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From: "stan.bayne" <>
Subject: Trekking in Nepal
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 10:52:39 +1200


OK. We'll keep the ball rolling as far as we can, so here is an another
extract from my memoirs, dealing with a trekking trip I did in Nepal in
1987. I included a description of the old city of Kathmandu as it appeared
to me at the time. It probably hasn't changed much, if at all, since then.

*******

Our trekking group spent the first day browsing around the old city. I
teamed up with a young Australian chap and we worked our way towards the
Boudinath temple, otherwise known as the Monkey Temple because of the horde
of small monkeys which infested the area. The monkeys are sacred to the
Hindu god Hanuman, and they therefore breed with complete impunity.

The Old City probably began its existence as a village several centuries
ago, becoming a
substantial town in the 16th century. It became the capital of Nepal in
1769 when the king
shifted there with his court. Most of the thoroughfares are narrow twisting
streets, unsealed for the most part, about 15 feet wide full of people,
bikes, trikes, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, cows, buffaloes, the odd taxi and kids
begging. . On our way through the city I made the mistake of giving a
pathetic child a rupee (about US10c - UK6p) in her begging bowl and we were
immediately surrounded by about eight of these young beggars, all with
pathetic expressions and begging bowls. It took us about half an hour and
several rupees to get rid of them. They are probably all well-trained
professionals, if I only knew.

Traders pestered us to buy kukris, carpets, musical instruments, hashish and
jewellery; money-changers operate openly but illegally, as do the brothel
pimps and the hashish men. Here and there we came into open spaces with the
inevitable temple in the centre and traders of all kinds dotted around it.
The streets were potholed, dirty and in places often smelly, but the place
has a vibrant human feeling about it which our nice, clean, neat,
antiseptic, over-regulated cities totally lack. I am referring here to the
old city - the "new" city which has sprung up since 1950 is exactly the same
as modern towns anywhere in the world, with the same pallid lack of
character.

We had to climb several hundred steps up to the Buddhist temple, and the
steps got steeper as we got higher. It is actually what they call a stupa,
since it is not hollow, but a huge
hemispherical mound of earth with a tunnel into the centre for access to the
belfry-like
structure on top. The stupa was surrounded by several small shrines, some
of which
looked Hindu rather than Buddhist. This was not unusual, since the two
religions overlap
quite a bit in Nepal, and Hindus and Buddhists often pay their respects to
the same gods at
the same shrines. There were numerous stalls all round the stupa but the
traders did not
pester us as they did in the city. I suspect that there is a law
prohibiting any kind of
soliciting in the precincts of a shrine, stupa or temple.

**********
Whenever I've travelled anywhere I always write up a daily diary, knowing
quite well that trying to write it all up once I get home is far from
satisfactory. And a diary takes in all that I've done and seen in
freshly-remembered detail. Here again is my theme from genealogy - put it
in writing!

Stan


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