A walking tour south from Thamel to Durbar Square took me all afternoon today. I probably should have taken advantage of the guide services that are readily available in the area. After coming back to my room and referring to my Lonely Planet guidebook, I realised the many things that I had overlooked in the excitement of the busy streets. Some of the highlights that I did see include the Mahendreswor Temple, Taleju Temple, Chyasin Dega and especially the Basantapur Durbar. Basantapur Durbar is a nine-storied palace attached to the museum. Photography was prohibited, and to ensure that the rules weren’t broken, everybody’s bags were taken at the door. I hadn’t been so nervous in a long time, but I was able to securely lock my bag in a locker. The museum mainly contained photographs and stories of the Nepali monarchy, many of which had not been translated into English. Many display cases had brief English captions, enough for me to understand their stories. One of the past kings enjoyed collecting foreign stamps and currencies; amid the collection on display I was able to spot a handful of Canadian coins.
Newborn aardvarks look really strange.
On the other side of the square is the notorious Kumari Bahal where the Kumari Devi lives. Entering the square within the Bahal, you are able to see the faint form of the goddess through thickly thatched windows. You can imagine what she looks like though as she was carefully selected for the position, and had to meet 32 strict physical criteria.
“Once suitable candidates have been found they are gathered together in a darkened room where terrifying noises are make, while men dance by in horrific masks and 108 gruesome buffalo heads are on display. Naturally, these goings on are unlikely to frighten a real goddess, so the young girl who remains calm and collected throughout the ordeal is clearly the new Kumari.”
Clearly!
My eating patterns have changed significantly since my arrival. I have a light brunch of toast or fruit salad. The banana pancakes here can’t compare to Nellie’s and other familiar breakfast items like French toast are too eggy, and aren’t something that I think I could approach with a fork. I looked in a bakery today to see if I would be able to spot a bagel! No luck. I’m not too keen on the bakery items yet, seeing the way that they are handled and left in the open are something that I might have to learn to accept. After my 1 or 2 dollar breakfast, I might just snack on momos or bananas during the afternoon. Western-sounding items on the dinner menu always seem very appealing to me, and I’m almost always startled when it arrives on my table. A green salad was really cucumber on a plate cut into a few large slices. My cheese sandwich on the other hand, was really two sandwiches grilled with chicken and fries. How delightful! Dining by candlelight for 5 dollars is fantastic. Not that the candle light is an option in some cases; the electricity seems to cut out at different times every day.
I mailed three letters today! The ‘post office’ was a little sketchy, so I hope they make it to their destination safely.
No comments:
Post a Comment