Leaving civiliz... Kathmandu

You can easily get through the compulsory sights in Kathmandu in two days. All I had left to see now was the monkey temple, Shumbanayath, and Durbar Square, the temple square. The monkey temple got its popular name from the fact that there's always a few monkeys hanging around, eating whatever the buddhists choose to serve their gods. A lot of fun for the tourists, but the most interesting experience I had at the temple was meeting Amba Lama from the Tangu monestary. He is one of many Tibetans in Nepal, living in exile because they would be thrown in jail and/or killed by the Chinese for refusing to give their country to the Chinese back home. Amba Lama's brother was killed, his father died in prison and his mother is in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and can't get out. His story describes a lot of Tibetan families and tragedies. He gave me a small amulet with the eye of Buddha on. How a person can go through a life like his, and still keep the faith in a good, higher being, is fairly hard to understand. I thanked him and wished him all the best. What more can I do?

The visit to Durbar Square was less depressing. This is the old center of Kathmandu. According to the myth, the city got it's name from the first temple ("mandu") erected here, which was made of all wood ("kath"). The actual temple still is still standing there, and there are just a few hundred freelance guides around, willing to show you around for a hundred rupi or so. It's a good investment, if you can manage to find a guide who speaks your language. The square basically is just a lot of temples, but the temples vary a lot in size, function and to a degree also in shape. The temple with erotic carvings in traditional Kama Sutra style is probably the most photographed part of the square, apart from a sadhu with the most charming smile, who will let you photograph him for a mere 50 rupi.

Close to the square is also the old royal palace. You can get in there and see a lot of royal history. The collection basically consists of weapons and pictures of royals standing on piles of dead animals, mostly animals that today are threatened by extinction. You will get your money's worth by going to the tower of the palace, which offers splendid views in all directions. Watch what you bump your head into!

Also in the area is the palace of the child goddess, Kumari. When a girl with special physical features is born, she will be assigned the role of Kumari. She will be treated as a goddess, clad in gold and silk, and she gets to live in the palace. It's almost like a Cinderella story. Uhm... Except as soon as the girl bleeds, when her menstruation starts at the latest, she will be kicked out. Oh, and any man who marries her will die within a year of the marriage. That's the rumour, anyway. This makes it a bit hard for Kumaris to get married. Sometimes Hindu can be a bit strange.

The last evening in Kathmandu was spent having dinner with two Norwegian nurses, who had been to the area we wanted to go to, and they certainly didn't lower the expectations I had for the trip. In return for the pleasant company and a chance to speak Norwegian again, I sacrificed some of the national chocolate of Norway, Freia's Melkesjokolade.

Now there were no way back. Sarah and I got to the new bus station just outside Kathmandu at seven in the morning by taxi. We were slightly scammed, as we paid 500 rupi for the bus ticket, while it should have cost just about 200. Tish tish, never mind. We were tired, uncomfortable, slightly lost, being the only western people on the bus station until just before the bus left, and this was all before the bus trip started. It was a memorable bus trip. Actually, it deserves its own chapter.