Alan & Sandra’s Incredible Cross Country Adventure
India - Delhi
Nepal - Pokhara, Annapurna Conservation Area, and Kathmandu
Delhi
Overview – We wanted to get to Nepal from Chicago with just one stopover. Our best options were to fly to either Istanbul, Doha, or Delhi, but all of these flights had super long layovers. So, we opted for a short visit to Delhi to recover from our 15-hour flight and to let our biological clocks adjust to the 11-hour time change. Delhi is a city of wide cultural and religious diversity, filled with amazing temples, Mughal tombs, museums, and monuments. While we found Delhi to be a culturally exciting city, we also found it plagued by urban poverty, with dirty, crowded, noisy streets, and terrible air quality. As you travel along its roadways you are greeted with a constant chorus of honking horns, and beggars at almost every stoplight. After five days we were ready to leave.
We chose to stay in hotel Zaza, a lovely six room boutique hotel located in a small, quiet neighborhood filled with attractive homes. However, even this pretty neighborhood was far from idyllic. It was bordered on one side by a river used as an open sewer/garbage dump, by a slum on another, and a noisy thoroughfare on a third side.
Demographics – Delhi is one of the biggest cities in the world with a metro population of 29.4 million. Hindus make up 80% of the city, and Muslims 13%.
Safety – Delhi is a marginally safe city with a Travel Safe score of only 45 out of 100. By contrast New York City scores a 67. We felt relatively safe while going about, but were constantly vigilant for pick pocketers, and we did not venture out after dark on foot.
Food – My personal favorite foods are Indian and Thai. So, I was really looking forward to the culinary portion of our visit to Delhi and was not disappointed. Every meal we had out was uniquely different and absolutely amazing. It is hard to imagine getting tired of this food. However, Sandra missed her daily portions of raw organic leafy vegetables, and tossed salads which are rarely offered on menus in India and Nepal, as well as most of Asia.
Getting Around – Delhi has an extensive metro system. However, being that taxis, Ubers and tuk tuks (motorized rickshaws) were so cheap and convenient, we never got a chance to use it. Sitting in the back of a tuk tuk traversing a busy market street was like being inside a video game. The tuk tuk driver would have to constantly avoid pedestrians, bicycles and other motorized vehicles fighting for the same space. You could imagine how unpleasant it was for us when it was our turn to be the pedestrians trying to navigate these streets.
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Mughal Garden-Tombs – If you are into Mughal architecture, then Delhi is the place for you. Mughal tombs and mosques dot the city’s landscape. The Mughals ruled most of the India subcontinent from the 16th to 19th centuries with Delhi being their capital for much of that period. A good example of this architecture is Humayun's Tomb, which is surrounded by a perfectly geometrical Persian garden. The tomb itself stands on top of a 26 feet high terraced platform and contains 124 octagonal shaped rooms of various size. The eight-sided chambers reflect the concept of paradise in Islamic cosmology. If this tomb looks familiar to you, it's because it was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal, another Mughal tomb. We also visited Safdarjung's Tomb and others located within the Lodhi Garden.
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Humayun's Tomb
Safdarjung's Tomb
Bara Gumbad Monument - Lodhi Gardens
Baha'i Lotus Temple – Delhi’s other claim to fame is its numerous grand temples. My favorite was the Baha'i Lotus Temple, built in 1986, that is composed of 27 free-standing marble-clad lotus petals arranged in clusters of three to form a nine-sided building. While eight is the magic number of the Muslims, nine is the magic number for Baha'is. Before entering the temple grounds, we were required to remove our shoes. This is something we had to do for all the temples we visited.
Jama (Friday) Mosque – The Mughal Mosque sits to one side of a 30 feet high terraced platform in front of a walled in courtyard that can accommodate 25,000 worshipers. When visiting the Mosque, men wearing shorts are given a skirt to cover their legs, and women who are deemed to be showing too much skin are given a full-body dress but are not required to cover their head or face.
Digamber Jain Temple – Tourists are not allowed inside the temple, and can only visit the outside courtyard. In Jainism, the path to enlightenment is through nonviolence and reducing harm to all living things. Their priests and monks shun the ownership of any property including clothing. They venture out in public wearing only a peacock feather duster to clear their path of insects to avoid stepping on them, and a water gourd. A Jain monk was once invited to speak before a provincial parliament and did so totally in the buff except for a pair of glasses on his nose. I can’t imagine something like that ever happening at the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Nizamuddin Sufi Temple – We began our visit to the temple complex by following a narrow winding marble alleyway filled with coming and going worshippers, not knowing what we will find at the next turn. Along the way we passed the Baoli (step-down well) a public area for bathing that people believe has magical powers, finally arriving into a beautiful courtyard centered around the Dargah, a white marble domed shrine to a Sufi saint that only men are allowed to enter. Head covering is required here.
Cows & Monkeys – The cow is considered a sacred animal and a source of prosperity by Hindus. So, you can see cows casually roaming the streets. The same is true for gangs of monkeys that have been known to terrorize people they see carrying food. They know that they can get away with this, because the Hindus see them as being the representatives to their cherished god Hanuman.
Pokhara
Overview – In Pokhara’s Lakeside District it seems that every third person we passed on the street was a tourist. This is because Pokhara is the gateway to the Annapurna Conservation Area, one of the best regions in the world for trekking. Most of the tourists we met were either preparing to go on a trek or coming back from one and were just chilling. And Pokhara’s Lakeside District is an excellent place to just chill with beautiful lake and mountain views, bars, coffee houses and a spa on almost every block. Another draw for tourists is the city’s large array of yoga, meditation, and healing centers. It was such a relaxing change of pace after coming from the urban noise of Delhi.
Demographics – Pokhara is Nepal’s second largest city with a metro population of 458,000. Fifty years ago, the city only had a population of 20,000. Pokhara is 82% Hindu and 13% Buddhist.
Safety – The Lakeside District felt very safe, and we had no concerns about walking the streets at night.
Food – Because there are so many tourists staying in the district, there was an abundance of excellent ethnic, vegan, organic and fusion restaurants to choose from. We especially loved the smoothie bowls at the AM PM café, and their pastries were to die for. During our stay in Pokhara, we shied away from traditional Nepali restaurants, because we knew that this would be the regular fare for our eight days of trekking.
Getting There – There are no good overland options, nor any direct flights from Delhi to Pokhara. However, this will change soon with the opening of a new international airport. So, we had to first fly to Kathmandu and then change planes which was not as easy as we thought it would be. It was not just going from one terminal to another through an enclosed passageway as in most airports. Instead, we had to leave the international terminal, and drag our luggage through a couple of parking lots, and up two car ramps to the domestic terminal which resembled a bus station.
Lakeside District – Along the lake there is a very nice mile-long pathway lined with bars and restaurants on one side and boat rental stands on the other. At night the area is lit up with colorful neon lights and is quite the place to hang out. From here you can rent a boat and rower, if you prefer, to take you out along the shoreline for good views of the mountains and for a to visit the Varahi Mandir Hindu Temple that is located on a tiny Island. The boat ride was lots of fun.
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World Peace Pagoda – The stupa, donated by Japanese Buddhists, sits high on top of a hill overlooking the city and the mountain peaks beyond. The day we were there the mountains were a no show. One way to reach the stupa is to row a boat across the lake to a trail head and then hike the 900 feet straight up. The weather was not great, and we were lazy and chose instead to take a taxi. Yet, we still needed to hike up 200 steps from the parking lot.
Shiva Statue – The 51 feet tall statue, built in 2021, is quite impressive up close. On the day we went, it was raining heavily, so we could not see much. To get an idea of the glorious mountain views we missed, I have included a stock photo from a sunny day. The white dot on top of the hill to the right of the Shiva is the Peace Pagoda 1,300 feet below. The only way to get to the Shiva is by taxi or tour bus.
Annapurna Conservation Area
Overview – The Annapurna Conservation Area is a massive region covering 3,000 square miles. An area bigger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Though most of this land is owned and protected by the government, the ACA is not a national park and is home to over 100,000 people from various cultural and linguistic groups. The region’s tallest mountain Dhaulagiri I at 26,765 feet, is the world's seventh highest peak, followed by Annapurna I (10th tallest), Annapurna II (16th tallest), and Dhaulagiri II the 30th highest at 25,430 feet.
Our Trek – The major peaks that we saw on our trek were Dhaulagiri I through V, Annapurna South at 23,684 feet and Machapuchare at 22,943 feet. For contrast, the tallest mountain in the continental US is Mount Whitney at 14,505 feet. Two of the most popular treks in the ACA, which also happen to be adjacent to each other are Poon Hill, and Annapurna Base Camp. Poon Hill is usually done in three to five days reaching an elevation of 10,531, and ABC is usually done in seven to ten days reaching an elevation of 13,550 feet. We thought that Poon hill was too short, and ABC too ambitious, so we made up our own trek reaching an elevation of 11,930. We started out northward towards Poon Hill, then northeast towards Muldai Viewpoint, and then descending southeast to connect with the lower villages of the ABC trail before heading back south.
Tourists – Along the most popular trekking routes, during the high season, the tourists/guides/porters far outnumber the locals. Though great for the economy, this influx of all these bodies is bad for the local environment. It has exerted immense pressure on the limited forest resources and has created mountains of litter and waste. A single trekker can generate over two pounds of non-biodegradable and non-burnable garbage during a 10-day trek.
Weather – Global warming reared its head again affecting another vacation. We planned our trip for October, which is normally sunny and perfect for trekking. This year was different. The mornings would often start out promising with hardly a cloud in the sky, but by 11:00 the mountains would often be completely hidden in a blanket of clouds. In the evenings it would be a tossup if we would have awesome mountain sunset views or not. We were very fortunate though, even that it was cloudy or misty we only ended up hiking two to three hours in the rain. People who trekked the Mount Everest region, Nepal's second most popular trekking region, during this period endured harsher conditions.
Lodges – When trekking in the popular areas of the ACA, you usually don't have to hike more than an hour or two before coming across a teahouse/lodge. These lodges are very basic, and the higher in elevation you go, the more basic they become. Considering that every nail, hook, toilet, sink, etc. must be carried in, these lodges were not too bad. A typical room would just be marginally bigger than the two beds. The only amenities would be a tiny table barely big enough for half our gear, a light bulb, an electric outlet, and occasionally if you are lucky, an adjoining bathroom. Showering was the least pleasant part of the trek. Not all the places we stayed at had hot showers. One place didn’t even have a shower, so they heated up a bucket of water for me. Sandra was less adventures an preferred bathing wipes.
None of the rooms were heated. This was only an issue after sunset. The higher in elevation we went, the colder and faster the temperatures would drop, so between sunset and bedtime we did not want to hang out in our room. Instead, we would pass this time in the communal dining room which usually would have a roaring fire. The lodges provided bedding and heavy blankets, but to make sure we stayed warm, we brought sleeping bags with us from Pokhara. Once inside our sleeping bags, we would have a comfy and warm night’s sleep.
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Food – The main source of income for the lodges is not the room rentals but rather the food sales, and particularly bottled beverage sales. You are expected to eat all your meals and have a beer at the place where you are staying. We did not partake in any alcohol because it could affect our acclimating to higher altitudes. Instead, we drank tea all day long. They are called tea houses for a reason. We loved delicious Masala Chai and Honey Lemon Ginger Teas to combat the cold. Every lodge offered the same western assortment of pizza, sandwiches, chow mein, spaghetti etc. The quality of these non-Nepali dishes was questionable and the few times I tried them I was disappointed.
The locals who climb up and down these mountains for a living subside on dal bhat three times a day. They call it ‘dal bhat power 24 hour”. So, that is what we ate for almost every lunch and dinner and were never disappointed. Dal bhat consists of cooked lentils (dal) and steamed rice or millet (bhat) served with an assortment of side dishes consisting of meat and vegetable curries, beans, pickled vegetables, and crunchy papadamu bread. The assortment of side dishes and culinary mastery varied greatly from lodge to lodge. For breakfast, I would usually have eggs with hashbrowns or pancakes which were usually pretty good. The lodge in Deurali took the prize. Every meal was beyond delicious. I believe they served the best hashbrowns I had in my entire life
Trails – All the commerce in this region is dependent on the porters and pack animals that toil along these trails. In heavily trafficked areas the trails are very nicely constructed with thousands of tightly placed stone slats forming endless steps. In the less trafficked areas, the trails are much rougher, and you need to be vigilant of where you place your feet. There have always been landslides and washouts in this region, but due to global warming their frequency has been increasing, making the lives of the mountain people who depend on these trails that much more difficult. For me, getting past these washouts was the scariest part of the trek.
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Going Solo or With a Guide – Over a third of the trekkers venture out on their own. These trekkers are usually the last to be served meals and the last to get rooms. At one of the towns we stayed there were no rooms to be had, so some solo trekkers had to hike an additional hour-and-a-half with the hope of getting lodging in the next village. We wanted to trek with a guide and porter from a local Pokhara agency. I did some research and settled with Sisne Rover Trekking https://sisnerover.com/ The guide and porter they provided were both excellent. Milan Khadka spoke English, was an encyclopedia of information on the ACA and a great storyteller. Tul Bahadur Gurung also spoke some English and was a warm hearted and very pleasant companion.
Milan and Tul were always looking out for us. Such as the times we had to pass some scary washouts. I have a fear of heights, so it was far more comforting having the help of a firm hand with only six pounds on my back vs caring 26 pounds with no helping hand. One washout was so bad, Tul had to scramble up the side of a hill and tie a rope to a tree for us to climb up while Milan gave us a hand. Even though Tul carried most of my gear, most of Sandra’s gear and all of his own gear, he was much faster and more surefooted than we were. And then there was the time I had cramps in one calf, and Milan offered relief with an incredible message.
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Pokhara (2,700 feet) to Ulleri (6,400 feet) – We began our trek in the village of Hile (4,590 feet) after taking a 4WD SUV to the town of Nayapul and then following a rough dirt road for an hour. The trail went straight up nonstop following a series of 3,500 stone steps and provided great views of the surrounding hills covered with rice and millet terraces. Because this trail is so popular there were numerous tea houses along the way to stop and have a rest. Being that it was very hot, this was the one day I was thankful that it was overcast. Ulleri was the prettiest village on our trek with its narrow streets lined with attractive tightly spaced stone houses.
Ulleri to Ghorepani (9,430 feet) – In the morning we were greeted with our first glimpse of mountains. It was just a sliver wedged between two nearby hills, but it was still exciting. The trail was very crowded that day and took us through heavy woods without any views. After lunch it began to rain. When we reached our hotel, everyone was huddled tightly in front of the fire trying to dry out. After it cleared up, we explored the village and its small Tibetan handicrafts market, and on that evening we had partially cloudy, yet still amazing views of the mountains. Ghorepani is not really a native village, but more a big cluster of hotels. If not for the tourist industry there probably would not be many people living there.
Ghorepani to Deurali (10,050 feet) – The thing to do when in Ghorepani is to wake up around 4:30 and hike an hour-and-a-half up to Poon Hill (10,530 feet) for sunrise views of the mountains. By the time we reached the main trail, there was a long stream of hikers donning headlamps heading up. It was a steep trail, and Sandra was having difficulty adjusting to the rapid elevation gain. It is said that people prone to altitude sickness start to feel it at around 10,000 feet. At the top, we were greeted by absolutely breathtaking views of the mountains that we had to share with 400 other trekkers.
It was a cold morning, so we were happy to see a vendor selling cups of tea. Then the crowds started to clear as most had a very long day ahead of them and we enjoyed all the views for ourselves. We then headed back down to the hotel for breakfast. After our morning excursion we were tired and started our day’s trek later than usual. So, the trail that day was almost completely empty. This trail took us over a pass with great views of the valley below. Unfortunately, the mountains hovering over the valley were already covered in clouds by the time we got there. Deurali is barely a village. It just consists of three lodges. Most people only stop there for lunch. That night, we were the only ones staying in our lodge and had the most glorious meals of our trek.
From Left to Right - Gurja Peak - Dhaulagiri II to V - Dhaulagiri 1 - Tukche Peak
Nilgiri - Annapurna 1 - Annapurna South - Hiunchuli - Mulldai Viewpoint - Machapuchare
Deurali to Dobato (10,990 feet) – Very few people take this trail. During that day we only passed two Israelis and three locals. This trail was much rougher than previous ones, constantly winding up and down and occasionally offering great views of the Dhaulagiri Mountains through the trees. Eventually we broke through the forest onto a beautiful series of upper meadows that were used for grazing yaks and horses. We enjoyed the dramatic change in scenery but did not appreciate navigating through the piles of yak shit that were everywhere. By the time we reached our lodge, the area was completely covered in a thick fog. That night Sandra and I began to experience mild symptoms of altitude sickness. After taking some Tylenol, the symptoms went away.
Dobato to Tadapani (8,530 feet) – The only reason to come to Dobato is to visit Muldai Viewpoint, which at 11,930 feet was the highest point on our trek. Muldai is a much better sunrise viewpoint than the more popular Poon Hill. It is a couple of miles closer to the mountains, 1,400 feet higher, is only a half-an-hour's hike from the lodges, and we only had to share the view with 40 other trekkers. The trail to Tadapani was almost all downhill and took us through a beautiful valley and a magical rain forest that I expected to see elves running through. Like Ghorepani, Tadapani is primarily a big cluster of lodges. We lucked out that day, and it started to rain exactly one minute after we arrived at our lodge.
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Tadapani to Chhomrong (7,050 feet) – This was most tiring day of our trek. The trail took us down to the rim of the Modi Valley, a huge deep valley cut out from the mighty Modi River. From our vantage point we could see numerous hamlets and terraced rice and millet farms dotting the hillsides. Most of the day was spent hiking down to the river, then hiking back up other side to Chhomrong. This was the second time we got stuck in the rain before reaching our lodge. Chhomrong is the last village on the way to the Annapurna Base Camp. From our hotel we had impressive views of the valley the ABC trail follows and the mountains beyond.
Because of the limited wood resources in the area, lodges along the ABC are not allowed to heat their dining rooms. I would not say that our dinner time was cold, but I would not say that it was pleasant. Sandra was extremely tired and suffering from cold symptoms. It was after dinner that disaster struck. Most of the lodges we stayed in would have never passed code in the US. When walking around, you always had to be alert for safety hazards such as uneven steps, especially at night. That night Sandra was not alert, and she fell and broke her arm. Milan later came to the rescue with creams and bandages.
Chhomrong to Landruk (5,130 feet) – This was our final full day of trekking. Sandra had almost full use of her fingers and wrist and was not in a lot of pain, so she didn’t think her arm was broken and felt up to the challenge of going to the very end. . We would find out the next day in Pokhara that it was in fact broken and needed a cast. Sandra had it much better than another trekker we met who broke his leg near the Everest Base Camp and had to hike out over a mile to a spot where he could be airlifted by a helicopter to Kathmandu.
We began the day by hiking down to the Jhinu Danda Suspension Bridge. This bridge, which sits 440 feet above the roaring river, is an engineering marvel. Each of its 960 feet long cables had to be dragged up the valley by 300 porters. We then left the main trail and followed the old trail that took us to another much older rickety suspension bridge. Milan was a little nervous about this bridge and had us pass it one person at a time. We then continued following the river to Landruk where we spent the night.
Landruk to Pokhara – After exploring the village, we met up with our driver. This road down the mountain was much longer and rougher than the road we took on the first day and we were very happy by the time we finally reached pavement again. We enjoyed our trek very much. It was literally the trip of a lifetime. But we were glad that it was over. We looked forward to spending a couple of days relaxing in a comfy bed in a temperature-controlled room with a hot shower walking by the lake, singing bowl sessions and all. Heaven.
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Kathmandu
Overview – Kathmandu can be quite overwhelming for the first-time visitor. It is a riot of sights, sounds, and smells. Adjectives such as crazy, chaotic, historical, spiritual, and vibrant come to mind when thinking of this city. Kathmandu is totally unique and different to anywhere else you might ever consider visiting. There is so much to see and do here. However, a Kathmandu vacation is not a relaxing one. We were there for six days, and that was enough for us.
Demographics – Kathmandu is the largest city in Nepal with a metro population of 1,400,000. Fifty years ago, the city only had a population of 150,000.
Safety – Kathmandu is a safe city to visit, assuming you do not get runover by a motorcycle, with a Travel Safe score of 64 out of 100. By contrast New York City has a score of 67.
Food – Kathmandu’s Thamel District offers a large selection of different types of restaurants, but we felt that the quality and variety of non-Nepalese food was not as interesting as what we had in Pokhara’s Lakeside District. We enjoyed some great meals, but most of them were just OK. And I was not able to find any pastries as good as the ones from the AM PM Café in Pokhara.
Getting Around – Kathmandu does not have the roadway system nor the mass transit system to support a city of 1.4 million people. The city’s roadways are clogged all day long. Thankfully, the Kathmandu drivers used their horns more sparingly than the ones from Delhi. Even though Kathmandu is not a great city for walking, we elected to hoof it to most of our destinations. Much of the time we would find ourselves walking adjacent to busy roadways. But in all our hikes we would come across hidden gems that would make the effort worthwhile.
Getting There – Because we were interested in getting a glimpse of the countryside and exploring the medieval village of Bandipur along the way, we opted to hire a car to take us to Kathmandu. The roadway did not disappoint us, and we enjoyed most of the scenery we passed along the way, but it was a long day, especially for our driver. Because of road construction, the 140-mile Pokhara to Bandipur to Kathmandu drive ended up taking us nine hours.
Bandipur – During the 17th to 19th centuries Bandipur was an important stop on the India–Tibet trade route. The village today is a living museum of Newari architecture and culture where time seems to have stood still. Derelict buildings have been reborn as cafes and lodges, and the center of the village is now a pedestrian zone with outdoor dining. The restoration seemed almost too perfect, and if felt as though we were in a Disney Epcot recreation of 18th century Nepal.
Newari Architecture – Sandra and I totally fell in love with Newari architecture. This is a unique form of building style found primarily in the Kathmandu Valley that is characterized by elaborately carved wooden windows, archways, and doorways. Depending on the structure, the ornamental carvings can be of deities, mythical beings, dragons, or peacocks and other creatures.
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Erotic Temple Carvings – In a few Hindu temples dating back to the 16th century, if you look closely at the bottom of the outside struts you can see elaborate carved images of people having sex. Not typically something you would expect to see in a house of worship. Why are they there? There are many theories, but no one really knows.
Thamel District – Once a hippie haven in the 60s and 70s, Thamel is now a chaotic jumble of restaurants, hotels, trekking equipment stores, handicraft stores, lively clubs, and cafés along a series of back alleyways. This is the area where most tourists choose to stay. One of the oldest parts of town, Thamel is filled with old Newari buildings and seems to have a temple or shrine on almost every block. Thamel’s maze of alleyways, designed for a few horse-drawn-carriages are now filled with tourist, rickshaws, and motorcycles. The constant crush of humans and machines can be overwhelming and hard to manage.
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Pashupatinath Temple – This is one of Nepal’s most important and oldest. Hindu religious complex where couples wishing for children can go to pray for fertility, and where the wealthy go to be cremated. There were numerous outside cremations happening on the day we visited giving the place quite a surreal atmosphere. There are two areas for cremations, one for the important citizens which is located right below the temple and a simpler one off to the side for the middle class. The funeral pyres were covered by huge piles of water-soaked straw, so there was nothing morbid to see nor was there any foul smells. Only Hindus can enter the main temple, but the rest of the massive complex is accessible to tourists. The compound is home to Sadhus and to hordes of monkeys. The Sadhu/yogis who are noticeable for their colorful body paint which vary depending on the attributes of the gods they follow, have renounced the material life, and live in caves and tiny cells adjacent to the temple complex.
When I started to eat an apple, a monkey approached me, sat down a few feet away and eyed me. He was probably already well fed from visiting worshipers, so he did not act threatening. Because he was so polite, I gave him half which he proceeded to eat with delight. Later, without realizing it, I got too close to a mother and her baby. She made a high-pitched screech and bared her teeth. Being that this is not something I previously experienced on my walks around Wisconsin, I was momentarily terrified. Lesson learned; I did not make the same mistake again.
Swayambhunath (Monkey) Temple – This Buddhist compound sits on top of a hill in the middle of the city. You could either take a taxi which would drop you off near to the top or walk the 30 minutes from the Thamel District ending with a 370-step climb. This was the nicest hike we took in the city, so I would recommend going this way. The compound is centered around a gleaming white stupa topped by a gilded spire covered with 44 pounds of gold. And you can guess by its name, it is home to loads of monkeys. Local devotees can be seen circumnavigating the stupa, always clockwise, spinning the prayer wheels set into its base.
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Boudhanath Stupa – The area around the stupa was settled by ethnic Tibetans before Kathmandu ever existed. The temple is believed to date back to the 8th century and may contain some of the bones of one of the historical Buddhas. This stupa is a massive round structure measuring 328 feet across surrounded by a large circular market. The adjacent neighborhood is still predominately Tibetan and is home to numerous Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. At one of them, we lingered around for part of the service and caught a glimpse of some child monks so fascinated with the money bills they were just given that were totally oblivious to the rites going on.
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Durbar Squares – Before the country was united in the 18th century, there were three separate kingdoms in the Kathmandu valley. And each of them had their own Durbar (royal) square filled with spectacular palaces, fountains, statues, and temples. When one emperor would build a temple of a certain size or splendor, the others would attempt to outdo him.
Kathmandu Durbar Square – This square is located in the center of the city. Several palaces and temples in the square collapsed during the earthquake of 2015 and are being meticulously reconstructed. It is now only home to the Kumari and her caretakers. The Kumari is a young girl worshiped as the human reincarnation of the Hindu mother goddess Durga. Girls as young as three years old are chosen through an ancient rigorous selection process including physical and mental examinations. The final candidate needs to show no fear after spending a night in a room with scary severed goat and buffalo heads. The Kumari will then live in her gilded cage until she drops her first blood, at which time the selection will start all over again. People who believe that the Kumari will bring them good fortune will wait below her window twice a day hoping for an appearance. We were in that crowd at the right time, and we saw her for a brief minute. To me she just looked like a typical bored eight-year-old checking us out.
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Patan Durbar Square and the Golden Temple – Patan was formerly a separate city-state and is at least 900 years older than Kathmandu. The area between the two cities has now filled up and Patan is merely a suburb of Kathmandu. The Golden Temple, which lies just a few blocks away from the square, is one of the most beautiful temples in the valley. The Buddhist Temple/Monastery gets its name from the gilded metal plates the covers most of its frontage.
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Bhaktapur Durbar Square – Bhaktapur is about an hour's drive from the city, so the best way to get there is with a tour. Of the three durbar squares, this was my favorite. The old city of Bhaktapur has the best preserved Newari architecture in the valley. Only a few major structures were destroyed in the 2015 earthquake. Bhaktapur has three major squares connected by a series of alleyways. I could have easily spent the whole day exploring all the back alleys filled with artisan studios weaving cloth, chiseling timber and drying pots.
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Tihar (Festival of Lights) – Our last two days in Kathmandu just happened to overlap with the beginning of this five-day Hindu holiday closely related to the Indian Diwali festival. Both holidays celebrate the victory of good over evil, but the Nepali holiday also honors animals such as crows, dogs and cows and their sacred bond with humans. No stray dogs go hungry during this festival. Earlier that day we saw some sparse groups of musicians and dancers throughout the city but did not connect the dots. We finally became aware of the festival during dinner time, when a very loud parade of people dressed in traditional colorful Newari outfits started to pass by as we were eating. Everybody left their meals and went out to the street to watch the long parade of music and dance.
The next day we were greeted here and there by groups of singers and dancers in the street and honored their performance with gifts of money. We also watched people making Rangolis in the street in front of their homes and places of business. Rangolis are colorful design offerings to catch Goddess Laxmi’s eye and welcome her and her good luck into ones home or business. These elaborate and beautiful patterns are made using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand, and flower petals. It was a beautiful way to end this incredible trip.
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Doha
We decided to return to the States through Doha in Qatar. Being that we were going to have an 18-hour layover, we booked a room in the hotel inside the airport. This was money very well spent. There was an option of taking a three-hour tour of the city, but to obtain a clearance exit from the airport we had to take a PCR test. If tested positive, not only we would not make the tour, but we would need to be quarantined for a week in the hotel at our own expense. So, obviously, we declined. The luxurious room was quite a step up from our previous stays in Nepal. Having a delicious shower and heavenly bed…just the right thing before a long flight home.
Slovenia - Ljubljana
Italy - Triste - Venice - Verona - Milan