Four days of intense touring in Nepal was about all I needed. A lot of people go there for the trekking (they have mountains other than Everest) but I was more of a cultural/historical tourist, interested in daily life and religious sites both Buddhist and Hindu, and most of those sites are in the Kathmandu region. Oh, and I saw some live animal sacrifices, which were not as gross as I was expecting, but still pretty gross. I was really glad to see it after spending so many years of Jewish education reading about our own extensive sacrificial traditions. It says in the Mishnah that one of the miracles of the Temple in Jerusalem was that there were no flies on the Temple Mount (specifically, in the stables), which let me tell you would have been a hell of a miracle, because it was a slow day at Dakshinkali and the flies were still a problem. I did not include any pictures of it in this post despite taking extensive amounts.
I will say something about Kathmandu, which is about their city planning. They have a section of town called Thamel, which a lot of trekkers are down on as being a "backpacker ghetto" which is the opposite of what it is. At some point, Kathmandu decided that if it was going to host a lot of Westerners, it might as well put all of the things they need (hotels, money changers, shops, restaurants) in one area, keep it well-lit, and make it a good deal cleaner than the rest of the city. People felt it was touristy, which it was, but Nepal is a developing country, so touristy means "plumbing that works" and "at least 12 hours a day of non-generator electricity." You know, things we take for granted and actually really need, especially when we're spending more money on a single transaction than most Nepalis will see in a year. My experiences in India, which to be fair has a wider range of economic statrum, was that cities were very spread out, and harder to navigate on foot to do touristy things, like mail home some art you just bought or hit the bookstore before it closes because of rolling blackouts. So thanks, whoever thought of Thamel. I appreciate it.
Below are some of my favorite pictures from Kathmandu.
I will say something about Kathmandu, which is about their city planning. They have a section of town called Thamel, which a lot of trekkers are down on as being a "backpacker ghetto" which is the opposite of what it is. At some point, Kathmandu decided that if it was going to host a lot of Westerners, it might as well put all of the things they need (hotels, money changers, shops, restaurants) in one area, keep it well-lit, and make it a good deal cleaner than the rest of the city. People felt it was touristy, which it was, but Nepal is a developing country, so touristy means "plumbing that works" and "at least 12 hours a day of non-generator electricity." You know, things we take for granted and actually really need, especially when we're spending more money on a single transaction than most Nepalis will see in a year. My experiences in India, which to be fair has a wider range of economic statrum, was that cities were very spread out, and harder to navigate on foot to do touristy things, like mail home some art you just bought or hit the bookstore before it closes because of rolling blackouts. So thanks, whoever thought of Thamel. I appreciate it.
Below are some of my favorite pictures from Kathmandu.
No comments:
Post a Comment