I think I'm going to like Nepal.
Off to a strong start, had gluten free chocolate fudge cake for breakfast. It was the only thing in side of security that I could eat in the Singapore airport...oh darn.
The flight to Kathmandu, Nepal went well (especially compared to our flight into Hong Kong, I thought the pilot was going to log roll us down the landing strip). A man in the plane kept staring
at me. And, no it wasn't Brian, but thanks for asking. I would look his way, but he wouldn't look away. It felt so creepy because I would wake up from a snooze or would be eating my lunch and he
wouldn't look away. Sorry, I'm not sorry, but it's not in my culture to be submissive. This man didn't appear to be from any parts of the world we were traveling to, thankfully. Sometimes I think
my red hair and freckles attract unwanted attention, OR maybe it's just my glowing personality.
I survived the creepster and we made it through immigrations with relative ease. We found a taxi to take to our hostel and held on for dear life. Like most other countries I've been to, driving
is a dangerous sport. This was no different, other than they also drove on the left side of the road. Added bonus to the overwhelming experience of being a passenger. There seemed to be cars,
motorcycles, and pedestrians moving in every direction communicating only through honking. People would step off the curb without looking and into traffic. Traffic would honk and swerve. Some how
five cars would fit were only four should; and don't forget the motorcycles and rickshaws that were squeezed in there too. To add to the hilarity of the situation, cows were lying in the middle
of traffic without a care in the world. I could learn from there laid back demeanor.
Our electricity was on and off during our stay. They say it was scheduled, which maybe it was, but it could have a little to do with their power lines, too. They looked like bird nests at each pole. If you were lucky or short you wouldn't hit your head on them while walking down the street. In some places random bare wires would even touch the ground. Exciting.
Walking through a neighborhood, we saw scaffolding made out of bamboo. The bamboo looked strong and sturdy, but the rope holding the intersecting pieces together, not so much. Made me hold my breath (and cross the street) as we walked by. Never thought I would say, thanks OSHA.
Brian found his new love of local food. Momo is a dumpling like food that can be steamed or fried and is often stuffed with potatoes, veggies, and maybe meat. They seem to be the cheap and easy fast food around here. They often come with a curry dipping sauce. Darn you gluten, maybe some day. I however did order the best meal so far, Pad Thai with rice noodles from OR2K. Sara wins! OR2K was a hipster kind of place. OR is apparently Hebrew for "light" and 2K for the "millennium", light of the millennium. Delicious in my belly.
At our hostel in the Thamel neighborhood, we had someone use our bathroom in the middle of the night. Granted it was in the hall way, but every room still had their own. He quite possibly was the dirtiest person on the planet. Literally left dirt all over the toilet (and poo), bathroom, walls, and sink. Conveniently, he left his bracelet behind in our bathroom. Brian went to ask if the bathroom could be cleaned and the man who made the mess was waiting in the lobby. The dirty man said he only rinsed his shoes in there which apparently required him to use all of the TP and bar of soap. We asked for our bathroom to be cleaned and went about our day laughing about the "random toilet pooper".
We got out and enjoyed the sites around town. We visited Pashupati, a Hindu temple and crematorium. It was interesting to learn about different gods and rituals. We witnessed an actual cremation
while we were there. I'm sure I'll miss some steps, so forgive me but what I recall was intense. First, the soul has to be separated from the body by getting the feet wet. Next, the body is
placed on a platform by the river. Depending on the gender of the deceased feet would point either north or south after walking the body in circles. The family (men only) would offer the body
water, "just in case" as it was explained to us. Then, depending on if it was the mother or father the youngest or eldest son, respectively, would start the cremation on the lips. From this point
on, an expert would take over to ensure the body completely burns, minus the belly button. Apparently, this style of cremation leaves behind the naval. The family has to wait hours for the
process to finish and wrap up the belly button and place it in the river. The belly button swells to show new life. Finally, the men involved are "dirty" and must shave off their hair and
eyebrows and spend 13 days praying. They aren't allowed to be with their family for fear they will pass evil spirits.
We also saw where Hindus worship for fertility, do sacrifices (humans only once a year), and where general worship is done. Most discussions started and ended with the 5 elements of life (water,
fire, wind, air, and sky).
Sadly, many buildings and shrines were damaged during the earthquakes of last year. No plans were in place to rebuild the structures.
Since our navigation skills have improved we decided to walk to Swoyambhu, a Buddhist monastery, known locally as the Monkey Temple. By improved I mean we are now 50/50. It's been great getting
lost though. We have walked passed many interesting places, but we would never be able to find them again. This trip we mostly went to our destination with only a couple of backtracks. All Sara's
fault of course. Lol.
The monastery sits on a heavily forested mountain side above the busy city of Kathmandu. It was an awesome experience hiking above the chaos to the calm of the monastery. Once inside there
were great views over all of Kathmandu. It's kind of like hiking up the flatirons in boulder with a much larger city below.
The monastery had a large gold steeple in the center. It was surrounded by ornate statutes that have probably been there for thousands of years. There were also old brick structures that
housed the Buddhist monks which also had intricate wood and stone carvings. In some of these buildings they had what we assumed to be really old relics behind barred glass cases from the
monastery. It's amazing how much history is here and how long it goes back compared to ours. On our way to the monastery we meet a guy who showed us a tiny statute in a city square that was dated
back to the 7th century. Pretty crazy!
We spent most of the day watching the monkeys and enjoying the sights. We watched monkeys throw rocks, climb poles, swing through trees, open and eat potato chips, groom each other, and play with
half full water bottle let behind by a tourist.
Just a bit of what we've been up to. Stay turned, next up is Pokhara, Nepal.