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| Getting Above the Clouds |
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| Mt. Everest, Tallest Peak in the Background |
Along with a few others in our group, we opted to include an
excursion, a flight into the Himalayas to see
Mount Everest. To catch the
morning updrafts of air we needed to get started early. Wake up call was at 5
AM and we were at the airport a little after 6 AM. Now the waiting begins,
because it is not just the warm air rising, we also need to have good
visibility of the mountains. What good is a flight to see Mt. Everest if the
mountain is covered or shrouded in clouds? The weather around Kathmandu,
especially near the high ridges of these giant mountains, is finicky and
unpredictable. We had to sit and wait until 9.30 AM but then, WOW! We flew above the clouds and alongside the
ridge of Giants that form the highest peaks on earth. We could not fly too
close because the thermal turmoil would have rocked the plane all over the
place. But we had a terrific view of the grandeur of nature.
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| Mt. Everest, Tallest Peak in the Background |
People inside the plane
were hooting and hollering, taking pictures as fast as they could, albeit
through the windows of the plane. At one point, the captain of the plane
allowed each passenger, one at the time, to look at the mountains from inside
the cockpit, to get the pilots view. It does make a big difference to see out
of the huge cockpit windows. We clicked photos as quickly as possible within the
limited time we had next to the pilot and since it was crowded in the cockpit, the
pictures really don't do the experience justice. In reality the experience was
much more exiting and awe inspiring. The whole flight took only about an hour
but what a sight, what a wonder to
behold!
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| Bunganati Earthquake Damage |
We met the rest of our group, after our Everest flight in
the small village of
Bunganati outside Kathmandu to continue with the scheduled
tour for the rest of the day.
In 2015 an earthquake shook the region in and around Kathmandu
destroying large portions of antiquity in Nepal. Temples, palaces, precious old
houses, etc., crumbled into rubble. The damage was tremendous. Tourist
attractions, rare views and vistas, heritage sites, were totally destroyed.
With the limited resources Nepal has available, they tried to clean up and still
preserve what was left after the shock-waves but…..their government is not that
organized.
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| Bunganati Earthquake Damage |
And yet it is a beautiful county, the people are nice and
friendly but it does take time to change from a feudal society to the 21st
Century. The villages, the ones we saw all needed help. Men were idly watching
us explore the sights, women stood about chatting among themselves. Trash was
strewn about, rubble was still around but it seemed nobody was (is?) in charge.
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| Bunganati Earthquake Damage |
All over the area I saw old bricks that were saved and
stacked alongside the houses, roads or lots for future use. The next earthquake
will just level them again. Why save them? Why keep on building with bricks in
an earthquake zone? Education is needed.
Roads and highways were planned, even started, but then
abandoned and left in disarray and unfinished. There is no money to finish
those projects. The air is dense with smog and dust. I could feel it in my
throat and I just got here. Can you image living your daily life in this
hazardous soup?
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| Trying to Rebuild in Khokana |
I think you get the idea; I do not want to go on and on
pointing out the short comings of Nepal, especially Kathmandu. There are still
amazing venues to visit, new impressions to collect. Nepal, Kathmandu is definitely
worth a visit.
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| Krishna Mandir Temple, Patan Durbar Square |
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| Beautiful Carvings in the Museum |
After our Bunganati and
Khokana village walks, seeing the old
Hindu village center, a throwback to older times (1768), we stopped to see the famous
Patan Durbar Royal Square, a unique UNESCO sight. The debate is on which of the
3 Royal Squares is the finest. All 3 Royal Durbar Squares in Nepal are UNESCO
protected. Come and vote for yourself. We had a lovely lunch in the gardens of the Museum.
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| 55 Windows Run Along the Edge of the Balcony |
Shortly after we returned to Kathmandu we visited the old
Palace of 55 Windows. This Palace is full of
artifacts left by their former kings. No photos allowed.
There are plenty of small niches, spots and streets left all
over Nepal that show you what Nepal was like 50, 100 and many
more years before. The layout of the Hindu towns, the temples and palaces at
their center, the warriors living nearby, the merchants supplying their needs,
workers bustling about, is unique in the world. Durbar Square is what these town
centers are called. Kathmandu’s center is
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| The Golden Gate |
probably one of the finest. Pagodas
and Shikhara-style temples abound in the Kathmandu square. Golden effigies of kings
perched atop stone monoliths, a profusion of wealth and religiousness. There
are wooden carvings in every place, struts, lintels, uprights, tympanums,
gateways and windows. Concepts like the Golden Gate, the Lion's Gate are not just
words but are a very different way of looking at life. I have never seen this
before and needed to just sit and take it all in. To study it in depth would
take a lifetime. The names alone sounded strange to my ears:
Bhupatindra Malla?
(He was a King).
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| Beautiful Tympanum Over the Door of the Golden Gate |
The whole afternoon was a mélange of new impressions; a bit
overwhelming for my Western mind. There was nothing I could relate those new
impressions to. Nepal’s history is unique.
I felt wiped out after all this newness, yet also felt that
this was only a brief insight into a culture I know so little about. Kathmandu, Nepal
is definitely worth another visit. I could not help but wonder how much more
diversified India would be if Islam had not been brought to India by force with
the brutality of the Afghans.
Nepal, one of the “old” Indian kingdoms that was never overrun by
Islam.
