KATHMANDU

KATHMANDU, NEPAL Arrived late afternoon on Tuesday, March 6th after a 2 hour flight from Delhi.  Our hotel is in the Thamel area of Kathmandu, which is where most of the hotels and shops are, that cater to the tourists and trekking crowd. The area is made up of small lanes, like a rabbits warren. Quite an interesting area, it's nice to be in a city where we can actually walk around. This was almost impossible when we were in India, as usually staying out of the town, or in an area that was not walkable.  The first evening we went to a restaurant that served traditional Nepalese food and they also had traditional entertainment including music and dancing. Very nice way to be welcomed to Nepal. Supper consisted of a small welcome drink, which was millet wine (Chang)....very strong, so definitely would not want too much, followed by appetizers which were "momo's. These are like a dumpling stuffed with meat and steamed or fried, very yummy.  We have had momo's several times over the last few days and have gotten addicted to them ( chicken, water buffalo and vegetable). Remainder of dinner was rice, steamed vegetables, which we were definitely glad to see and a mild curried chicken. Desert was yoghurt, which they eat a lot of here.  The following morning, we were met by our driver Arjun and our guide Parras, they will be with us for the next four days. During the day we were taken to see three different temples, stupas and Buddhist monasteries. The "Monkey Temple" sits above the City, so great view. Unfortunately a lot of smog/pollution here, just like most of the places we visited in India. Kathmandu has a population of five million and as a lot of other places, has grown quickly and has a lack of infrastructure. At one of the temples that is used for cremations, we actually saw a family waiting to cremate a body, kinda weird. Also saw many Sadhu's at this site, also known as Yogis, mainly from India who live in poverty and give up all wordly goods, including sex! Right  now the City has a lack of power. During the day the power is not on, our hotel has its own generator. Power goes back on around 10 p.m. each night and stays on overnight when the demand is not as great. You actually learn to live around this.  Wednesday was Holi Day, also known as the Festival of Colour. This is one of many holiday days in Nepal and perhaps the most riotous. Young people lambaste one another with plastic bags filled with water and they colour themselves and one another with colored powder. Our car was pelted a few times and Robin nearly missed getting hit, as his window was rolled down.  On Thursday morning, we visited a neighbouring city, Bhaktapur which is a medieval city and very well preserved. We will post some pictures. We were impressed and loved walking around the old part of the town viewing the ancient buildings.  The city is known for it's craftsmen which include potters, painters , wood carvers and paper makers. We saw many of these artists at work. We then continued by car to a small mountain village Nagarkot at an elevation of 2175 meters (7100 ft.). Good views of the Kathmandu valley, but once again a bit of smog, although the locals deny it. The people in the valley are the Newari, originally Mongolians. They are known to be farmers or merchants. The Kathmandu valley is made up of terraced fields which are planted with wheat, potatoes, spinach, onions, garlic and coriander. During the monsoon season, they plant rice.  We woke at 6 a.m. to watch the sunrise in Nagarkot. Fortunately, the smog wasn't too bad and we were able to see some of the peaks. We then headed off on a 4 hour hike back through the valley, walking through small villages. What an experience seeing the farmers go about their work. It is amazing that they still do so much by hand. Tools are still very simplistic, a plow made of wood, pulled by a team of oxen. Other sights included a young woman swinging her young child in a hand made basket, young children playing with a tire, an old woman sitting on a stoop, young men playing a game called carom that looks like a table top billiards, kids going to school on uniforms and young babies being cared for by grandparents.  Lunch at Changu Narayan at the end of our hike . There is a pagoda style temple here which is the oldest temple in Nepal which dates back to the 14th century and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.  Drove back to Kathmandu in the afternoon and went for a foot massage...after a 4 hour hike and after sitting in cars, trains, planes for three weeks, glorious.