Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Temples x 3, Dhal Bhat x 4, life’s good.
I realised I forgot to exchange any Rupees at the airport, amateur traveller mistake. Unable to afford the bus (10 rupees/10p), I walked into the town (10 clicks) and eventually exchanged my USDs for 7300NRs. I was able to absorb the Kathmandu atmosphere and pollution on the way.
I met up with Robbie again. We met at Ratna Park which is one of the two main bus station in Kathmandu. Starting to find my feet in Kathmandu. We sat off on his motorbike to the various tourist sites.
Swaynbuuuu (monkey temple) was the first one. It is on the North east of on the ring road of KTM. The monkey temple was under-restoration thus the scaffolding kinda disrupted the picture. Nonetheless, the culture or religion atmosphere was intense. Since I was not a religious person, it was simply a grand structure to me. However, I always respect other people’s religion and culture, I kept the walk clockwise.
After this one, I jumped onto Robbie’s bike, and we rode to Boudath. This is the best Stupa for sure. This must be one the must see places on Earth.
After Boudath, Pashepati (the Hindu only) temple was next on the list. It was only for Hindu. As they immediately charged me the entrance fee without letting me inside, it just reinforced my dislike of religions. Immediately I was distinguished and treated differently. Religion gives preference to a group of people without the consideration of their character, morals, or values. Ironically, I landed in just about the most religious country I have ever visited. Hence, it was important for me to be culturally sensitive. i.e. didn’t point out that a buffalo is like a cow. I guess the caste system is also applicable to the cow family.
When I returned to my host family, there was a meal of Dhal Bhat waiting for me. Dhal Bhat is a green bean type soup, lots of rice and a vegetable curry. The family was very generous and it took me a while to remember the magic word which stops food appearing on my plate continuously, ‘puyo’.
My host family were lovely and I had my fourth consecutive Dhal Bhat. No bad reaction from my bowel which was really important. The fact was that I was going to be here for 3 months, which the sooner my stomach realise that the better. I was in Nepal so I wasn’t going to ask my host family to provide me fish and chips. They provided a good food source and I was glad to stick with it.
Adventures of Delboy 