Kathmandu: Contrasts and the Cafe Scene!

I am intending to upload photos later!

I've now survived another 2 days in Kathmandu, and am learning to embrace the contrasts -

On the one hand, the temples are amazing, but crowded with tourists, souvenir sellers and guides touting for business (in some areas these men are more persistent than others, and can be highly annoying!)  Being in this environment is exhausting (it's noisy, and becomes mentally challenging to keep smiling with the constant hassling). 

After a few hours, I feel the need to 'escape' and take time out - which is where the other side of the Kathmandu backpacking experience comes in... sitting in garden / rooftop cafes & restaurants, drinking coffee / tea / beer and eating food (there are restaurants representing nearly every cuisine from around the world).  I've spent many hours sitting in these places - escaping the chaos outside: I could totally get used to it!!  And it's so cheap: a coffee is around AU$1, and a plate of dumplings usually around $1.50.  Some of the gardens settings are really beautiful and quite tranquil.

Yesterday, I started the day at one of the aforementioned cafes - Himalayan Java roast their own beans fresh each day, and its clearly a popular hang-out location for tourists. 

I decided to follow the Lonely Plant recommended walking tour from Thamel (neighbourhood my hotel was in) to Durbar Square.  I found myself standing on a street corner with another girl doing the same thing!  Cindy and I agreed to hook-up, and it was great to have the company for the day.  There are temples / shrines every couple of metres along the streets in Kathmandu, and they are all in use, and there usually seem to be a few people paying their respects - religion is obviously integrated into daily life. 

Durbar Square is where the kings were once crowned and lived.  There are a series of amazing buildings (palace and Hindu shrines).  It was really crowded with people, and we encountered the most annoying and persistent tour guides: saying no, ignoring them and even walking away all had a limited degree of effectiveness.  Even saying I'd already had a guide didn't work - I was told that there are some "not so good quality guides" - just as there are some "not so good quality" taxi drivers!!  One of the guides apparently accepted that I wasn't interested in his services in that way - and suggested that a Nepalese man could show me a more fun time than an Australian man - I couldn't help but laugh: I've never been propositioned quite so blatantly!

To escape the chaos, we headed to one of the rooftop bars above the square - providing us with excellent views, some tranquility, and while the food was overpriced a drink and a plate of momos (dumplings) was a very cheap way to enjoy the location.

Venturing out again, just wandering the streets in Kathmandu is overwhelming and fascinating.  We stopped outside a 'herbal store' which the proprietor explained sells herbs and spices for all uses (cooking, making incense, health use).  Each street seemed to 'specialise' in a particular product - saris, bangles, dental clinics...

I finished my afternoon back at Himalayan Java again (I did say I was embracing the cafe scene!). 

Today (Monday 21 Jan) - I got up early to head up the hill to Swayambhunath.  However, despite my purposeful walking, I managed to go in completely the wrong direction... but I did get to see a lot of the early-morning local activities, which was quite fascinating.  Around all the squares, people had laid out fresh produce for sale, and tea sellers set up their burners, and customers would buy a cup of tea and stand around drinking it.  Everywhere there were shops deep frying and selling what looked like donuts - and many of these places seemed to be doing a roaring trade.  After multiple wrong-turns, I did manage to arrive at the base of the steps to the temple.  By this time, I was actually hungry, and spotted a shop making the donut-like things (I really wanted to try them, as they seemed to be everywhere, but I wasn't sure what to ask for and felt a bit shy).  I approached the shop and hovered behind another customer, and after a few moments a man standing nearby asked me if I wanted to try.  I was ushered inside the tiny shop to a small bench table, and presented a plate of 'golmari' and a cup of masala tea.  Ramkumar showed me the different types of deep-fried snacks; golmari are dumpling shaped, and not sweet, malpa are disc-shaped and much sweeter.  It was a really fantastic experience, and while I was obviously a novelty, everyone was really friendly.  And the cost? Rs20 (less than 30 cents).

Eventually, I did make it up the hill to the temple.  It was amazing - the main stupa has 13 golden tiers, and in the morning sunlight it was gleaming.  Again, the main stupa was surrounded by other temples and shrines, and the hillside around was festooned with prayer flags.
This afternoon, I had to check out of my hotel, and move to the Radisson!  It's a large hotel, and feels like any hotel - anywhere.  I don't really understand why people would come to Nepal and stay here, it feels a little closeted away from the real world outside, and the location is not as good (it's a bit further away from all the shops and restaurants of the Thamel area).

I met my trekking buddies this afternoon.  A range of ages, with 4 of us 'young' ones - all of us travelling alone (I am sharing a room with Angela: a doctor from Sydney).  So far everyone seems nice, and a few of them when out for dinner tonight - unfortunately I had an upset stomach, and didn't think I should venture out (although I feel fine now, so hopefully it has passed).

Kathmandu: Chaotic, Challenging & Colourful!

I landed in Kathmandu last night - after too many hours on the plane from Hong Kong (something to do with the fuel being unbalanced, resulting in additional time sitting on the tarmac!) I actually have no idea how delayed we were - I was too tired - but to my relief the guy from the hostel was still there waiting to pick me up.

Arriving into Kathmandu after midnight, on a Friday night, was an interesting introduction... it was incredibly dark, and when the car turned onto a dark, narrow road, with very old run-down buildings I did wonder where I was going... I thought I was staying in the 'centre' of town?!  I now know that all roads in Kathmandu are incredibly narrow, but fortunately the cars all seem to be correspondingly tiny!  As we got into town, the streets were lined with young guys hanging out by there cars, the occasional skimpily clad girls, and when we pulled up outside my hostel there was an all-out screaming match going on (no idea what it was all about - but seemed to involve a couple of Western girls).  I woke up this morning feeling a bit anxious about what to expect - Kathmandu seemed like a much bigger challenge than Hong Kong.

Step 1 was to obtain some local cash (I had none).  Armed with a map, and the Lonely Planet recommendations on ATM locations, I set off down the road.  It was about 9am, and the streets were surprisingly quiet.  There are very few ATMs around, and the first mentioned in the LP was boarded up, the second was not working.  Just as I was wondering what to do (do money changers take credit cards???) I found a third machine - and after several attempts managed to extract some cash.

With that success, I thought I'd try to orient myself.  After only a few paces I was 'picked up' by a young guy named Uddab.  He asked where I was going etc etc, and I figured there was no harm.  Uddab explained that today was the Holi festival - so it was a public holiday, shops were shut, and that explained why the roads weren't overly crowded.  It's also called the festival of colours, and involves people throwing water bombs and coloured powders.  Uddab claimed to be a artist, and took me to meet his teacher at an art school / shop next to one of the temples; clearly an effort to get me to buy, but quite interesting (Thangkas are religious art pieces, and can take the form of a meditation image, a philosophical image, the story of Buddhas life, or the mandala - circle).  I didn't buy anything, and thought that would be the end of Uddab - but no!  He then proceeded offered to show me some more sights... it didn't take too long to figure out that this was becoming a guided tour.  However, it was actually very interesting, as we wandered onto the back-streets around Kathmandu, and got to experience the Holi festival in real action: the kids were having heaps of fun - and I had to eventually put my camera away and use the rain cover on my camera bag!  All the tourists here seem to get covered in paint, although I managed to confine to just my face.

The kids definitely enjoyed Holi

For lunch, I was taken to a traditional Newari restaurant.  I had done my reading in Lonely planet, so knew that the Newari ethnic group are from the Kathmandu valley, and eat more meat than other Nepalese, and use spices.  The food was dry beaten rice, dried spiced buffalo meat, and a potato curry - these were all on separate plates, but mixed together to consume.  It was very tasty, and I tried not to think about whether the hygiene of the place we were in was up to standard!

Finally, we went to Pashutatinath, Nepal's most important Hindu temple - it certainly wasn't my intent to go there today, but I was intending to go there at some point.  I managed to detact myself from Uddab at this point (I figured I could manage the standard tourist sites on my own).  After a slightly awkard conversation around money (i.e. we hadn't discussed it prior, and he said just to pay what I thought it was worth!!) Udabb left, and I enjoyed sitting in a quiet spot - while watching preparations for a cremation: it felt slightly odd for the (wrapped) body to be in view of so many people, and all the washing and blessing of the body was performed on the banks of the holy river.  I can't understand how washing anything in the water from that river could be cleansing - it's one of the most polluted I have seen! 

Pashupatinath

I made it back to the hostel mid-afternoon, and after much scrubbing (why did I assume the dye would come off easily?) I am now relatively clean, and sitting on the balcony at the hostel restaurant (overlooking the chaos and noise of the road below).  I felt exhausted after the day out: it was really full-on with everything being new and chaotic.



After Holi


I'm not sure when I will next add a post, as my computer battery is nearly dead, and the only powerpoint in my hostel room seems to be a bit dodgy (I don't think it actually works)... I'll be moving to the Raddisson in a few days, so will definitely be able to charge-up from there at the least.

Thanks to all of you who have sent messages: it's lovely to hear from home :)

The Start of the Journey

Welcome to my Blog!

My title 'Traveller 299' is the total number of days I will be travelling for; I discovered this when I arranged Travel Insurance and I thought '299' had a good ring to it.

I left Melbourne late last night (flight QF029 at 23:55) - finally on my way after all the build up!

I am currently writing from a (tiny) hostel room in Hong Kong.  I have a double bed and own bathroom, but it's amazing how they can fit these items into such an inconceivably small space!  The shower hangs over the toilet, and the bed is built into the wall - I am glad I forked out extra $ for a window!

I arrived in Hong Kong early this morning, and managed to navigate to the hostel following the very detailed (very green?!) instructions I had written out for myself (Airport bus - Hostel).  At 7:30am the room was clearly not ready, so after dumping my pack I spent the next ~ 6 hours wandering around Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.  I didn't have much of a plan, and the day was very grey and overcast (quite cold actually), so I basically just walked around, figured out how to use the transport system (Octopus card) and acquainted myself with the 'feel' of the city:


A 'requiste Hong Kong street image

- Kowloon Park is just across the road from the hostel.  At 8am this morning it was filled with (mostly older) people doing tai chi: it can be quite a funny thing to watch - all flailing (sp?) arms.  There were a few groups that looked to be quite skilled, including a large group of women performing dance-like moves to beautiful Chinese music.

- I realised I was in Asia when I discovered squat toilets in the park (hiking skills put into place here!)

- I had my first 'photo with random stranger (a couple asked me to take a photo, and then he wanted a photo with me - I know its not uncommon, but I still think its odd to want a photo of someone you don't know!)

- The city definitely doesn't come alive until late.  A lot of shops seemed to only start opening around 10am, and the streets were very quiet until lunch time.
- There are signs (Chinese & English) and maps EVERYWHERE!  It's great... every corner has a map with 'you are here'.

- Being a tourist in Hong Kong just feels like fitting in: there are people taking photos everywhere (mostly Chinese) and groups of (white, English speaking) tourists on every corner.

- The only places I have been approached ("do you need a hostel / tour bus / cheap watch"?) are outside this hostel on Nathan Rd (main st) and outside the ferry terminal.  Everywhere else, I just felt I could wander around in anonymity.

During my wandering, I came across a tiny cafe that had a magazine article pasted in the window "Hong Kong's 20 best coffee spots".  I was in fact on my way to another cafe I had read about... but I decided I couldn't pass up the chance to test this one out.  I went in, and ordered a small latte: which came in a decent sized mug!  The latte art was impressive (and the coffee wasn't too bad either):





Latte Art at 'Soft Aroma' Cafe