Nepal Reloaded: a new Kathmandu and to Pokhara (May 14 - 15)

If you stopped reading the last entry when the pictures stopped, I don't blame you! I promise more adventure and less self-indulgence.

Kathmandu from new eyes (May 14)
If someone asked me what living in the Bay Area is like, I would probably mention some of my favorite restaurants in Mountain View, some good bike ride/running spots, commuting on the highways, maybe a bookstore or two. I wouldn't talk about how I took a cable car across the Golden Gate Bridge to get lunch at Fisherman's Wharf before I hung out at Delores Park listening to Counting Crows to unwind from my Silicon Valley work week. So while seeing Kathmandu from Subechya's family's point of view was maybe more "real," I wanted the tourist perspective too!

The first part of my Nepal experience with Nepal Vision was a tour of 4 famous spots in Kathmandu. Our first visit was to Swayambhunath, the "monkey temple" and sight of Buddhist stupas intermixed with Hindu temples. My guide Navid gave me the option of either climbing about 365 steps to reach the top or taking our car up the road. I think he was surprised and somewhat annoyed I chose to take the stairs. As we ascended I learned of the 13 steps to reach enlightenment in Buddhism as symbolized by the dome atop the stairs, as well as the three eyes on the dome representing wisdom, compassion, and cosmic rays emanating as Buddha preaches. Navid explained the fundamentals of Buddhism and I was fascinated by the Buddhist notion of 5 sins and transforming these faults into strengths, as I understood it. We're all guilty of envy at some point. I see the wisdom in recognizing that and trying to deal with it. I also saw a lot of monkeys.

Next we drove to Darbur Square in Patan, a site of many Hindu temples. I had been there a few days ago, but was able to more thoroughly enjoy the square as Navid pointed out the significance of the temples and the depictions of the Hinduism trinity: Brahma (the creator), Shiva (the destroyer), and Vishnu (the presever). I also got the chance to see Kumari, the 5 year old "destiny princess" of Nepal. The selection process of Kumari is somewhat parallel to that of the Dalai Lama.

Next stop on the tourists view of Kathmandu was Pashupatinath Temple, the most sacred temple in the world dedicated to Shiva and located along the Bagmati river. Navid explained the 4 stages of a traditional Hindu life to me: learning, managing a family and career, retiring, and rejecting life to lead a solitary, spiritual existence. I found places that both yearned to be photographed (the alignment of Shiva statues) and that I had no business even pointing a camera at (Hindu cremation ceremonies at the banks of the Bagmati.)

Our final destination was the Buddhanath stupa, one of the largest in the world. Navid and I broke for lunch near the stupa. As we ate, I learned that he was actually from the same group of people as Sabal's girlfriend Kunchhang and knew her father. Small world, as there are 4 million people living in Kathmandu! We discussed Thangka art as well as both Nepal and US politics, specifically the recent assassination of Bin Laden. I mildly surprised myself by taking a somewhat patriotic position on the issue and defended the way it was executed by our government. I acknowledged that denial of basic human rights, such as trial and respectful burial, should be avoided at nearly all costs (Bono is my idol) yet I had to argue that Bin Laden needed to be stopped by whatever means necessary and this manner was appropriate.

Following a conversation of lighter topics, we visited a Buddhist monastery near the stupa and I viewed 8 pillars representing the stages of Buddha's life. I learned about the 4 noble truths of suffering which form the core of Buddhist teachings. Navid also took me to a Thangka art school and singing bowl shop where I purchased a moderately sized bowl after being fascinated by a demonstration. A pretty sweet day!

To Pokhara (May 15)
Up at 5:45 am to catch a bus from Thamel to Pokhara, the staging point for the Annapurna trek. I met my guide, Ram, and my porter, Navaraj at our hotel and we journeyed to the bus stop. Ram scrambled to the driver of each bus trying to gather information on whether or not there would be a country-wide strike by the drivers for the day. After Ram made an educated guess there wouldn't be, we boarded and began the ride. The 6 hour ride made for a boring day, but there was some action (or inaction) around noon. 2 busses had decided to blockade the road to Pokhara, causing a massive impasse! There was indeed a strike.

I witnessed Nepali citizens fiercely arguing with members of the Nepal MP. It never seemed like a physical altercation was about to break out, but I was somewhat worried that if one did it would escalate very quickly. I decided to stay put in the bus, shut up, and take shelter as a "naive, innocent tourist." And of course snap a picture of the impasse. Fortunately after an hour or so everyone decided it was okay for us tourists to move through the impasse, and we rode onwards to Pokhara. I spent the evening double checking my trekking inventory and enjoying my last few hours of electricity. Time to begin the adventure!