Nepal. We made it; and what a change from China. We are in the small lakeside city of Pokhara—about six hours drive from Kathmandu. Tomorrow we are off on a five day trek in the Annapurna conservation area; and although the monsoon rains are here, we are looking forward to it.
On our way to Pokhara we wondered streets in Kathmandu, spied the Himalayas from a distance—and through cloud—in Nagarkot, and drunk hot marsala tea in Bhaktapur.
Below we describe our time in Nepal and our stopover in Seoul, South Korea.
A testing stopover in Seoul
Eli here.
Seoul is a modern megacity with over 10 million people. It is noticeably more western than China with road rules that are obeyed and queues that work. It is also the first stop on Korean Air’s connection between Beijing and Kathmandu—and this is how we ended up there.
One night is not long in the city; but was just long enough for us to see the N Seoul Tower—with its panoramic views of the city—and to try some spicy Korean food.
The next day our connecting flight to Kathmandu was early—and we almost missed it. Instead of rising with the alarm, we woke over an hour late. After rushing through our wakeup and packing routine, we used trains and a taxi to get to Incheon airport just as our plane was boarding.
Astonishing we made it onto our plane—albeit with some casualties. Understanding people were pushed and wacked by our bags as we jumped queues. Lane ropes were unintentionally unhooked. And security staff harassed. There was no time to play Mr Nice Guy.
Our biggest loss was some of our gear. Due to time restrictions check-in was no longer available. This meant that we took all our gear as carryon. Unfortunately, some items—such as pocket knives, scissors, and some liquids—are not allowed on planes. Some of these items we had. And so some of these items we left with bewildered security staff.
But we made it. In just 15 minutes from the time we got out of the taxi we outmuscled our way through security, immigration, and customs, ran from one end of the terminal to the other, and still had the time—and the fortitude—to smile at cabin staff as we boarded.
Time on the streets of Kathmandu
As Nepal’s centre of almost everything, Kathmandu was a necessary stop for us. Our flight from Seoul was greeted by a pleasant heat and a team of touting taxi drivers offering cheapness. Nepal’s immigration was laid-back—and the first not to stamp our passports.
But Kathmandu was more than just a stop: it was a place to complete four key tasks. One, get our Indian visas. Two, replace items that we left with security in Seoul. Three, plan the rest of our Nepalese visit. And four, explore the city’s sites.
After dealing with the first three tasks—for now—we focused on the fourth. To do this we based ourselves in the tourist area of Thamel.
Centrally located, Thamel sports hundreds of guesthouses, outdoor and souvenir stores, travel agents, and western-inspired restaurants. Its streets are narrow and crowded with taxis and motorbikes. Rubbish fills the gutters and locals offer trips to the mountains and marijuana. As a place to live it’s depressing. But as a stopover it offers everything a backpacker needs.
Thankfully, the further away from Thamel you get the more of the real Kathmandu you see. So we walked the streets.
First we walked south to Durba Square—a collection of historic temples, shrines to goddesses, museums, and a royal palace. There were plenty of people: locals resting on temple steps, armed police looking for trouble, and tourists taking pictures that others have taken before. During our visit we were fortunate enough to see a karate competition complete with black belts, gongs, and an encroaching crowd.
Further south, the streets got muddier and messier. Poverty is more overt as people struggle to live—which is not surprising as over a quarter of Nepalese live on less than US$1 per day. But despite this struggle, the Nepalese are especially friendly and get on with life.
Next we walked west to the hilltop temple complex of Swayambhu. Overrun by pilgrims and monkeys, the complex is a microcosm of Nepalese culture—showing that both Hinduism and Buddhism happily coexist in Nepal. Shrines to gods and goddesses from both religions circle a central golden Buddhist stupa. Prayer wheels wait for people to spin them. Incense burns. And colourful prayer flags hang from trees, buildings, and the stupa.
But people make the place. Ladies in saris and monks in robes walk around or sit peacefully. Some people try to throw coins into wishing buckets with limited success or feed monkeys. Others—like us—take in the view of Kathmandu. Traders offer Mandela pictures, trinkets, and peeled cucumbers. And kids play with friends.
After day three it was time to move on knowing that we would return in a few days to complete our Indian visa applications.
Viewing the Himalayas from Nagarkot
About one hour east of Kathmandu is Bhaktapur and about 1.5 hours northeast of there is the hill town of Nagarkot. Surrounded by pine trees and sitting atop a ridge that snakes eastwards, the town is known for its views of the Himalayas—including Mt Everast—but not much else.
We stayed one night. Our only excitements were fending off unwanted advances from a drunken local and saving a friendly dog from a fight with others.
The next day our plan was to wake early and walk to a nearby watchtower to see the sun rise over the mountains. But the weather got in our way: instead of sun we got cloud; instead of birds chirping we got rain drops tapping. So we slept some more before heading to the tower for less than spectacular cloud soaked views.
Later we bussed back to Bhaktapur.
Exploring Nepalese culture in Bhaktapur
Claire here
Buses in Nepal are an experience; not a pleasant one but an experience none the less. I thought there were no limits to the numbers the Chinese could fit on to the bus. I was wrong they have nothing on the Nepalese. There is literally no space too small to fit another body in. And so was our journey from Nagakot to Bhaktapur
Bhaktaphur is one of the oldest cities in Nepal; dating back to about the 12th century AD and thanks to our good friends at UNESCO has managed to retain some of its old world charm whilst having refurbished many of the buildings. The terracotta colour of brick abounds in the paved streets and the tall narrow buildings.
Dotted around the city hidden in courtyards behind houses and shops are numerous stupas and shrines. Hindu and Buddhist religions intermingle and each place is a living breathing site of worship. Along with the smaller sites two main squares house larger temple structures as well as various palaces and monuments built over the years by assorted kings.
We spent our days exploring these various sites and our evenings avoiding the rain. We ate buff momos (buffalo steamed dumplings), samousas and potato fritters followed by steaming cups of spicy marsala tea with the locals. It has to be said that mostly the locals are young men who seem to be the only ones with the time and available funds to lounge on the street and cruise the streets on their motor bikes. Their female counterparts are for the most part conspicuous by their absence.
Back to Kathmandu
We headed back to Kathmandu and the bureaucracy of the Indian Visa Processing Centre. Our day first involved a morning visit to have the application stamped followed by a late afternoon return visit to actually collect the visa. In between we visited Boudha.
Boudha village is home to one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist Stupas in the world and is the religious centre of religious centre for Tibetan exiles living in Nepal. It is believed that there has been a religious monument on this site since 600 AD. The streets surrounding are filled with Gompas (monasteries) beautifully decorated in the intricate colourful Tibetan style.
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Our next post will tell of our time in Chitwan National Park and our—hopefully successful—trekking around Pokhara.
As an aside, we expect to enter India around the start of August. Any ideas on places to visit are more than welcome.
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