Diwali

Happy Diwali!

I'm writing now from Bhaktapur, just east of Kathmandu. Since I've last posted I've been to Bouddha, Nagarkot, and now Bhaktapur (forgive the spellings, they may be wrong). I have some great pictures, but I'll have to add them later because the computer I'm on doesn't recognize my camera.

Boudda

After a night in Thamel, Kathmandu (the tourist neighborhood), I headed to Boudda (also called Boudnath). It's a Tibetan town just east of Kathmandu, and home to one of the world's largest stupas (a type of Buddhist structure, click on the link for pictures). It's full of Buddhist monasteries, and thus full of Buddhist monks. After the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu (even for a night) and tourists everywhere, this town is a nice change.

I first walked around the stupa, which has 108 prayer wheels lining the outside rim. Buddhists walk around the outside and spin each of them as they pass. From there I wandered around town a little bit and then went to a few monasteries. They are all very open, some with tons of tourists, others with none at all. The best experience was when I found one with just one other tourist that was having a service. I went in and they began to play their instruments; horns of various shapes and sizes, shells, and cymbals. It was like being in a whole different world, and it filled the room with impressive and very different (to my ears) sound.

At night the power was out pretty much the whole time, but the locals didn't mind because they were too busy celebrating Diwali, or Tihar as they call it here (Diwali is celebrated nationally in India and Nepal, but in this region they call it Tihar, I have no idea why. What that amounted to as far as I was concerned was firecrackers, and then more firecrackers later. They don't have the multiple firecracker strings like in China, but they have single loud ones that everyone from 5 years old and up seems to enjoy. For the first few minutes I thought there was a war breaking out, but no, it was just Diwali, Festival of Lights (ironically enough in a city without power, and therefore with little light).

I stayed the night in a relatively nice hotel ($10!) after staying the night before in a cheap (for a reason) hotel in central Kathmandu. I planned to wake up early the next morning to walk to Sankhu, something like 15 or 20 km (10+ miles) away.

Nagarkot

Well the title gives it away, but I didn't stop in Sankhu. I set out before 7, and with beautifully cool weather continued past Sankhu at about 10:30 or so after a tea break. From there the road (then trail) started up the hill. Nagarkot is located on the top of a hill along the ridge of Kathmandu Valley. It's known for having spectacular views, which is in fact pretty much the only reason to visit.

I continued to the top of the hill, making it to the ridge to see some mountains peeking through the clouds. There was a fork in the road, so I took it. Unfortunately for my tired legs, I didn't choose correctly.

Another hour of so of hiking later I realized completely that I went too far. I turned around and went back to the fork in the road, finding some tourist restaurants shortly afterward for a drink. There I met another American, and we headed up the hill to Nagarkot, about a half hour away. The town is situated in a pine forest overlooking all of Kathmandu Valley in one direction and another valley with Himalayas behind it in the other direction. Unfortunately for me, those mountains were clouded up the entire time I spent there.

At dinner we met a Belgian, and we all decided to walk down to Bhaktapur the next day.

Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur is a very old city, at one time bigger and more important than Kathmandu. Now it is restored and kept very nice by the Rs. 750 ($10) entry fee to get into the city (for foreigners). I paid the fee and it was well worth it.

It feels like I've stepped back in time several hundred years here (with some notable exceptions). The buildings are beautiful red brick, with some fantastic temples and old winding streets devoid of cars. There is one main street (which the hotel is located on) connecting a few different squares, with fruit stands and shops set up along the way.

Today there are Diwali parades here, which entails a lot of honking, yelling, drums, and cymbals. Everyone seems to be having a grand old time, and I am as well. We got some delicious homemade ice cream then sat and watched the parade. Tomorrow I will head back to Kathmandu and then decide how to get out of the country from there. My visa expires soon, so I have to be out of the country by the 23rd. I was thinking I would go to Darjeeling, but it turns out it's a 17 hour bus ride to the Eastern border normally, but a bridge is washed out on the main "highway", so it would be much longer. I may just go south, and then connect to Kolkatta (Calcutta). We'll see. For now, Happy Diwali!