Nepal is the last official Hindu kingdom in the world, but you wouldn"t know it because Buddhism is so prominent. You see Buddhist monks everywhere, Buddha stupas on the nearby hills, buddhist shrines all over the city, and you can purchase prayer wheels and beads on any given corner.

Another common sight is the sherpas  carrying goods through the city, the pack laying on their back, held up by a strap around their head. They can carry an amazing amount of weight with the strap wrapped around their head. I saw a man go by with a kitchen stove held on his back! Nearly all goods are carried in this way, in the city and country.

A very interesting tradition in Nepal is that of the Kumari Devi or a living goddess. A young pre-pubescant girl is chosen for this position by strict physical requirements from a particular caste of Newari gold and silver smiths. She undergoes different tests, one where she and the other girls selected are put into a dark room where men in horrific and grusome masks dance around, and terrifying noises are made. Whatever girl stays calm through the whole ordeal is deemed the reincarnation of the goddess Durga. She then undergoes testing like the Dalai Lama, where she has to identify her predecessors belongings, and is then instated as  a living goddess. She resides in the building called the Kumari Bahal, right beside Kathmandu's Durbar Square, where the temple income supports her and her family. While residing as the goddess, she makes a number of ceremonial forays into the outside world. When she reaches puberty,  she is  given a large dowry, and then returned to the world of being a regular mortal. And then the search for a new Kumari begins. There are a number of legends that pertain to how this tradition came about. One such legend is a tale of a Malla king who used to often play dice with the goddess Taleju, the protective deity of the valley. She threatened to withdraw her protection after he made an unseemly advance to her. However, she relented and promised to return in the form of  a young girl. Another legend tells of a young girl possessed by the goddess Durga who was then banished from the kingdom. The queen when she heard of this, was furious, and ordered her husband to bring the girl back and have her worshipped as a real goddess. Kumari Devi, isn't the only 'living goddess' in Kathmandu, there are others around the Kathmandu Valley, but she is the most important one. (Nepal: Lonely Planet. pg. 147)

Kathmandu is surrounded by mountains but unfortunately the city smog is so bad you can't see the mountains from in the city. The city is at an elevation of 1300m 9about 4000 ft above sea level)  Walking around the city and shopping was the most interesting thing to do. The shop keepers were very friendly always greeting you with a "Namaste". Shopping here was very fun, I would pick something out and ask how much. The merchant would name an outrageous price, to which I would offer him nearly half. He or she would gasp and act shocked, sigh , shake their heads and say they never could give something so cheap, they would make no profit on it, etc.. So we would haggle further, and I would get my price. I always got the sneaking suspicion that I was still paying a tourist price, because they were always very happy in the end. The streets were small and narrow, and by mid day it was extremely crowded with cars, bicycles, and pedestrians. The shops were all small as well, packed to the ceilings with clothes, trekking gear, and gifts. The amount of foreigners here was a surprise, I didn't realize what a popular spot Nepal was, especially with the Maoist's getting more and more active. Kathmandu is in particular a hub for trekkers, that's where they all start their journeys. It was a fascinating city just to walk around and soak up the sights, some parts of it seem as if they have not changed since the middle ages. And then you'll see billboards for Coca Cola and other modern amenities all thrown in there with the vegetable markets and old buildings.

Nepal is famous for many things, the Himalayas of course, handicrafts, and yak cheese. The yak cheese is something I would highly recommend staying away from, it smells remarkably foul (when in a block by itself) , and it made me, and a few of the others feel quite queasy. We had gone out to dinner and ordered pizza, and only after trying it did we realize it was definately not mozzarella that it was topped with. We asked the waiter, and sure enough it was yak cheese.. Yaks however are very interesting creatures, and when I first saw one I wasn't sure what to think of it, it looked like a very odd sort of cow! But very hairy and shaggy.

A striking figure that was painted on all the Buddha stupa's we saw, was the all seeing eyes of Buddha. The nose, which looks like a question mark, is the Nepali number ek (one) and is a symbol of unity. Between and above the two eyes is a third eyes which symbolizes Buddha's clairvoyant powers. This figure was popular among the tourists as a logo on many articles of clothing, from t-shirts, to jackets and hats. Another common sight was the prayer wheels which pilgrims would spin as they circumambulate the stupa. The prayer wheels carry the sacred mantra "om mani padme hum". The prayer flags that were strung all over the place, also carried mantras on them, and the words are symbolically carried away while they wave in the breeze.

 

Pokhara
Our next destination was Pokhara, where the elevation is considerably lower than Kathmandu, and has an interesting climate, for it is tropical, coconuts grow here, but the mountains that surround the city are snow capped all year. Pokhara was sleepy compared to Kathmandu, but still quite a developled tourist spot. Walking about the streets were men and boys playing the most peculiar looking violin made of rough wood and played with a small bow. They played enchanting tunes, and then would stop and try to sell you one of the other ones they were carrying. It was tempting, but even being a violin player myself (of the western variety) I could barely make sense of the instrument, and the only sounds I got it to make were less than pleasing to the ear. I decided i'd rather hear them playing or perhaps buy a CD of Nepali music, for it was very charming music, sprightly and folk like, but still very much asian sounding.

We were scheduled to stay for 3 days in Pokhara. On the 2nd day a few of the younger members of our group and myself took a trip to the famous Buddha stuppa across the lake. We had to negotiate a boat ride with a bunch of rather irate gentlemen, who couldn't seem to decide among themselves who got to carry us across and thus get the money for it. It is a strange thing, in India and Nepal, but if you go to get a ride from a taxi or rickshaw driver, you won't necessarily get into the vehicle you approached. The drivers will all start  talking rather animatedly and with much arm gesturing and what appears to be arguing, suddenly you are ushered into some other auto. I'm never really sure why this goes on, but the same thing happened at the boat rental. So we got across the lake uneventfully, and then started the half an hour or so hike up the mountain through the muggy woods to the Stuppa. A half hour hike may not seem like much, but everything is much harder at the higher elevations. I definately gained a much better appreciation of the serious trekkers that come here. They have to be in incredible shape, because I was out of breath after walking for 5 minutes!  The Stuppa at the top of the hill was large and white, and the main idol of Buddha was a bright gold color. If the day had not been so hazy we would have had a wonderful view of the Annapurna range, but unfortunately we couldn't see anything.

So the plan had been to stay here for 3 days, but we were delayed by several factors. On the 3rd day, we heard that there was an airplane strike, so we could not catch our plane to Jomsom. We hoped that would pass quickly, but it ended up lasting for 3 days. There is not much to do in Pokhara, and anything more interesting would require going trekking for days at a time, and we were not equipped for that. So one of the days the whole group rented motorcycle and drove out of Pokhara into the country. This we discovered was one of the best ways to see Nepal, although it proved to have its own challenges. Almost right away, my twin brother's bike had a brake problem. A nut and bolt had come off, rendering his back brake futile, which was really dangerous on the winding up and down mountain roads. So we all stopped and my dad tinkered with it, and fixed it again, so we all continued on. It was really beautiful, going through all these mountains, over some, below others. The mountains were terraced for farming way up their sides, and way down into the valleys. These Nepali farmers must be very strong from having to climb up and down the mountains to work with their fields. Again, the weather was so hazy we couldn't see the biggest Himalayan peaks, which was a disappointment, but there were so many other things to look at. The roads were surprisingly empty, as we later found out there was a bandh, a form of a strike where not only do vehicles not travel on the roads, but shops, schools and offices are officially closed.

As luck would have it, only 2 hours into the trip, another one of the bikes got a flat tire. What a day! We were practically in the middle of nowhere, there appeared to a be smallish village across a small river from us, but it was highly unlikely there was someone there who had the materials to fix and replace a flat. So a few of the other guys drove ahead on the their bikes to see if they could find a mechanic somewhere. I stayed back with Tom (the boy whose bike had the flat) and the bike. We had attracted the attention of the village across the way, because soon enough a gaggle of kids came across and swarmed around us. Giggling, pointing, and generallly inspecting the situation. They didn't know any english and we didn't know a word of Nepali, so we just sat there and looked at each other. A few of the boys (the one in front kind of looks like a lost boy from Peter Pan) boldy made themselves at home on the bike. They were all talking with each other and then one of the boys ran off back to the village. About 10 minutes later he returned with a man, who had some tools and other materials in his hand. It looked like we might have found our mechanic! Sure enough, he inspected the bike and the tire, and then looking at us, set to work, and had it fixed in a matter of minutes. We weren't sure how to pay him for his help and when we tried to indicate to him, that we could give him something, he just shook his head no and smiled.

However, the kids took the situation to their advantage and using what seemed to be the only english word they knew, "chocolate". One of them said it, then they all started chanting and chattering "chocolate", gathering around us grinning, expectantly. What to do! I had chocolate in my pack, but my dad had it, and he had gone to find a mechanic elsewhere. Well as luck would have it, it was one of those days were everything seemed to happen just when you least expected it, the others came back. So the kids got their chocolate, we got the tire fixed and everyone was happy.

Now another thing we discovered that day , was that there was a gas strike. So yes, whatever petrol we had in our tanks was all we had for the day and we had to get back on it too. This was something of a nasty surprise because my dads bike had only a little petrol left, and no one was selling petrol for any price. All the petrol stations had people at them, but they were just sitting there, and would not sell us any. We were then forced to turn back, otherwise we all would run out before we got to Pokhara. But it seemed nothing would go quite as we planned that day, for only half way back to Pokhara my dads bike stalled, sputtered, and quit. So we had a few bikes with half full tanks, and one bike with none, and apparently no means of moving some to the other. There was a house a little ways back, and so my dad and I walked back there and enquired of the lady sitting on the steps if she had a piece of pipe or a straw. This we did by mostly gesturing, but she knew the word pipe. She disappeared into her house, and then came back with a short piece of hose. A miracle! So then we had the unpleasant task of creating a suction movement in the tanks by sucking the petrol through the pipe so that it would start flowing into the empty tank. Yuk!  Amazingly, the rest of the way back to Pokhara was uneventful. What a crazy day! But that was not all Pokhara had in store for us.

The next day... which we were slated to leave on... we got up bright and early and had all our gear packed, backpacks, rolling carryons, etc..And then, it was revealed there was a taxi strike. Yes... a taxi strike, and they were striking to protest the airlines striking or something like that. So we had to haul all our things 7 km by foot to the airport... What a  mad country! They seem to have strikes like some people have coffee. So at last we got to the airport and got on a plane to our next destination... the remote town of Jomsom.

Jomsom
Jomsom is only reachable by plane, by pony trek, or foot trekking. There are no roads there, and no cars or rickshaws. We crossed over numerous mountains to get there, it was an incredible sight, I looked through my window and the valley went so far down it was boggling. Down down down, and there were villages at the bottom, and here and there up the mountain sides. A lone village of 30 houses amidst the looming Himalayas. I couldn't see Everest but I did see a few other famous peaks, and Dhaulagiri. Dhaulagiri is one even more dangerous to climb than Everest, 1 in 3 people die attempting to reach the summit. Its harsh jagged ridge, and nearly vertical ascent. It is only the reckless or very insane that would attempt such a climb knowing the odds. It was sad though, to look at that cold white peak, standing above the others, and knowing how many people have lost their lives on its snowy face.

Landing in Jomsom was rather unassuming, but once we stepped onto the tarmack and looked around..it was jaw dropping. The mountains just went, right up, all around us. I couldn't even comprehend just how high they were. It was really astounding. After standing in an awed silence for a minute or two, we reclaimed our baggage and headed into the town. The streets of Jomsom were all made of cobbled stone, there are no vehicles here.  It was quiet, a real change from the other parts of Nepal we had been in. And everything was sort of gray in color, the buildings, the streets, the houses and walls.

Being so close to Tibet the people look very much Tibetan, and their clothes and architecture are also very similar. The ladies wear traditional dresses, wraps, and patterned aprons. All the inhabitants have permanently sunburn-like reddened cheeks. Even the youngest children. The elevation is so high, your so close to the sun its very hard on the skin.

We had a few day treks planned, by foot and by horse, none of us were in shape for serious trekking and that wasn't the purpose of the trip. Most of the guys were here to do filming so that meant we were stopping all the time, and they had to set up their equipment and then film for a while. This was fine with me, it was really tough work just hiking up this one mountain, which was more like a large hill. The air is so thin, that even after walking 10 steps you feel a little weak, and running is completely out of the question. I'm sure if I had been in better shape it wouldn't have been quite as hard, but the altitude definately makes any movement harder. From where we were there were outrageously beautiful views of  parts of the Nilgiri range. We hiked through a few mountain villages, small, and spare, white washed houses, with yaks, horses, and a few other animals. The climate is such (very cold) that the people do not take baths very often, and one tried to avoid standing down wind from anyone. A few kids took interest in us, and sort of followed us through. They were all vaguely grubby, and what made an odd contrast to that was all their clothes were plastered with Adidas, Nike, and other name brands.  I don't own anything made by Adidas, and these kids didn't even have electricity! It was kind of an incongruity to see this little boy herding some yaks,wearing a blue Adidas shirt. The juxtaposition of the old and new that I saw in many places. I guess they just make things with brand names on them, they probably aren't actually made by those companies.

There are narrow paths going along the mountain sides and all through and over the mountains here. This is the  main traveling path, by foot, and used by the pack animals. It was really a neat sight, to see groups of horses, and yaks, with colorful blankets, bells around their necks, carrying packs down and up the mountain, through the passes, to other villages. That is how goods have been carried here, for thousands of years. Nothing has changed. You can often hear the group before you see them, the bells the animals wear, make this almost eerie, clanging that echoes before them. Sometimes you find things that they have dropped, we found 4 huge apples that had been dropped from some pack group that had been going into Jomsom. They made a great snack, they were crisp and sweet. The apples are grown in orchards in another valley across the mountain.

My favorite part of the whole trip was the day we went pony trekking. In the morning a group of horses were brought to where we were staying, and we all chose what horse we wanted. They were horses by breed, but they were small like ponies. Only the younger members of our group were going on the horses that day, the older folks said they wanted to go walking another way up a river bed to do some filming, but I think the real reason was they didn't want to face the sore bottoms and knees that would ensue when we got off at the end of the day! It was definitely easier trekking from the back of a horse, though I felt a little bad for the little horse, but they are really tough creatures and very sure footed. It was a really amazing day, trekking through the Himalayas on a horse, surrounded by the incredible majesty of the mountains on all sides, the light changing on the snowy peaks, making the view always a little different. We stopped for lunch and fed the horses apples and bits of granola bars. When we turned around for the day, our guide decided that it was time to go faster so he went in the front, and kicked his small, colorful mount into a canter and all of our horses followed suit. This was a slightly terrifying experience. Best to leave the horses to their own business, whilst wildly careening down the treacherously thin path, 18 inches from falling straight down the mountainside with nothing to stop you. I had to remind myself, that pony trekking was a popular activity in Jomsom, and if hapless riders died all the time, it would not be quite so popular, and certainly not recommended in the guide books. When we finally slowed down the guide looked at all of us and grinned wickedly, I think he probably does that to everyone he takes up there, just to freak them out.

Although I wouldn't have missed it for anything, I was really sore when I got off the horse. All of us were. We groaned and moaned, and rubbed our knees and had to walk around very strangely for a few minutes before our legs started to uncrink. The saddles were not the most comfortable things I've sat on, and the stirrups were set so short (and couldn't seem to be adjusted) that our legs were stuck in a very short, bent position, which is what caused them to be so stiff. Oh, and here's my horse Arjuna.

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So after another a day of trekking around the foothills, and more mind boggling beauty, and  trying to avoid a smelly Tibetan man that was walking painfully slowly in front of us, as we could not pass him, we were back in a plane to Kathmandu, and then back to India. One really needs at least a good month to spend in Nepal to really get a feel for the country, 2 weeks just barely gives it an introduction. But it was an incredible trip, and I hope to go back there someday.