After our third and final stop in Thailand we were ready to sing along to the old Bob Seger classic, "I'm going to Katmandu. That's really, really where I'm going to. If I ever get out of here, That's what I'm gonna do. K-k-k-k-k-k Katmandu." According to Lonely Planet the city is like an explosion of sights, sounds and smells that quickly lead to sensory overload. We would have to agree that this is an accurate description.
We flew Thai Airways TG319 from Bangkok to Katmandu on Friday, March 24th. We were actually given a preview of what lay ahead regarding the chaotic traffic before we even landed. After circling the city for about an hour and a half due to airport congestion, we were finally given the clearance to land.
Tribhuvan International Airport looks like something out of an old black and white movie. It is a dusty old building that doesn't look like it has changed in years. During our long wait in the "visa upon arrival" line we passed the time chatting with a young Canadian girl and an older Australian couple. After about an hour we received our visas, had cleared immigration and were collecting our bags.
Once outside we pushed our way through the onslaught of hotel touts and taxi drivers before we found the representative from our volunteer organization. We then drove to Thamel, the main tourist and backpacker district, where we checked into the Lemon Tree Hotel.
Later that afternoon we managed to walk to the Friendship Nepal Travel office. After twisting and turning though the small, crowded streets of Thamel we finally found the small office and met the man, who we were told would be responsable for arranging our Tibet visas. After handing over our money and passports we were told our visas "should" be ready by the end of the week.
Walking around the tourist ghetto of Thamel was an experience in itself. We didn't know what we would see next as we made our way through the congested, dusty old roads. With the combination of people, rickshaws, motorbikes and vehicles of all shapes and sizes, simply trying to walk was a challenge. Pavement and sidewalks were nowhere to be seen and everything around us seemed to be either in a state of destruction or under some stage of construction.
Later that evening we sat back and discussed the events of the day as we ate pork chops and buffalo momo (dumpings) at a place close to our hotel called the Happy Kitchen.
The next day after a very nice breakfast at the Lemon Tree we walked around Thamel some more and made our way towards Durbar Square, which is the historic centre of Katmandu.
It was here where the Royal Family once ruled Nepal. Most of the Square dates back to the 17th and 18th century; however, many of the original buildings are much older. We were shocked to see how much damage still exists from the 2015 earthquake.
While we were in the area we watched a huge parade before we went for a walk down Freak Street. This famous street dates back to the 1960s and 1970s when it was the great gathering place for hippies and other weird and wonderful foreign travellers in search of spiritual enlightenment and cheap hotels.
Just when we thought things couldn't get any more interesting, we went to a building called the Kumari Bahal which houses a real living Goddess. The Kumari Devi is a young girl who lives in the building. Apparently there are a number of living goddesses in Nepal; however, the Kumari Devi is the most important.
According to custom, the young girl went through a number of tests and met a number of physical requirements in order to be given this role. The Kumari's reign as a goddess ends when she hits puberty. At that time she returns to the status of normal human being. Although we stood in her courtyard, and like many others stared up at her open window, the goddess girl did not show her face to us on this day.
By this time we had worked up a bit of an appetite and made our way back to Durbar Square where we went to a rooftop restaurant for lunch. After eating we walked along Asan Tole, one of Katmandu's main commercial streets, and though some of the city's busiest junctions before we made our way back to Thamel.
The next day we went to the Garden of Dreams. This small park is just a few minutes away from Thamel; however, it feels like a completely different world. It was a nice escape from the chaotic hussle and bustle of Thamel. We enjoyed a few hours of peace and quiet here and took a little nap on the grass.
We ate lunch at the Thakali Kitchen, tried daal bhaat for the first time. It is the staple meal of Nepal, which is made up of lentil soup, rice and curried vegetables. It is something we would eat much more of in the days to come.
On Monday, March 27th, we walked from Thamel back to Durbar Square. Here we went to another rooftop restaurant for lunch. It overlooked Mahendreshwar Temple as well as other buildings in the square.
After eating we poked around and did some shopping at Tole Bazaar. From there we continued on to Nagha Bahal Stupa. This stupa like others is a large bell-shaped Buddhist structure.
Here we learned, from a kind Nepali man, the importance of walking clockwise around stupas. At first when he approached us we thought he was trying to sell us something, until he told us to please walk back around the stupa in the other direction. Not doing so would mean bad luck for us. We thanked the man and proceeded to walk around the stupa again, this time, as we now noticed, in the same direction as everyone else.
After we had erased our negative karma, we sat in the temple and listened to the monks chant before it was time for us to move on. That evening we celebrated Jueun's birthday by having a nice meal of samgyeopsal at a Korean restaurant and then a couple of pints at the nearby Everest Irish Pub.
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