Namaste! – Opening Night in Kathmandu
Thursday, January 17: Oman Air flight 331 flew in over the green Churia Hills of Nepal as the sun went down. Below were soft peaks with winding dirt paths etched into their surfaces. As we landed, the sun went down in a spectacular array of corals and lavender. We were on the ground in Kathmandu.
Kathmandu Guest House offered a free airport pick up. I spotted the sign, greeting the Nepali man with “Namaste,” head bowed and hands in a prayer pose. In Sanskrit the word is namah + te = namaste which means “I bow to you” – my greetings, salutations or prostration to you. The greeting helps one see the true divine spirit in everyone and meet them at the soul level. I loved this greeting and gesture of honoring another person and found myself wishing we all would great each other in this way.
I hopped into a dilapidated van, and we drove through the city to the tourist neighborhood of Thamel, where KGH, and practically every other guesthouse in Kathmandu, was located. We bounced along over potholes in the dirt roads. On the way through the smog and haze of the city, we heard a cacophony of honking horns. Colorful figures wrapped in yak’s wool blankets moved through the darkening sky under neon lights; some sat tending ramshackle shops or hunched over baskets of cabbages and tomatoes. Cars, brightly painted trucks and hordes of motorbikes clogged the roads. The city reminded me of many poor cities, but especially Delhi, Hanoi and Addis Ababa.
I headed directly to the garden restaurant for a glass of wine and some dinner. It was chilly, but I sat strategically under a heat lamp to keep somewhat warm. I ordered fish tikka and some garlic naan, all delicious.
After dinner, I wandered out into the streets of Thamel, where there were lots of Chinese and Korean tourists mingling with the Nepalis. And there were the expected Western tourists wearing their colorful woolen hats with ear flaps & tassels. Sometimes their hair was dyed platinum or hot pink or matted in dreadlocks. Sometimes their hair was just clipped up to their heads in a razzmatazz way. Either way, I didn’t think I had to worry about what my hair looked like here, as everyone looked a mess!
I wandered past shops selling singing bowls, thangka paintings, brass Buddhas and Hindu deities, pashminas, jewelry, Nepali crafts, embroidered handbags, books, maps, guidebooks, meditation and chanting CDs, carpets, scarves, and knock-off trekking gear. I heard the Tibetan Incantations that my friend Mona Lisa sent me before I came; she had told me I’d hear it everywhere on the streets of Kathmandu. I bought the CD from a shopkeeper for 250 rupees ($2.91). Other shops offered every kind of thing a tourist could ever want: money exchange, internet, SIM cards, photo printing, trekking, bicycling or rafting trips. This was the place of dreams; whatever dream you had, these vendors could supply. I wondered: could they give me the answers to my problems, the dilemmas of my life?
Flying into Kathmandu
Flying into Kathmandu
fish tikka and naan
me at the restaurant
Thamel
Thamel
Thamel
Thamel
Kathmandu Guest House
a carriage
Kathmandu Guest House
Kathmandu: Swayambhunath
Friday, January 18: After eating a great buffet breakfast in the chilly courtyard dining area of Kathmandu Guest House, I sat down over coffee with Uttam Phuyal and Lamichhane Dipak so they could help me plan my stay in Nepal. As I didn’t have any time to plan or even read anything about Nepal before I came, I relied on their advice as native Nepalis. They came up with a great plan, which included a city tour of Kathmandu today (Friday), a flight Saturday to Pokhara with a two night stay there, a return to Kathmandu on Monday, a drive to Nagarkot via Bhaktapur on Tuesday, a long walk from Nagarkot to Changu Narayan on Wednesday with a return to Kathmandu that night, and finally another day in Kathmandu. All this for the cost of $600, not including entrance fees to attractions, lunch, dinner or my stays at Kathmandu Guest House.
Our first day in Kathmandu, we started with Swayambhu (or Swayambhunath), a 5th century Buddhist stupa that is the source of Kathmandu Valley’s creation myth. Tantric Buddhists believe that an act of worship on this conical hill carries 13 billion times more merit here than anywhere else, according to the Rough Guide to Nepal. Though many tourists call it the “Monkey Temple,” the name minimizes its importance to Buddhism.
On the hilltop to the west of Swayambhu, at Manjushri Shrine, we encountered a wishing pool with a brass bowl in front of a Buddha image. If you tossed a coin and it went into the bowl, your wish was sure to be granted. I only had one coin in my possession. I made a wish, tossed the coin, and watched as it danced to the bottom of the pond.
At Swayambhu, we found artfully arranged slivers of coconut; Buddha’s three all-seeing eyes, two of which stand for world peace and one for meditation; and a completely solid white-washed dome, which symbolizes the womb. Monkeys flitted about on walls and the walkway and gathered for a small community meeting on the walkway. Pilgrims walked around the stupa in a clockwise direction, turning the prayer wheels around the perimeter. According to Rough Guide to Nepal, there are six thousand small prayer wheels around the perimeter of the hill.
My guide Buddhi told me that the colors of the prayer flags represented the five elements: earth, water, air, fire and sky. He told me Nepal’s people are about 75% Hindu, 15% Buddhist, and 5% Christians.
We came upon the gilt-roofed Harati Mandir, built to appease Harati (also known as Ajima), historically the goddess of smallpox, but now known as the goddess of all childhood diseases. Harati/Ajima is both feared, as the bearer of disease, and revered, as the protectress from disease (if appropriately appeased).
Around the edges of the complex were the ubiquitous tourist attractions: a cafe in Nirvana and healing bowls offered as solutions to the soul’s distress. A courtyard full of monuments held the gravestones of monks who have lived and died here. At the northeast corner was the Shree Karma Raj Mahavihar, an active Buddhist monastery with its big Buddha and numerous butter candles, which Tibetan Buddhists light much as Catholics do.
As nice as my guide Buddhi was, I found myself wishing I didn’t have a guide so I could spend time in a clockwise walking meditation around the stupa, turning the prayer wheels slowly. I had enjoyed these kinds of walking meditations before, especially using labyrinths in the Episcopal Church. I liked moving slowly on predetermined paths while trying to still the incessant chatter in my mind.
Courtyard of Kathmandu Guest House
flowers at Kathmandu Guest House
Kathmandu Guest House
a wishing pool near Swayambhu
Swayambhu
Swayambhu
coconut for sale
monkeys at “The Monkey Temple”
Buddha’s eyes on the stupa stand for world peace. The third eye is for meditation
the Swayambhu stupa
monkeys at “The Monkey Temple”
monkeys at “The Monkey Temple”
the Swayambhu stupa
cemetery of monks
Swayambhu
Buddha heads at Swayambhu
Shree Karma Raj Mahavihar
Shree Karma Raj Mahavihar
a monk splashes arcs of saffron paint over the stupa in a lotus-flower pattern
the steps to Swayambhu
an oversized vajra, a tantric symbol of power and indestructibility
the bullet shaped shikra of Anantapur
pilgrims and tourists rove around the stupa
colorful prayer flags representing the 5 elements of earth, water, air, fire & sky
pilgrims at Swayambhu
reclining Buddha
Kathmandu: Durbar Square
One of the eight Cultural World Heritage sites by UNESCO, Kathmandu Durbar Square is a cluster of ancient temples, palaces, courtyards and streets that date back from the 12th to the 18th centuries. The square is known to be the social, religious and urban focal point of Kathmandu.
We found Kasthamandap, an ancient open pagoda-roofed pavilion said to be Kathmandu’s oldest building and one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. The name of Kathmandu probably came from this building. Buddhi told me it was built in the 12th century from the wood of a single tree. We passed the 17th century Trailokya Mohan, a three-roofed pagoda dedicated to Narayan, the Nepali name for Vishnu, and the 17th-century Maju Dewal atop a pyramid of 9 stepped levels.
At Kumari Chowk, we hoped to get a glimpse of Kathmandu’s Raj Kumari, the most important of a dozen or so “living goddesses” in Kathmandu Valley.
The Kumari is a prepubescent girl who is worshiped as the living incarnation of the goddess Taleju. Apparently the last Malla King of Kathmandu, the weak Jaya Prakash, lusted after Taleju. Offended, she told the king that he should select a virgin girl in whom the goddess could dwell. The Kumari is considered a Hindu goddess, but she is chosen from the Buddhist Shakya clan of goldsmiths. Elders interview Shakya girls between the ages of 3 and 5 and base their decision on whether she has 32 auspicious signs: a neck like a conch shell, a body like a Banyan Tree, etc. (Rough Guide to Nepal).
The young goddess lives a cloistered life inside the Kumari Chowk and is only carried outside on her throne during certain festivals. Her feet are never allowed to touch the ground. The goddess’s spirit is said to flow out of her with her first menstruation, at which time she is retired with a modest pension. Apparently, it’s hard for the Kumari to find a husband since legend has it that the Kumari’s husband will die young.
The Kumari courtyard was decorated with intricately carved windows and doorways. We were told upon our arrival into the courtyard that she was having something to eat, but we waited for a bit and she finally showed her face at the window, dressed in an auspicious red-colored coat, her eyes heavily made up. This Kumari had been in place since 2008, since she was 3 years old, meaning she was at that time about 8 years old. Sadly, it was strictly forbidden to photograph the Kumari.
Walking along, we came to another area chock full of temples — and pigeons. We saw a column topped with a gilded statue of King Pratap Malla. East of this column was the 16th century pagoda-style Jagannath Mandir. The struts supporting the lower roof of the temple contained numerous erotic carvings, quite common in Nepali temples. Other smaller temples surrounded the Jagannath Mandir. Cows lounged in the square among the pigeons, and a solitary monk stood silently, not moving, accepting donations in a bowl. Buddhi told me that monks don’t ever ask people for money, but just stand silently in the belief that people will give them alms.
At Taleju Mandir, which sits atop a 12-tiered plinth, we saw Kathmandu’s largest temple, erected in the mid-16th century by King Mahendra Malla, who made a law that no building could exceed it in height. This law was in force through the mid-20th century.
Finally, we went to the Old Royal Palace, usually called Hanuman Dhoka. A statue of the monkey-god Hanuman stood outside, installed by the 17th century king, Pratap Malla, to ward off evil spirits. The Hanuman idol was veiled to render his stare safe from mortals and he’d been anointed with mustard oil and vermilion paste (abhir) through the centuries.
We entered the courtyard through the brightly decorated Hanuman Dhoka (Hanuman Gate). The large central courtyard inside, called the Nassal Chowk, was the setting for King Birendra’s coronation in 1975. The brick wings of the southern and eastern walls date from the 16th century.
These sites at Durbar Square received significant damage due to the devastating earthquake of 2015 but most structures still remain.
It started to sprinkle and we heard claps of thunder. We headed back immediately to the car, where we hopped in just in time. As soon as we were in the car, driving toward the great stupa of Boudha, it began to pour.
on the way to Durbar Square
Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple
Kumari Chowk
me under the window where the Kumari appears
Kumari Chowk: the top center window is where the Kumari finally appears for a showing
Kumari Chowk
Column of King Pratap Malla and the Jagannath Mandir
near Jagannath Mandir
cows and pigeons in the square
a monk stands silently seeking alms in front of Jagannath Mandir
one of the many temples in this complex
Chasin Dega
Kala Bhairab
Lion’s Gate to Taleju Mandir
Panch Mukhi Hanuman Mandir
Nassal Chowk, the interior courtyard of the Old Royal Palace (Hanuman Dhoka)
