I arrived in Kathmandu very late last night, wasn't at the hotel until about 1 am, but woke up early. So today was seen through kind of a jet-lagged haze.
Very hot today, probably almost 30 degrees during the day, even though it got quite cold at night. In the morning I met briefly with the tour leader, to give information and pictures required for the trekking permit. I then walked to the old, central part of town, about 2 km from the hotel. Not really knowing where I was going, I ended up straight into the bustling, chaotic main market street, with a maze of tiny alleys branching off everywhere, and a shrine, temple or stuppa on every block.
The biggest festival in Nepal is starting about now, and stuppas are being freshly painted, and there is a lot of activity around the shrines. It's an interesting blend of Hinduism and Buddhism, and most shrines have images or statues from both religions. Practices that would be used, say, in Tibetan Buddhism, like lighting butter lamps, are also used at Hindu dieties without discrimination.
I was shown around for a while by a local guy who was full of information about all the different shrines. Of course it was about asking for money afterward, but it was worth the interesting tour and being able to navigate the maze of streets.
Back at the hotel, there was a group meeting for the trek. There are nine of us. We didn't state nationalities, but I detected Australian accents. It's also an older group. Everyone seemed friendly and easy-going.
Very hot today, probably almost 30 degrees during the day, even though it got quite cold at night. In the morning I met briefly with the tour leader, to give information and pictures required for the trekking permit. I then walked to the old, central part of town, about 2 km from the hotel. Not really knowing where I was going, I ended up straight into the bustling, chaotic main market street, with a maze of tiny alleys branching off everywhere, and a shrine, temple or stuppa on every block.
The biggest festival in Nepal is starting about now, and stuppas are being freshly painted, and there is a lot of activity around the shrines. It's an interesting blend of Hinduism and Buddhism, and most shrines have images or statues from both religions. Practices that would be used, say, in Tibetan Buddhism, like lighting butter lamps, are also used at Hindu dieties without discrimination.
I was shown around for a while by a local guy who was full of information about all the different shrines. Of course it was about asking for money afterward, but it was worth the interesting tour and being able to navigate the maze of streets.
Back at the hotel, there was a group meeting for the trek. There are nine of us. We didn't state nationalities, but I detected Australian accents. It's also an older group. Everyone seemed friendly and easy-going.
Nice writing Gord,
ReplyDeleteInteresting how in some buildings each floor sticks out a little further than the one below. Nice photo of the lively street.
Flavio