enthralled by nepal
Despite 10 years of civil war and a history of almost constant unrest, Nepal remains a beautifully unaffected nation that’s ideal for an adventurous traveler.
TEXT GEORGIA HICKS feedback
Descending into Kathmandu airport I saw a halo of clouds encircling the city, which turned out to be mountains. The noble and ethereal Himalayas surround a frenetic city of color and smog: giants of constancy in a tumultuous city. This is the dual identity of Nepal. Ensconced between India and China, the capital has the vibrancy of Delhi; its colors, its bursting life, and its poverty. Yet the rest of the country is blessed with the blue skies and white mountains of Tibet; its height and calm. Nepal is a country both regally beautiful and hugely distressed. When you land you’ll be bombarded with men offering taxis, hotels, hostels, and tiger balm. The roads are swarming and decaying, people saturate every corner and crumbling wall; selling, mending, shouting — imagine the metro at chas pik on a hot day and you’re about halfway there. The ubiquitous smog is the fume of cabs and swarm upon swarm of motor bikes; the city is suffocated and overwhelmed. In the past decade the area of Kathmandu has increased significantly, eating away at the fields and banks of the Bagmati River as youths move to the cities in the hope of employment and new life advertised by the capitalist commerce of India and the technology of China. In 2006 the monarch was displaced and in this short time the country has seen a major upheaval; politically, culturally, and — in Kathmandu — visually. Quite frankly, it can’t cope. After 10 years of civil war, Nepal is severely in debt. The country sells hydroelectric power to the Indian government and then buys back electricity but is so far behind on payments that India has cut off supply. When I visited in fall there was an eight hour power cut every day. I only depict this in order to give you a backdrop. To talk solely of the distressing bedlam of Kathmandu is to do it a huge injustice. Firstly, the ancient gravity of the temples and palaces of Patan’s Durbar Square cannot be undermined by malls or traffic. To witness Buddhism in practice so close to the troubles of Tibet is an inspiring experience. It is worth the trip just to see pilgrims spinning prayer wheels, circling the temples, prostrating themselves as they recite mantras and tending to butter lamps in the prayer halls of Boudanath. Or to climb the 365 steps (which represent each day of the year) in a state of humble reflection and tour the 2,000-year-old monkey-strewn temples of Swayambhunath. Or to wander around the ninth-century squares of Bhaktapur and marvel at the ornate frescos of the Hindu pagoda temples. Secondly, the natural majestic beauty of Nepal is hard to describe without carting out a bag of weary superlatives. Just an hour outside Kathmandu you enter quiet green valleys crowned by snow-capped mountains. Their stature and stillness seems to imbue the country and its people with their centered calm. Birds of prey soar in the sky, lamas and yaks stalk the mountainsides and people live a humble agricultural existence in village communities. They keep goats, they work the land, they cook on open fires, rise with the light in the morning and prayers from the temple and they sleep when the sun drops behind the crest of the Himalayas. To experience this existence you need to spend time in the villages — preferably living with a local family — and the only way to do this is to volunteer for one of a plethora of charities operating in the area. But if this isn’t for you, you can also witness aspects of Nepali life in the town of Pokhara, situated on Phewa Lake and embedded in the Annapurna mountain ranges. Pokhara is calmer than the capital and enchantingly beautiful — a popular spot for travellers. It is a comfortable blend of Nepalese culture at its best, met by hostels and restaurants of Western standard. There is also yoga, meditation, paragliding, horse riding and kayaking. Few would go to Nepal without living amongst the mountains for at least a few days and nights. There are several treks of varying length and degrees of difficulty; from ten days on the Annapurna “ABC” to three weeks up to Everest Base Camp. You will need a sherper and a guide but these aren’t expensive. If you organize your trek independently of a travel company, you can get by on as little as $10 a day (with a tip to the sherper to supplement his meager wage). Moreover, no price can be pinned to the otherworldly experience of the stillness and presence of such mountains. Yet icy expeditions and village life is not all the country has to offer; spend at least three days at the Chitwan National Park to live in the jungle, bathe elephants in rivers, and search for alligators on canoes. Finally, even if the hectic pace of Kathmandu isn’t entirely appealing, leave a few days for the Hindu temples of Pashupatinath, the Tibetan community at Bodhnath, the markets, and the National Museum and you should begin to glimpse the diversity of a small country which is bound with beauty and respectful calm, despite its turbulent recent history. tips for travelers • Getting there — Flights run daily from Moscow to Kathmandu and average around 41,000 rubles return. Bus journeys between Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Royal Chitwan National Park are frequent and easy. All journeys can be booked at your hotel or hostel on a next-day basis. A seven hour trip from Kathmandu to Pokhara will cost just a few dollars. • Where to stay — The Hotel Dynasty Thamel in the center of Kathmandu is great if you want Western conveniences, with rooms starting at $50. If you want to follow in the footsteps of stars such as The Beatles, Jeremy Irons and, err, Ricky Martin, stay in the Kathmandu Guest House, which has rooms ranging from $2-100 per night. • Visas — Russian, American and European nationals must pay $30 on arrival for a single entry, 60-day visa to Nepal. Remember to bring additional passport photos. • When to go — October through to May is the dry season. It can get exceptionally cold in winter (from December through to the end of February). In March it starts to warm up but nights are still cold. • Volunteering — Volunteer Services Nepal offers comprehensive volunteering options in various different fields throughout Nepal. For more information check out the Global Volunteers Network webpage at volunteer.org.nz. |
