Monday May 3rd
Anyway, I took a mountain flight this morning out to see the Himalayas and Mt. Everest! I'd heard about this from a couple of people and decided to do it, afterall when will I ever get another chance? There were only nine of us on a 27 seater plane, and I was the only white tourist, the rest were Indians. The flight lasted about an hour. Initially I was disappointed as the windows were not very clear and the pictures turned out quite blue. However, when we reached our destination, they allowed us to go up to the cockpit. I deliberately went last and could therefore stay the longest. The view out their window was much clearer. I got some good shots of Everest and the surrounding peaks.
After I landed, Anil and the Discovery driver drove me back to the hotel. I had breakfast and then met up with the last four girls and Anil again to take a ride to Patan Durbar Square. The women were going shopping and I wanted to explore the square. There was no room in the taxi for me, so Anil drove me on the back of his scooter! That was exciting, especially without a helmet! Anil dropped me at the square and continued on with the girls.
I spent a pleasant three hours there, exploring and people watching (and photographing). Then I caught a taxi to go to Kathmandu Durbar Square. There are four durbar squares in the Kathmandu Valley and they date back about two hundred years. They were holy places for royalty and contained numerous Buddhist and Hindu temples. The one in Kathmandu was the place where the kings of Nepal were crowned and the coronations held, until the whole family was massacred on Friday June 1st, 2001. Again I spent a few hours wandering around people watching and exploring. Pedro, from the trekking group, had told me this was the place where Kumari, the 'living goddess' lived. I found the Kumari-ghar and went into the inner courtyard. There were a couple of tour guides talking to their groups and I eavesdropped and got some information. The living goddess is a young girl who is chosen by the government of Kathmandu. She is worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists alike as she is believed to be the bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju, until she menstruates, after which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body. Then a new prepubescent girl is chosen from the Shakya clan of the Nepalese Newari community. The selection process is very rigorous and requires the girls to compete for the honour, not unlike a reality show!
After a short wait the Kumari appeared with her guardian at the appointed window to see her admirers and be admired by them. She was there for about two minutes, before some guy tried to sneak a photograph despite the fact that we were all told photos were not allowed. Immediately she retreated and didn't return. When we went back outside I talked to the would be photographer and told him as nicely as I could that it was people like him who ruin it for everyone. I've been to lots of places where we can't take pictures, or our cameras are not allowed at all because people simply will not follow the rules. When it says 'no flash' people still do, or 'no photos' and people still try. I explained to him my frustration with places that won't let us take photos, and told him that my way around the no photo thing was to use the internet to find pictures and download them. Luckily, he listened, I think because he was embarrassed, and he didn't punch me out. I walked around a bit more, looking at temples that the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix visited back in the day, before deciding to walk back to the hotel because it looked like rain. It was about a forty minute walk through the crazy streets of Kathmandu. And it did rain a little as I walked.
Back at the hotel I worked on my photos and blog for a bit, before having dinner here at the hotel. Then I spent the rest of the evening typing and catching up.
The mountains are amazing! " Into Thin Air " is waiting for you to read
ReplyDeletewhen you return!