We passed a few more days in Pokhara, indulging our senses (although no more alcohol, all that clean air living knocked it out of us) and eventually made the decision to move on to Kathmandu.
The bus to Kathmandu was really not as bad as we read. We were warned not to travel on an overnight bus as the roads are treacherous. Expecting the worst we arrived at the bus station early to be greeted by a very calm scene. Nothing at all like India, it was all so civilised. Men were carrying trays of croissants and Danishes between busses, charging a reasonable price, using tongs and napkins- how unusual! We know it was the tourist bus station, but this was still eerie. Ok the bus station wasn’t paved, pot holes and mud all around, the bus was old, there was no road to speak of, but we left on time. The bus was full but not over crowed. We stopped frequently for food and toilet breaks at nice places. The driver seemed to adhere to actual road rules and the use of the horn was minimal. Reading was possible, the road eventually became a road, and we didn’t bang our heads and buts of the roof and seat simultaneously. Including all stops the journey took about seven hours- not so bad indeed.
We were dropped near Thamel, the main tourist area and quickly found a suitable guesthouse. We’ve stayed here six nights and will head down to the Chitwan National park in the morning.
Kathmandu has been wonderful. Thamel is busy and crazy, but nothing like Delhi. The food is amazing and cheap. The sites are beautiful. We visited Durbar square, the heart of the old town, which is a wonderful maze of tiny streets, temples and wonderful architecture including the Kasthamandap- a three-roofed temple constructed from the wood of a single sal tree.
We almost saw the Kumari Devi, at her house the Kumari Bahal. She is a living goddess, selected through a vigorous set of rules and physical requirements. She is new to the job as her predecessor entered puberty a few months earlier leaving the job open to this four year old! While enjoying a cup of tea and some serious people watching at a beautiful rooftop restaurant we met two Irish men who had just trekked past Everest base camp.
A haze of temples later and we found ourselves back in Varanasi!
Well not exactly, but this group of Hindu temples, Pashupatinath is on the river Bagmati, which eventually leads to the river Ganges in India. Here as at Varanasi, bodies are burned at the ghats, but unlike at Varanais, photography is permitted. It’s a much smaller operation with 80 bodies burned a day rather then the 3/4000 at Varanasi. We also saw some Sadhus at the temple complex- wandering holy men who seek nirvana through meditation and smoking pot, but then appeared more to lie about posing for photos and money then seeking nirvana!
Kathmandu also has a huge circular Buddist stupa- Bodhnath- which is where all the exiled Tibetan Buddhists hang out. Around the stupa it’s basically Tibet town in Kathmandu. A very nice place to visit and watch the world go by.
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