Temples of Kathmandu
Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal
A visitor to Kathmandu cannot possibly miss the many temples located throughout the city. This underlines the importance of religion in the daily lives of most Nepali. The people are largely either Hindu or Buddhist and these co-exist happily, with temples for each often residing side by side.
Officially Nepal is a Hindu country but in practice there is a blend of both Hindu and Buddhist beliefs in the everyday life of the Nepali. There are also smaller groups of Muslims, Christians and Shamanists in the country.
Butcher shops in Kathmandu
Thamel district of Kathmandu Nepal
Unusual sights are what make exotic cities like Kathmandu so interesting. The above photo shows one of the more disturbing sights I witnessed in one of the small back lanes near Thamel in central Kathmandu. Butcher shops are not all that common in the city – well, I didn’t notice many. Of course, Hindu Nepali are vegetarian which could explain their absence. One can still order things like steak in the hotels and restaurants of course, because they are catering for the tourists.
When I ordered meat of any kind, I tried not to think of where it could possibly have originated. I hoped that my steak did not come from an open air butcher shop like the one shown. It is probably not as drastic as it seems; I was not aware of many – if any – flies while wandering around the city. What it would be like in summer I’m not sure.
When I think back to my time there, I remember ordering fish quite a few times. Not sure if this sight had any influence on my choice.
Couriers in Kathmandu
Thamel district of Kathmandu Nepal
I took this photo to show my good friend Keith who has a courier delivery business here in the city where I live. From time to time I do some relief work for him. It means driving a delivery van around the city all day.
Overloaded bicycle
When I saw this bicycle laden with all those boxes I was at first amazed. How could this delivery fellow handle such a huge load? Then I thought of Keith. I’m not sure I should show him this photo; he might want to save his costs on fuel and buy a bicycle for me to deliver boxes around the town. I’m not sure that would be a good move.
Exploring Kathmandu
Thamel district of Kathmandu Nepal
I was fascinated by all the sights, colours, smells and variety as I explored the streets of Thamel in Kathmandu. Each little lane held a new experience. The variety was amazing. The variety of shops was interesting: jewellers alongside a bike repair shop next to a fruit and vegetable outlet next to a clothing store.
Some shops specialize in tourist items, like postcards and posters featuring the Himalayas. There are quite a few shops selling either music CDs or DVDs. (I wondered how many of them were pirated copies.) Every fifty metres or so one comes across a small booth where one can exchange money. Internet cafes seemed to be everywhere as were trekking supply shops.
Shops selling pashminas seemed to be everywhere, their colourful wares bringing brightness to the drab lanes. Clothing shops, religious icons, kitchen wares and small bookshops with barely room for two or three people at once and food outlets from street stalls through to large restaurants added to the variety.
While there I did a little shopping but I mainly spent many hours exploring the lanes and alleys of Kathmandu. The sights and sounds were fascinating.
The streets of Kathmandu
Thamel district of Kathmandu Nepal
As I wandered around the streets of Kathmandu I was fascinated by the small lanes meandering off in all directions. I found that the most interesting sights were seen by just wandering along with no particular plan in mind.
Map
I had obtained a street map from the tourist information desk at the hotel where I was staying but I found it rather difficult to use. While the map was in English, many of the street names were not. Many of them were not even labelled in any way. So I decided just to follow my nose and if I saw an interesting lane, I wandered along it. In this way I found some very interesting sights.
Shady areas
There was one little down side to this strategy. I found several rather shady areas where I was able to see some aspects of life in the raw in Kathmandu. This area was not too far from the shopping area of Thamel but I guess this is true of many major cities. I soon found my way back to a more pleasant area.