At first glance, Kathmandu resembles India; the streets are more than busy, there’s tons of pollution (it’s actually one of the most polluted cities in the world), there is only a slightly less honking, street signs are randomly and haphazardly placed, and the people are quite friendly.
Nepal is still struggling to recover after the huge 8.3M earthquake in 2015. Many, many people lost their homes, and the government is not reacting quickly enough to rebuild. Other countries are trying to help, but most of the imported goods are confiscated by border guards or are just not being distributed properly. Nepal thrives on tourism, and are hoping for a strong fall season to bolster their fragile economy. If you love trekking, I urge you to travel to Nepal and sight see.
The district I stayed in Kathmandu was littered with white people. After spending so much time in India and Sri Lanka, it was funny, and rather weird, to not being around fellow Caucasians. Most come for trekking, but there are plenty of other outdoor activities (rafting, zip-lining, climbing, hot springs, volunteering) as well as great restaurants. In fact, I ate a delicious Mexican burrito on the first night! One of their local specialties is called momo which are dumplings made from chicken, vegetables or cheese. They are always made fresh and remind me of my favourite Polish pierogi.
On the second day, a local guide escorted me to the city’s sights and attractions. Most of his sentences began with, “before the earthquake…” or “after the earthquake…”. Sadly, many of their monuments were destroyed or severely damaged. And as pleasant as the guide was, I had a really hard time understanding his English, so I just nodded my head in agreement. I know I missed information, but I simply wasn’t in the mood to have him repeat everything twice.
Highlights from the day were the Monkey Temple, where he hand-fed some tame monkeys; the Golden Temple, which had a genuine and peaceful aura; and the temple of the living goddess. In the Hindu religion, they believe pre-pubescent girls are manifestations of a divine female energy. Girls are chosen based on several physical attributes and must pass several challenging tests before being promoted to the status of a living goddess. They remain isolated in a temple until their first menstrual cycle, after which a new girl is chosen. The previous girl is then able to live a normal life, and even get married.
FYI, my camera that was supposed to be repaired in India wasn’t actually repaired properly, so most of the pictures here are slightly blurry. I’ll buy a new camera once in Japan.
