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Continued from previous page, which covered my return from the trek to the hotel in Kathmandu
Before long we had congregated again outside in the sunshine, drinking coffee and making plans for a guided tour of the city that afternoon. A few of us went to the tour guide's office to make the arrangements. For just $25 each we would get an English-speaking guide and visit 3 key sights in our own minibus. With a departure time of 1pm we still had some time to get a feel for Kathmandu and some lunch, although Jonathan and I struggled with the latter - our cheese and ham toastie taking longer to arrive than we had been promised, making it a rushed (but delicious) affair.
The first stop on our guided tour was the Monkey Temple
or Soyambhu Nath Stupa to give it it's proper name. This is built on
a high hill overlooking Kathmandu and as the name suggests is infested with monkeys. The Stupa itself is Buddist, although it is also
visited by Hindus, and comprises a large number of ghompa and chortens, and is surrounded by thousands of prayer-wheels and prayer flags. The
monkeys are revered as being like our ancestors and so are fed every morning by the religious locals, so at least they are friendly and don't
attack the tourists (or so we were promised!). The views of the city from here were quite extensive, which is stretched out for miles and houses
some 2.5million people.
Our next stop was the largest stupa in the city - the Boudhna Nath Stupa - which was in the centre of the city in a square
, although
it was circular as the stupa was. This stupa stands some 90m high and was very peacefull and quiet as we walked around it's upper
levels. The stupas are solid structures, not like the temples which you can enter, and they always have 4 sides to the upper-level where the
budda's eyes appear - half-closed and with the 3rd eye above. All around the base of the stupa were prayer wheels and there
was an endless stream of people moving clockwise round the stupa and spinning the wheels. These wheels all contain a sacred scroll as well as
being inscribed with the buddist mantra Om mani padme hum
. Each turn of the wheel is said to be worth the equivalent of chanting 1,000
mantras.
Finally we travelled across town to the most moving part of the city - Pashupatinath Temple. Here, by the side of the river, is where the recently
deceased are cremated. The male members of the family will bring the body, wrapped in orange, and build a wooden pyre on the concrete platforms
that line the river. Onto the pyre they then plae the naked body before giving the fire
, starting at the mouth. The bodies then burn
for around 3 hours before the remains are either put in an urn and transported to the Ganges for dispersal (if the family can afford it) or are
scattered into the river below (which leads to the Ganges, or holy river). The only exceptions to this cremation are pregnant women and children
under seven.
Watching this scene was fascinating, and not at all morbid as you might expect. There were two pyres burning and one being prepared when we
were there. There didn't seem to be any mourning or outward signs of grief or distress, just a sombre mood and thick, choking, smoke. In
addition to this normal
scene we were fortunate to be there on the one day in the year when everyone gathers to remember their dead. All
over the hillside by the river families were gathering, sitting on straw and preparing food. There must have been 10-20,000 people present. Our
guide explained that they all gather here to spend the night and at midnight light beacons and remember those who had passed away. Unfortunately
we couldn't stay that long and so fought our way back through the street vendors to the minibus and back to the hotel.
Bill and Melissa had found a nice Thai restaurant a couple of doors down from the hotel, so we agreed to go there for dinner that evening. So after a quick shower - how good to be able to get clean at will! - we started to meet up in the hotel's outdoor bar for a couple of beers. When everyone was present we went to the restaurant - the Yin Yang - and had a truly wonderful Thai meal. It was very hard to believe this was in the same city as the three places we had visited earlier that day!
Today was the day many of the group had booked an Everest Flight trip, which I had decided not to do, and so whilst Mike was up at 5:45am, I slept until gone 7am - a deep, wonderful, sleep!
As we discussed the day's plans over breakfast with those who had remained, we learned that Kathmandu airport was fog-bound and so no flights were taking off. Shortly afterwards the rest of the group returned, having got up early only to spend a couple of hours at the airport before being told their flights had been cancelled. And so the retail therapy started. Andy, John and I went for a walk around the shops near the hotel in the Thamel area of Kathmandu, and we found a Canon/Nikon dealer a few doors down from the hotel. They had the lens I wanted in stock for £200 less than the UK price, so I bought it. We then spent a happy day wandering around Kathmandu, stopping for lunch of beautiful deep-fried fish in red curry at the Yin-Yang restaurant.
In the afternoon we wandered down to Durbar Square, famous for all the monuments and temples, some of which date back to the 12th century. However, despite this being a Unesco World Heritage site, it was disappointing, with many of the temples being in a very sorry state and lacking any real colour or sense of importance.
The journey back to the hotel was much better, though, as the three of us squeezed into the back of a tuk-tuk (a small, scooter-powered 3-wheeler). Driving through the crowded streets, narrowly missing pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, etc. had us howling with laughter, and all for 150 rupees!
For dinner we went to the Roadhouse Café - almost directly opposite the Yin-Yang - for a pizza. Here, in the heart of Kathmandu, was a genuine wood-burning pizza oven and they made great pizzas - I had a mushroom and onion one with chillies - it was easily as good as any I've tased outside Italy.
And so, full once again, I retired to bed around 9pm - whilst some of the group went to another bar paying music, I was simply too tired to party!
I woke late at 8am after another great night's sleep. Hopefully I will have caught up now as today is the day I fly home, and airplane sleep is not usually very good! With some time left we went out wandering again. Kathmandu is a city of real contrasts as yesterday's photos shows. The area around the hotel, Thamel, is very touristy and full of shops and restaurants, is relatively clean and teaming with life, with little areas of calm, such as the garden of the hotel, which have a very European feel. Then, as you walk a few blocks away, there is a distinctly 3rd world feel - dirty and dusty with run-down buildings and shops selling everything and anything. From kitchen implement shops, buthers where the meat is being hacked about and hung in the street, to bicycle and electical repair shops. Here there are few tourists, and the locals are very friendly, much less pushy than those in the tourist areas. We wandered round the seedier parts of Kathmandu all morning, taking endless photos of the street-life we saw, especially the children who were fascintated when shown their own images on our digital cameras.
Sadly time was against us and we made our way back to the hotel to pack, but not before we had our final lunch together - a delicious prawn red curry at the Yin-Yang. All packed and after a final shower and change of clothes and then we gathered in the hotel lobby at 5pm for the start of the journey home. A last, dark, minibus ride through the bustling and crowded streets of Kathmandu was followed by the usual chaos of the airport, endless security checks and finally boarding the plane, which departed 20 minutes late for the journey to Doha and the long 17 hours back home...
Today is the 22nd January 2021, and I've just completed typing up my journal, sorting through my photos, and posting it all on
my website. I had originally loaded this story up to the web many years ago, but sadly it was lost when I changed internet provider. Fortunately,
as with many of my trips, I had written the journal in a book, and what features here is the story, almost exactly as recorded in that book. I
say almost
because I have corrected some of the grammar. That's all, the story is as I wrote it almost 18 years ago.
Reflecting back on what was my first real adventure, I can recall the sights, sounds, smells and emotions as clear as they were at the time. I particularly remember the feeling when leaving the lodge in the wee hours of Friday 14th November to start the long trek to Kala Patthar where we would get the best views of Everest. I had dreamt about that moment for a long, long, time. As a young boy I was fascinated by stories of great adventurers, and had read lots of books on the many attempts and ascents of Everest. The world's highest mountain had always had a strong pull on my emotions. So when I left that lodge, feeling utterly terrible and in the lowest of moods, I was very disappointed with myself. I had always thought of myself as being strong, convinced that had I lived in a different age and a different set of circumstances I might have been one of those adventurer heroes I had read about. Yet, here I was, in the land of my dreams, looking out on a deep-blue night with stars and the glow from the snow-capped Himalaya lighting my way, feeling despondent and unable to continue. I remember clearly being so utterly dejected. When Dorothy had to turn back, I nearly went back with her, convincing myself I could use the excuse that I had gone to help her, when the truth was I just wanted to quit. I was completely exhausted and we had only just set out for the day. I remember reaching the rock wall that marked the start of the moraine and convincing myself that I would turn round when I had reached the top. When I got there, I made a deal with myself that I would turn round at the next big boulder, some 20m or so ahead. The walk all the way to Lobuche was done just like that - I would update the deal with the thought of going just a bit further before turning round. Somehow, I kept going until I reached the lodge at the foot of Kala Patthar. Then I started walking up it, with Clem encouraging me (and according to him afterwards, I was reciprocating). When I reached the top and got the classic view of Everest across the valley, I was beyond elated. I had achieved a life-long ambition to see that wonderful mountain in all it's glory. I can still recall the emotion I felt and reflecting on the trip as I have typed it up has brought the goosebumps back!
Since this trip, I've been fortunate to undertake many more trips of a lifetime
, but this was the first. And, by far, the most
challenging and rewarding. So far...
