Saturday,
28 December 2013
I
went down for a late breakfast today and checked out just before 1030. I had
arranged for a vehicle to take me to Bharatpur Airport about 20 km away (it
cost USD10). The journey was a bumpy one and we reached the airport 40 minutes
later. My flight was scheduled to depart at 1220 but we finally took off after
2 (turned out there was bad weather in Kathmandu affecting all flights out of
KTM). I was getting worried as I had advised my Kathmandu hotel of my ETA and
they were going to send someone to pick me up.
We
landed at close to 3 and after picking my bag, I walked out and peered at the
people waiting outside. I was already waiting 15 minutes and had already sent a
text to Urja asking if he could check with the hotel when a man came up and
asked me if I was staying at his hotel. He was there all along but he didn’t
display his paper with my name on it! So pray tell, how was I supposed to know
you were from the hotel? Was I supposed to approach and ask every Tom, Dick and
Harry there? Duh!
We
drove to the hotel and I had my first glimpse of the city. It was a big
sprawling dusty busy bustling city with lots of people everywhere. The roads
were not good either. We reached the hotel 25 minutes later and I checked in. I
was given a glass of orange juice as welcome drink while filling up my
particulars during check-in. How thoughtful!
My
room was on the first floor and came with twin beds. I did ask later if I could
have a double room but it was not available. There was hot water (hurrah!) and
the WiFi was great too. After prayers, I went down to the lobby and waited for
Urja. He was a bit late. He showed me some shortcuts and halal restaurants and
also brought me to his office. I then paid him for a driver to bring me around
Kathmandu Valley the next day. I wanted to walk to Durbar Square but he
discouraged me, saying I could do that either early the next morning or the
morning of my departure as the lanes are bad and there are no street lights. I
looked at him in disbelief: what, no street lights in Thamel, the bustling area
of the city?
We
parted company soon after as he had to drive out to Nagarkot that evening. I
went to explore Thamel and after dinner at Shree Lal vegetarian restaurant, I
found my way back to the hotel. I also checked out the rooms at Shree Lal Inn
(above the vegetarian restaurant). The single rooms start from USD7. If you
don’t mind roughing it out, it’s a good option.
Sunday,
29 December 2013
After
breakfast, I waited for Ghopal, my driver, to take me to the six of the seven monument sites of the Kathmandu Valley in the World
Cultural Heritage List. We set of at 0830 for our first destination, Changu
Narayan Temple, in Bhaktapur, about 18 km east of Kathmandu. We reached there
at 0930. I paid Rs100 for the ticket and went up to check out the temple. It stands
1,541 metres above the sea level and dates back to 3rd Centruy AD. I spent half
an hour there.
Next, we drove back to Bakhtapur
city. The ticket was a jaw-dropping Rs1100. Durbar Square, the main square of
the city is a conglomeration of stone art, metal art, wood carving and
architectural showpieces. After Durbar Square, we walked to Taumadhi Square
with its multi-roofed temples, stone sculptures, stone spouts and wood
carvings. Pottery Square is nearby and here you can still see many potters
working and laying out their finished pots to dry. The last stop was Dattatraya
Square which is the oldest part of the city boasting Dattatraya, the oldest
temple of the city, and Bhimsen temple. I changed $30 into Rs to cover the
subsequent temple entrance fees. We were there for about two hours. Time just
flew!
We drove to Patan (aka Lalitpur)
heading to its Durbar Square in the middle of the city, arriving there at 1 pm.
Entrance was Rs500 for foreigners. The square is full of ancient monuments,
temples and shrines, each with its own exquisite craftsmanship and architectural
charm. There was a big stage built today for a concert later in the day. I
remember wondering if it’s not a sacrilege to have a concert so near a temple.
There was already a large crowd there although the concert wasn’t due in hours.
We walked around and on the way back to the car, I saw some local pastries by
the roadside. They looked good enough to eat and I was delighted to discover
they were delicious. Simple roadside snacks to fill you up quickly. We left at
1340.
We drove back to Kathmandu City and
headed to Pashupatinath Temple, quite near the airport and on the banks of the
river Bagmati. Traffic was quite bad and we only reached there at 1440. This temple
is where you can see open cremations taking place. There are two areas, one for
the common people and one for the elite. The entrance fee was a whopping Rs1000
and really, I don’t know where all the money went because the temple was not
maintained. There were rubbish and dog poo everywhere from the car park all the
way up the temple (it’s bad enough the city is already dusty). It’s strange
that the first temple I went to charged only Rs100 and yet is a dozen timed
cleaner than Pashupatinath Temple. I mean, it is among the most revered shrines
for Hindus all over the world so I don't see why the money we foreigners fork
out isn’t used to maintain the temple.
After Pashupatinath, we rejoined the
crazy city traffic and drove to Boudhanath Stupa. The entrance to the area was
a more reasonable Rs150. This stupa is one of the lost important places of
pilgrimage for Buddhists and in the past, when the trade routes to central and
western Tibet were open, traders, pilgrims and travellers sought blessing here
for safe passage over the mountain passes and gave thanksgiving to it upon
arriving in Kathmandu Valley. We went up to the upper terrace and
circumambulated around the gigantic dome. We also dropped by at a nearby
monastery for a few minutes before continuing on our journey.
Our last stop for today was Swayambhu
Maha Chaitya temple up on a hill on another side of the city. The entrance
ticket was Rs200. This temple is more easily identified as The Monkey Temple
due to the many monkeys around the temple (thankfully not of the violent kind).
I went up alone and enjoyed a breath-taking view of the city spread out below.
Ghopal then drove me back to the
hotel. I went out to find dinner after prayers and was delighted to discover
Lhasa Restaurant at Ashok Galli, a halal Tibetan restaurant very near my hotel.
I missed it the evening before when Urja was showing me around the
neighbourhood. Back in my room, I attempted to watch the heart-stopping
Newcastle-Arsenal match (the power outages sure didn’t help!). We won, thank
God.
Monday, 30 December 2013
After morning shower and prayers, I
set off for Kathmandu Durbar Square. I walked the dusty lanes of Thamel and the
next neighbourhood, asking for directions twice (I didn’t bring my maps) before
finally arriving at the square. I grimaced most of the way at the state of the
lanes; in some places, I had to jump twice over pipe lines freshly dug. It was
a seriously horrible walk and I vowed to take a different route going back to
Thamel. Kathmandu Durbar Square is the most extensive of the three royal palace
squares (Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur) in terms of size and scale of open
space and structures. King Pratap Malla had a stone statue of Hanuman erected
in front of his palace to drive away evil spirits and be victorious in wars and
this palace later came to be known as the Hanuman Dhoka Durbar. I spent about
half an hour walking around and observing the morning life in and around the
square before returning to my hotel.
After breakfast, I set off for Narayanhiti
Palace
Museum. I reached there at 10 am. Unfortunately, the museum’s opening hours are
11-14 in winter. I wasn’t about to loiter there for another hour and besides, I
needed to be back at the hotel by noon to finish packing and perform prayers
before checking out. I passed the Garden of Dreams again on my way back to
Thamel but decided to skip it. Instead, I ventured into Thamel and walked up
and down the lanes, checking out the stalls. I finally bought a yak wool scarf
for my dad and a water bottle for myself before returning to the hotel.
After
checking out, I walked to Lhasa Restaurant to have lunch. I met a Singaporean
chap there and we got to chatting. He then showed me a shop selling Himalayan
honey and I bought a bottle, again for dad. Then I returned to the hotel and
started to read to pass the time. I performed evening prayers in the hotel
restaurant after asking permission from the staff. They were kind, thoughtful
and considerate enough to allow me to pray in there. They also gave me some tea
while I was reading.
I
had arranged for a cab to pick me up at 2030 even though my flight is at 2350.
I ventured out for dinner after 7 and then changed the remaining rupees I had
back into USD. The cab arrived on time and just before I left, the hotel staff
and manager performed the khata ceremony on me by tying a scarf around my neck.
How lovely and thoughtful!
We
reached the airport after 20 minutes and I went in via check-in area B. We had
to queue to screen our bags and the queue was slow. After that, I went for a
quick visit to the washroom to freshen up as I was checking in my toiletries. I
also shed off my hoodie into my checked in bag. After checking in, I went
through immigration (such a lot of people!!!) and the usual security check
(different queues for men and women). Then I went to wait at the boarding gate.
We
rode the bus to where the plane was and boarded it at 11:30 pm. We took off on
time and I tried my best to sleep. We landed at 0630 the next morning and my
bag had just come out onto the carousel when I emerged from the prayer room.
What luck!
So
that was my year-end trip. I would love a trip to the happiest country in Asia
and Tibet soon.
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