Nepal – A Sensual Explosion

Our first impression of Nepal was not great.  Its blue skies were completely obscured with haze and smoke from agricultural burning, car emissions, dry conditions, and dust trapped in its valley. It’s a typical condition in the dry season.  The city of Kathmandu is old, dirty, noisy, and filled with people . . . women in colorful, silky dresses and scarves, sandals, and toe rings, and men in western street clothes or in many sorts of native-dress costumes and hats.  The strangest-looking people had bizarre white and orange painted faces.  These high holy men offered to let us take their photograph, but we’d need to pay.  These holy men were not praying, and we didn’t feel like paying.    We thought we might have returned to Delhi. 

The very first site we were introduced to was Pashupatinath Temple.  The area lies along the Bagmati River, flowing with holy water and trash.  The temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, is one of the oldest and most important religious sites in Asia.   The temple’s original date of existence is 400 AD, but the temple we saw that day was renovated in the 17^th century, following 1200 years of decay and earthquakes.  On our side of the river, holy people were reading palms, hawking photo opportunities, and leading people in prayers and blessings.  Monkeys and people roamed freely about.  Across the river, there was a great deal of smoke from seven separate funeral pyres in progress.  Stan and I have witnessed many a sight that scrambled our minds, but this one was stunning. 

Cremation is a common practice in Hindu cultures, but this was the first outdoor cremation we have ever seen.  Cremation takes place almost immediately after a Hindu person dies.  They are wrapped in white cloths and taken to the holy river, where they are bathed (sponge bath style) in the waters.  Then they are laid upon a bamboo stretcher and carried to the pyre.  There is no odor except for that from the wood fires.  After 3 or 4 hours, when the body is fully burned, its ashes are pushed into the river.  For the next 13 days, mourning takes place.  Rites, like a daily prayer gathering, conducted by a Hindu priest or the eldest son, are conducted to encourage and guide the soul to the next life.  On the thirteenth day, the Hindus believe the soul is released to the next life or ends the rebirth cycle. 

Whoa!  That got our minds right. 

We moved on to the huge Kathmandu Durbar (king) Square, which contains several temples, most first constructed in the 16th century.  Decorated with intricate carved wooden facades, some are in amazing condition, while some show evidence of the last devastating earthquake in 2015.  The square is a busy, crowded, and very religious place.  The air is filled with the scent of burning incense. 

As if our minds were not overwhelmed already, we went to the palace of the child Goddess, Kumari.  At 11:30 am each day, this tiny tot, all made-up in kohl and wearing an elegant gown, makes a less-than-one-minute appearance at a window.  No photos are allowed.  The composed and regal-looking little girl came to the window, looked over the crowd with staunch grace, and, as any child might, she made a gesture that proved this goddess-to-be only a little girl.  Because she is thought to be an incarnation of the goddess Taleju, this child never leaves her sizeable palace. Her feet never touch the ground, though she is educated and meticulously cared for.  As a goddess, she is believed to offer protection and blessings.  Her tenure ends upon reaching puberty.  At the time she has her first menstrual period, another goddess candidate is chosen. 

For many years, Stan Weeks has talked about having a martini in Kathmandu.  Let’s set the mood:  play in the back of your mind a little Bob Seger, “I’m going to Kathmandu; that’s what I’m going to do.”   We had those martinis! Yes, and on the rooftop bar in Kathmandu overlooking the plaza market at Durbar Square.  How romantic!  And it was on the eve of our 51^st wedding anniversary.  Check!  Another one of life’s almost impossible goals met.  

By the end of day three, having seen hours’ worth of pretty countryside on horrible roads between Kathmandu and Pokhara, we felt we may have judged this country a little too harshly. We take some of the responsibility.  This is the dry season here.  We chose this time of year because the monsoon season is not very inviting at all.  However, note to self, when visiting countries with distinct dry and rainy seasons, it might be best to opt for the wet one.  In the dry season, due to wood fires, and the burning of fields combined with weather conditions in mountain valleys, the sky is typically hazy, each and every day. That’s just the way it is.   In the monsoon season, yes, there is rain, but often not all day.  When rain clouds clear away, yes, outside will be steamy, but the chances are greater that lovely blue skies will don the mountains, and flowers will be in bloom.  Gardens and terraced fields will be bursting with an array of greens. 

As for Stan and me, we are enjoying endless days of pleasant, dry weather, but we miss seeing abundant flowers and the clear blue skies. 

In Pokara, we visited a very pretty Phewa Lake, popular for boat rides and a waterside promenade filled with bars and outdoor restaurants grilling yummy-looking foods.  The next morning we visited the white and serene World Peace Pagoda perched on a tall hill overlooking the Phewas Lake and then made an insanely crowded visit to Devi’s Falls. This is a place where a mountain stream plunges into a gorge creating a limestone cavern with an underground waterfall, thought to be a holy place because of the naturally formed Shiva Lingam (male and female representation) just opposite the falls.  The day happened to be Saturday.  Saturday is like Sunday in the west.  It is Hindu’s holiest day of the week, and the day most families get out and about.  The narrow cave was packed with people making a pilgrimage.  They were in large groups, chanting and singing loudly and pressing upon us and everyone else. Stan and I just kept our heads down and proceeded walking steadily along, while we asked ourselves why we came there.  I don’t care to disparage any single country or culture, but can you guess where these tourists might be from? Thoughts of a stampede ran through our minds.  What would we do??   Yes, it is a holy place, but we did not feel so great about being there.  We are still alive; so, despite our concern and innate protective warning instincts, we are ok.   

Sunrise adventures are always appealing but not inviting.  Still, we took a chance on the early morning drive to witness a sunrise, and it paid off.  We got a few nice, and rare for us  photos 

At Chitwan, our time was devoted to a cultural visit to a very poor but self-sufficient indigenous community and to several morning, evening, and morning again, jeep, canoe, and walking wildlife safaris.  While on these trips, we saw many animals like a python, a wild boar, a sloth bear, many spotted deer, several large Sambar deer, many colorful birds, and a quite afew gigantic rhinos, we saw no tiger.  Simply not in the cards. Others told us we were lucky to have found rhinos as they did not on their safaris there.

Our last treat was to more temples, alas. We were taken to the district of Bhaktapur to a high hill top to visit UNESCO site Changu Narayan Temple, the oldest temple in Nepal, dating back to the 4th century. If that were not enough, the entire king’s square, Durbar Square in the city of Bhaktapur is under UNESCO care. During its heyday, this huge complex contained 99 courtyards and served as the royal palace for kings from the 14th to 18th century. Some of the community exisits as it was orignally built and wanderig its aleys are like making a visit to a time long ago, but many of the temples and other building sufered devastating damage on 1934 and 2015 earthquakes. Restoration is currently underway and closely managed by UNESCO and Nepal Archeological entities.

While Nepal has never been invaded and conquered, and has lived mostly in peace, there was an uprising last September against the government in which young people protested and burned government buildings, protesting (in short, of course) vast corruption and the government’s suppression of work opportunities. Twenty-two Gen Z protesters were shot, 3 police officers were killed. Over 2.000 people were injured. The prime minister was airlifted by helicopter to a safe place. He soon resigned, and an interim prime minister was appointed, who served until national elections took place on March 5. The people are optimistic that the event is bringing about great change.

One more note, the US-Iran war is causing terrible impacts to this and many other countries, which will likely never be at risk for attack from Iran. Small countries in the area of the world have economies based primarily on agriculture and tourism. Average annual income is 3,100 to 4,500 USD. Tourism has gone to a near halt as many flights have been cancelled. This means no work for many, and the price for gasoline and LP gas has skyrocketed. While this is not their war, they are paying a steep price.

Our time in Nepal is winding down.  We are relishing in the long distant sights of the Himalayas with the green valleys below. As we watched the sunset, I told the gracious host of the rooftop terrace at our hotel that I simply wish one of my photos could capture all this.  The colors, the shapes of the land, the unique Asian style architecture, and the hint of the majestic mountains in the background!  Privacy PolicyWow!   

Are we really here? 

Nepal is wonderful, its lands and mountains are astounding, its people are wonderful, and the people we have met on our jeep rides and at hotel meals, whether guests, chefs, or neighbor tourist tablemates, like Denver’s Paneet and Alpana, whom we just met yesterday, are wonderful too! We wish them well as they hike to Everest Base Camp!

Again, we ask, are we really here in Nepal? “Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?”