Kathmandu: Stupas, Temples and Medieval Structures Aha!

 In this blog, I hope to share my experiences of the trek, giving a taste of what my senses were feeling as I became accustomed to the surroundings. Before I write about the actual trek, I want to write about my experience of arriving in Kathmandu and the day tour we had in the city.

Kathmandu itself is a sensory explosion, there are many smells, sounds and sights to behold. Upon arriving at the airport, the heat hits you. The air is dry and dusty, so the heat adds to the dryness. Looking across the haze there is a sort of brown dusty hue in the air, a monkey skitter up the side of the Airport’s main building. Once through the slightly chaotic airport, ( us Brits like our order and queues) I was greeted by our lovely rep. He immediately took my bag, which although I was surprised, I was thankful for. It is etiquette in Nepal that you let the host serve you, not doing it yourself. Getting into the truck, I was given a garland of Marigolds to wear, a lovely welcome. 

Then came the drive through the city to our hotel, again order is not the word of the day, with vehicles coming and trying to pass left right and centre, it is not something someone of weak heart or wavering disposition would enjoy. We sort of eventually got used to it. The streets are quite busy with the hubbub of people, merchants and vehicles. The rules of the road are a tad bit different from our highway code.  

I won’t talk about the hotel, it was lovely, but there are far more exciting things to talk about than the hotel. I will probably talk about the appreciation later on in the bloggery. On the Sunday we had an amazing tour of the city. Our guide was incredible, so knowledgeable and so enthusiastic. He first of all took us to the Monkey Temple, an amazing place with coloured prayer flags flapping in the breeze, beautifully painted statues and stupas, and monkeys everywhere. It was on a hill above the city, so the view of the city was amazing. In the temple you were surrounded by the sounds of bells ringing, prayer wheels spinning, the smells of incense and the dust wafting through the air. We then climbed down the 365 steps back to the city, where we walked through the market to the historic square. The market was in a small space, and the smells of the spices for sale filled the air. There was the sound of merchants and customers conversing. There are so many temples in the area that the scent of incense was everywhere. We visited the beautiful building that gave the city its name. Kasthamandap means wooden pavilion, and was a place for visitors to rest for free while staying in the city. We also saw the damage that the 2015 earthquake had done, and the resulting structural support.  

We then went to the site of the second largest Stupa in the world, Buddha Stupa. Around which is a collection of Tibetan temples. Inside this stupa is supposed to hold the remains of one of the buddhas. We visited a temple and saw the intricate art work and golden statues. Some of our group had a blessing upon them. Among the interesting and colourful statues, shrines and temples was the temple of the Royal Kumari. She is the young prepubescent manifestation of the female energy. She lives in the Kumari Ghar, a palace in the city centre. It is encouraged to get a blessing from her before going on the trek. To an outsider, the idea of a small child, chosen at the age of 3 to be the next Kumari, and then worshipped is a bit odd. But, it is a tradition going back centuries. She wasn’t happy to come out and bless us, having a fight with her mother and then grumpily giving us the nod from her window on high. One thing I would say is, when visiting somewhere that is quite different from what you would normally do, listen to the guides and do as they ask. When we visited the palace and stood in the square to get the blessing, a German tourist came in. However, he didn’t accept that he was being asked to come down and stand in the square, instead he refused and kept asking why. He was being quite rude. (I have nothing against Germans, it was just this particular one that was being quite rude, in fact I befriended a few on the trek)

Kasthamandap - gave Kathmandu its name

Royal Kumari Palace - she came out of the top middle window

The Buddha Stupa - second largest in the world

 Everywhere we went there were more shrines and temples, an important aspect of the Buddhist and Hindu traditions that the people of the city adhere to and worship. There was some spectacular artwork and designs in these temples, and it became evident that they were kept in such good condition because what they represented was revered. We went to a Thanka centre, where people will go to train to paint the intricate artwork and mandalas. Watching them work was amazing, such fine details and patience. We were given an explanation of what the mandalas were and what the other pieces were to represent. It was quite fascinating. The details and materials used hadn’t changed in centuries. 

            

I will talk about the food in another post. 

There was a lot to take in, and process, and the impending trek was also playing on our minds. Well at least on my mind. The city itself is eclectic and colourful, it is busy and alive. At night the city is calmer but like most cities changes. The lights of bars, restaurants and tellers illuminates the city, and the smells of the food from the restaurants fills the air. That evening we had our first meal together to celebrate our coming together with a goal. These people who I didn’t know became good friends and my encouragers over the next 11 days. 

One thing that I noted was that everyone greeted each other, even if you didn’t know each other. Kind of like being up north. Their greeting was “Namaste”,  it meant: The light within me bows to the light within you. All the way up to base camp people greeted you and welcomed you. It was lovely, it made you feel at home (sort of). They would go out of their way to help you, and to make sure you were ok. It was quite something.