Our Woman In... Nepal
There's no main road from Tribhuvan airport, Kathmandu, so it's straight out into the hustle and bustle of the city - streets lined with people, rush-hour traffic and honking horns. Apparently the city's population has doubled in the past five years, and you can tell!
After a short time to chill out at the hotel, my guide arrived to whisk me off for a day packed full of sightseeing. Our first port of call was the river Bagmati, considered a holy river as a tributary of India's river Ganga. There are beautiful temples alongside the river, along with a number of funeral pyres. Fresh ones.
As I learnt from my guide, there are always cremations taking place along the riverside, 24 hours a day 7 days a week - cremation is a very important part of the Hindu religion due to the belief in the reincarnation of the soul. There were plenty of people lining the bridge over the river and the river bank opposite to watch the proceedings and we joined them to watch some of the ceremonies being performed. As we watched, another family were in the process of building a pyre, and further along a few young boys were in the river, searching for offerings such as gold earrings, to make a living.
Our next stop was the impressive Boudnath stupa – the largest stupa in Nepal, with prayer wheels around the circumference to help concentration, different levels of the stupa for different stages of meditation and colourful prayer-flags fluttering above.
Driving from place to place was almost as interesting as the destinations themselves, with horn-honking an every second occurrence and cows sitting amiably in the middle of the roads, completely un-ruffled by the craziness of the traffic trying to dodge them.
We spent the evening at a traditional restaurant called Bhojan Griha. I'd tell you where it is, but as there are no street addresses in Kathmandu, I really wouldn't know how! Here, in a restored mansion, they serve a set menu of delicious traditional Nepali food, punctuated with performances of traditional folk music and dances. Dishes included fried chicken, beef stew, spinach soup and fried potatoes, with rice and vegetables, washed down with potent rice wine and followed by a cup of Nepali tea flavoured with cardamom.
The following morning we made our way to Swayambhunath, supposedly the oldest stupa in Nepal. Situated at the top of over 300 steps on top of a hill West of the city it is also known as the Monkey temple due to the large number of very naughty Rhesus monkeys roaming the area. Any attempt to eat ice-cream around here could end in tears! We cheated and took the back steps (so there were only 80-ish to climb) for fantastic views out over Kathmandu valley.
Our next stop on our site-seeing extravaganza was old Kathmandu (Durbar Square). The square is full of temples and pagodas in differing architectural styles and in different states of repair. At one end of the square stands the building that houses the Kumari – a young girl selected through a series of tests to be worshipped as Nepal's living Goddess. The current Kumari will stay in the Palace, only allowed to leave on ceremonial occasions, until she reaches puberty when she will be returned to her 'normal' life. I caught a glimpse of her through the window which apparently should mean I'm blessed with luck from now on...
In the afternoon we drove out to the country – what a contrast! Lush green mountains, trees and terraced farmland. And lots of goats. We drove through ramshackle villages where the buildings were constructed of concrete or crumbling brick, with roofs made of corrugated iron or thatch. Straw bundles were being collected on the roadsides as we drove past women sat in their shops and men working at their trades.
We stopped at a homestay, and although the family didn't speak English they couldn't have been more warm and friendly. The house was very traditional with land outside where the family grew their crops, and grain drying in the sun on the roof. We also visited the local school which consisted of bare concrete rooms filled with wooden seats and benches and very little else. Unfortunately the schools in Nepal were on strike when I visited – a not uncommon occurrence – so I didn't meet any of the children. However, I did meet the Director who explained (through my guide, as he didn't speak English) that the school is in a very rural area where they rarely meet English-speaking people, so it's great for the children to have visitors to practice English with and for cultural exchange.
That evening was my first introduction to Thamel – the touristy part of Kathmandu. Before dinner we took a walk around – all the lights were out due to a power cut (a sometimes daily occurrence in the dry season as the supply comes from hydro-electricity), but it wasn't too dark yet. After 10 minutes spent jostling for space with the traffic and in fear of my life, I realised that holding my breath and cringing every time a bicycle / motorbike / car / rickshaw honked its horn in my vicinity would not save me from my inevitable death. So I tried to relax and let them avoid me instead.
Our first port of call was a restaurant called New Orleans where I can recommend the vegetarian Momo – steamed dumplings filled with minced, spiced vegetables. Playing funky music and full of young travellers it's a nice place to relax if you need some time out from the culture shock. Next was the Rum Doodle. Renowned amongst trekkers this is the place to go after your attempt on Everest. Every bit of wall and ceiling space is covered with cardboard cut-out yeti feet telling the tale of many a trekker. After reading a few, the common themes of headaches, vomiting and many more unsavoury complaints confirmed to me that a trek to base camp was not for me.
And so the next morning I arrived back at the airport for my final sightseeing trip, the pain-free way of seeing Everest – by air. The views were fantastic, with the best bit definitely being your turn in the cockpit where you can see the mountain range in all its glory.
I'd never really considered travelling to Nepal before, so I'd been a little surprised when news of my trip was met with such jealousy! It seems that this is a place on virtually everyone's ‘places I have to go before I die' list…and now I know why!
