Namaste

We are back in Delhi now and getting ready to make the trip home via Heathrow, Miami and St Maarten. It has been a wonderful trip. It started out hectic, settled down a bit and then hit a really tranquil note in Nepal. We saw a lot, we ate a lot, and Michael purchased a lot. So we are now tired and happy and ready to be home in our own bed with our cats. Until next time, we are heading out
on a wing

and a prayer

we say Namaste!



Hot in Delhi

We arrived back in Delhi last night, but don't fly out until 2:20A tonight. So we thought that we should at least get out of the hotel room and stretch our legs. Armed with the metro map and plans to go to Old Delhi we headed out. Right away we ran into a guy who asked if we needed directions. We said we were going to the metro to Old Delhi. How helpful he was. Pointed towards the metro but told us not to waste our time. He's an employee of the Royal Plaza Hotel (where we are staying and from whence we just came) and was getting off work. But there are demonstrations and strikes and the metro isn't working between here and there. Best that we take a tuktuk (which miraculously appeared in front of us) for only 10 times the cost of the metro fare. Well, we didn't fall off of the puri truck just yesterday. So we said, "No thank you." Walked back the half block to the hotel and asked the concierge if there are strikes and demonstrations and/or any problem with the metro. Nope. No trouble at all.

So off we went again having been warned by our travel agent to avoid the metro during rush our (before 10:30A) because it would be crowded. Suffice it to say that even at noon it's crazy. But we made it to Old Delhi, fought off the tuktuk drivers there and found the Red Fort. Debated going in because who really needs to see yet another red fort. However, we'd come all that way so we figured we should go in. Yup, another red fort. Check, check.

Unfortunately, we were stupid enough to head out on our adventure without a bottle of water so we were dying of thirst in the 107.6 degrees (42 C) heat. Fortunately, we walked past a McDonalds and stopped in to cool off and to split a coke. We sat at the window and watched folks walk by. Just outside one man sat on a curb with what looked like a needle doing something on the side of another man's head. We were intriqued. He was working on the other side so we couldn't see. Was he shaving him? Was he tattooing him? What? Then two more men appeared in the corner of the window, money exchanged hands, and then one of them commenced cleaning out the other guy's ears. No kidding. Seriously. If we hadn't stopped for the coke we would have pushed right past without seeing this for what it was. And it just goes to show you that no matter how much we travel, how many places we go, we can still be surprised.

Patan City

Yesterday we visited a local farming village in the morning and then headed to the last of the three cities (founded when the kingdom of Kathmandu was divided into three separate kingdoms). All three city squares have three elements in common: the royal house, the pagoda temple and a tall column atop which sits the king, himself. Legend has it that the little bird on this guy’s head will one day fly away and then the stone elephants in the square will get up and walk over to the public bath for a drink.

All of the kings apparently spoke 15 different languages and dabbled in writing poetry and studying architecture. In addition, it seems that ‘it is said’ (which is obviously different than saying ‘it is so’) that all of the temples were built out of the ‘timber from a single tree’.

Arriving in Patan City, we were prepared to hear the same stories again. However, there are specific distinctions between the cities. Kathmandu has the Kumari Devi. Bhaktapur has the Palace of 55 windows. And Patan’s temple is NOT built from the timber of a single tree. This King broke with tradition and distinguished himself and his city by building his temple only of stone (no timber at all, no nails, nothing but stone).

Animals

The Hindu religion sees cows as the symbol of life so they can never be killed. As a result cows live a pretty charmed life doing exactly as they please. That’s why we found them everywhere we went - casually walking down the middle of the roads any place from the countryside to the busy streets of Mumbai to the major highways. This revered status means you are not going to find beef on a menu in these parts. (Though here in Nepal, we found that they do eat buffalo – a convenient distinction.)

Sheep and goats are also an acceptable food stuff. Last night we were walking in to the square and passed one of the many butcher shops displaying carcasses and got heads to find a live goat tied up in front of the establishment. Clearly not a good day for the poor fellow. I doubt that he was there seeing off a friend.

Mostly, though, it seems that the folks who eat meat eat mostly chicken. There are chickens everywhere. And not the scrawny chickens that run around Anguilla. These are really big, fat chickens – the fattest chickens I have ever seen. On the streets and living in houses – not hen houses either. People’s houses. In Bhaktapur we went down one little street to see a beautiful example of a carved, wooden window in a popular peacock motif when we saw the big rooster in another window. So in addition to the peacock window we all took photos of the chicken window, That certainly made the locals laugh.

Goddesses

This is our last night in Nepal. Tomorrow we go back to Delhi and then start traveling home. It’s been a different kind of whirlwind here. In India we were traveling every day for hours on end so I had plenty of time in the van to blog. Here in Nepal, my Blackberry doesn’t work and even though our guide here likes to start out at the civilized hour of 9:30AM, we have been out and about all day so I’ve sort of fallen behind - posting mostly photographs without a lot of narrative. I will endeavor to throw in some stories now.

I will start with the Kumari Devi…the living goddess who resides in Durbar Square here in Kathmandu. This young girl is chosen at a very young age based on over 30 different criteria ranging from eye color to the shape of her teeth and the sound of her voice. In spite of these stringent requirements apparently more than one girl is found to be suitable so a contest of demeanor and will takes place. All of the eligible girls are placed in a dark room along with a bunch of grotesque, bloody, buffalo heads while a bunch of old men run around outside of the room making scary noises. The girl who remains most calm is anointed as the Kumari living goddess.

She and her family then move into the Kumari residence and are supported by the temple through donations made in her behalf. She is tutored within the residence and only ventures out to make certain public appearances. Her “reign” as the goddess comes to an end the minute she reaches puberty and a new goddess is selected to replace her. She reverts to being mortal but doesn’t leave empty-handed. She receives a substantial dowry from the temple as a parting gift. Unfortunately, it is considered to be very bad luck to marry an ex-Kumari Goddess (the joke being that maybe it’s just not wise to marry someone who has lived such a favored existence).

Since I don’t have a photo of the current Kumari Living Goddess, I’m offering up images of three, regular, every day Nepali goddesses.

Bhaktapur

This morning after the Mountain Flight to Everest and breakfast back at the hotel, we went to see the biggest Stupa in Nepal. Then we went to Pashupatinath Temple where the cremation Ghats are located. They perform between 20-40 cremations each day there. It costs about $50US in a world where 45% of the population lives under the poverty level which is only $150/year. I'm not going to post a picture of one of the cremations but here's the temple.

Apparently this whole area was one kingdom back in the day. Then the king died and his three sons fought over who should be the next king and rather than killing each other, they just split the kingdom. So yesterday we saw Kathmandu. And today we visited Bhaktapur. It’s like Luang Prabang, Laos only much bigger and more interesting. If I ever come back to Nepal, I will stay in a little guest house (our guide, Pipin recommends Shiva Guest House) in Bhaktapur. The Palace, the squares and the temples are lovely. There are little winding streets everywhere. Lots and lots of shops and markets. It's just as picturesque and as interesting as can be.

 

 



As the saying goes here in Kathmandu, "I did not climb Mt. Everest...but touched it with my heart."

Just to let you know that we survived the flight. More later.