Heaven is a myth, Nepal is real: Our journey ends in Kathmandu

Our tour of Nepal ends in the capital city, Kathmandu. It’s a time for reflection on this fascinating and beautiful country that sits at the top of the world. Together with my trusty and tiny Ricoh GR, we have journeyed through Kitipur and Patan, visited Madhypur, Thimi and Bhaktapur, explored the Kathmandu Valley from Sanga to Nagarkot, and examined the scars from the disastrous 2015 earthquake.

This is a truly diverse and fascinating destination that should be high on the list of must-visits once the Covid pandemic is finally over. “Heaven is a myth, Nepal is real” is a maxim that is, without doubt, fully justified.

Sadly, this is the last article of the Nepalese series and, fittingly, it ends in Kathmandu, one of the three former Newar capital cities together with Patan and Bhaktapur.

With a population of 1.5m, the city is the largest in Nepal and has grown dramatically since the hippies descended on the then 120,000-strong population in the 1960s

The city proper began to develop in the 10th century, but the Kathmandu valley is supposed to have been populated as early as the 9th century BCE. Kathmandu was seriously affected by the 2015 earthquake, and some of the royal buildings were damaged.

At an altitude of 1,350 metres (4,430 ft), Kathmandu is surrounded by the foothills of the Himalayas in the east and north, while some hills rise on the south side of the city. The location tends to exacerbate pollution, making mask-wearing in busy streets a good idea. Nowadays, though, that’s a normal state of affairs in most parts of the world.

Nepal’s holiest river, the Bagmati, flows through the city. Leaving the plane and the airport, this thriving city is an assault on the senses, with the noise of car horns, the smell of exhaust fumes and the flashy colours of some of the women’s clothing. The traffic is as hectic as that in any Asian capital city.

Perhaps for that reason, the capital one of those cities that is best explored on foot.

Everyday life

Our base was just outside Thamel, the former hippie district that features most Western food restaurants and souvenir shops that sell articles that are not so genuine. Fortunately, it’s easy enough to avoid this area.

As soon as we stepped out of the hotel, we would stumble on a traditional butcher’s shop and, sometimes, a vegetable seller. Not far away, one of the best Tibetan restaurants offers momos (a sort of vegetable-stuffed ravioli) which formed part of our staple diet. The other part was dal bhat, Nepal’s national dish of lentils and assorted vegetables with spices.

If you want to escape main roads, the streets often open to an archway leading to a courtyard, hiding a farm or a school. After asking for permission, we were invited to a school dance competition. It was pretty amazing how the children cared for the others, arranging their friends’ outfits or hair.

Back on the streets, you pass either small grocery shops and street vendors selling fruit directly from their bicycles or four-wheel carts. Traditional buildings are still standing next to more modern ones but appreciating the Newari architecture as you wander in the streets was a repeated pleasure that happened on every street corner.

At the time of our visit, the Durbar square in Kathmandu was quite affected by the earthquake, and many buildings had collapsed or were heavily damaged. However, we enjoyed the sight as the square was crowded with many pilgrims and locals there for the Maha Shivratri (a religious festival to honour Lord Shiva) that was to take place the following day.

The heart of the city

Asan Tol is the real heart of the city. That’s where most Kathmandu inhabitants go for their shopping. There are no shops for tourists, and this is an added delight. You can buy anything from cooking utensils, whether made of copper or iron, along with Himalayan salt or fruit and vegetables. The funny thing about Himalayan salt is that it is sold in big chunks, so different from the type we buy in the western world. It’s a wonder how they can break these big chunks.

The most extraordinary shops are the ones selling cloth for saris. The embroidered cloths on display are an explosion of bright colours. A great part of the area on main and side streets are filled with these shops, and they appear always to be busy with customers.

If you venture under the archways behind the main streets, you discover the heart of the old city where people go about their business, be it drinking masala tea (the Nepalese version of the Indian chai) or washing clothes or a motorbike or simply playing a local version of billiards. These backyards often house small temples and religious statues.

Religious life

Apart from Lumbini, where the Lord Buddha is supposed to have been born, Kathmandu hosts Nepal’s three most important religious monuments. Most Nepalese are Hindus, but the Newars often practise a syncretic religion that mixes Hinduism and Buddhism.

Pashupatinath is Nepal’s most important temple dedicated to Pashupati, the incarnation of Lord Shiva. It is often considered as the Nepalese version of Vanarasi. Although the temple was rebuilt in the 17th century, the original date back to as early as 400 BCE.

According to Wikipedia, this “extensive Hindu temple precinct” is a “sprawling collection of temples, ashrams, images and inscriptions raised over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati river”. The temple along the river is used for cremation. Ashes of the dead are thrown into the Bagmati river, which is as sacred as the Ganges in India. The temple is absolutely huge, and you must first climb a hill studded with smaller temples before descending to the river. The atmosphere is quiet initially but becomes more and more hectic as you approach the water On your way, you can find families on pilgrimage or sadhus living in the temple. The religious fervour is truly amazing.

Bodhanath is probably one of the world’s best-known stupas. It was built in the 14th century and ranks among the world’s largest. Since the annexation of Tibet by China, many Tibetans have sought refuge in Nepal, and the surrounding area includes around a hundred Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. Viewing the stupa, surrounded by a Tibetan village, is a mesmerising experience.

Circling the stupa, you’ll meet Tibetan pilgrims coming from all over Nepal. Looking at their traditional clothes, you would almost believe you are in Tibet. Pilgrims walk around the stupa, turning the prayer wheels, and seem happy to be photographed. A peaceful atmosphere reigns, and you can stay for hours just looking at people.

Swayambhunath is the other important Buddhist site in Kathmandu. According to legend, Kathmandu Valley was a lake. A lotus, from which a blue light faintly radiated, floated in the centre of the lake. The light was a representation of Swayambhu, the primal Buddha. When Manjushri opened the mountain with his magic sword, the lake turned into a river and freed the ray of light. The 2000-year-old stupa was built at a high point north of the city, on that exact location. Some Hindu shrines are also to be found within the precinct. The place is popular among Buddhists and Hindus.

The Ricoh

All my travels in Nepal have been captured on the little Ricoh GR, a wonderfully compact, practical and competent camera for the dedicated traveller. It is so small and that the burden is insignificant.

I kept the same settings with the Ricoh GR: Positive Film (available in RAW and JPEG), 400 ISO at f/5.6. It proved a great camera to capture the beat of this amazing city where lay and religious lives intermingle. I mostly used single-shot spot-mode using the well-tried and reliable method of focus and recompose. The 28 mm equivalent lens proved invaluable in tight situations while cropping to 47 mm for a narrower view was just a press away by pressing the Fn button. That said, most of the shots were taken at the wider angle.

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