the local Kumari or living goddess), Bouddha (the biggest stupa in Asia) and Bhaktapur (a realy nice Durbar Square and an even more beautiful pottery square) and we just got lost in Kathmandu's alleys discovering stupas, temples and small shops.
And it was everything beautiful and worth. Especially, after having visited a lot of Buddhist temples before, visiting Hindu ones for the first time was quite interesting. However, most of the temples share a common thing, here: they are really impressive from outside, but when you get inside there's almost nothing but a small hall and a small God to pray to.
Anyway, we enjoyed everything there, especially the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. But we have to say that there's a quite big downside of sightseeing in Nepal: you have to pay for everything. Literally. And as a foreigner you have to pay a lot, which is in my opinion not fair at all. How in the world you have to pay 8 USD to visit Kathmandu's Durbar Square? Or 15 USD for Patan's? Please, I agree in paying, but reasonable prices. Nepalis have everything for free and you, just by being a tourist, have to be ripped off. Government of Nepal, think a bit, please. Tourists come to your country, spend money in accomodation, restaurants, shops, etc. You can charge them an entrance fee to museums, temples or whatever, but charging them astronomical prices to visit a public square? I don't get it.
Anyway, we enjoyed everything there, especially the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. But we have to say that there's a quite big downside of sightseeing in Nepal: you have to pay for everything. Literally. And as a foreigner you have to pay a lot, which is in my opinion not fair at all. How in the world you have to pay 8 USD to visit Kathmandu's Durbar Square? Or 15 USD for Patan's? Please, I agree in paying, but reasonable prices. Nepalis have everything for free and you, just by being a tourist, have to be ripped off. Government of Nepal, think a bit, please. Tourists come to your country, spend money in accomodation, restaurants, shops, etc. You can charge them an entrance fee to museums, temples or whatever, but charging them astronomical prices to visit a public square? I don't get it.
Bhaktapur Pottery Square
So with this politics of charging for everything what they got from us was making us think how to sneak in all of the places. And that's the good thing: even if you are supposed to pay for everything, you can always sneak in. Always. You just have to find the street or the place with no ticket control and you're in. And that's what most of the people do. Sorry, but we don't like to feel like idiots, if we were charged a reasonable price, no problem, but like this, no way. Tourists and foreigners are just people visiting a country and special places within it, no idiots who can pay whatever price for anything.
Black Shiva. Kathmandu Durbar Square
Anyway, the days in Kathmandu and in the Kathmandu valley were very profitable. We got used to a new country, new culture, we were even sick with fever for two days (probably due to the change of temperatures all time from China to Tibet to Nepal) and now it was time to move from the big city for a few days and go to Chitwan National Park, in the South of the country and supposed to be one of the best places in the world to see rhinos. We will get to see a bit more than the capital of the country and check if it is as chaotic and the roads are as bad as the one from Kodari to Kathmandu. After Chitwan, the Holi festival was waiting for us back in Kathmandu!
If you're planning to visit Nepal, you can have a look at all the Nepal Picture Gallery as well as at the Travle Guides of Kathmandu, Patan, Boudha and Bhaktapur. And remember, even after the earthquake, Nepal is without any doubt, a really recommendable destination!
If you're planning to visit Nepal, you can have a look at all the Nepal Picture Gallery as well as at the Travle Guides of Kathmandu, Patan, Boudha and Bhaktapur. And remember, even after the earthquake, Nepal is without any doubt, a really recommendable destination!
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