This means that we were able to sit in the pods that turn into flat beds, and were served delicious meals and excellent wines. I felt extremely pampered - after dinner and a few movies, I took an Ambien and slept for nearly 7 hours. That certainly made the 13 hour flight go by much more quickly!
Upon arrival in Delhi, Dad and I braced ourselves for Immigration, bag retrieval, Customs, and navigating our way to the transit hotel where we had booked a reservation for the night, as we had 8 hours between arrival in Delhi and our flight to Kathmandu. Everything was astonishingly easy! Or perhaps it was just normal easy and I'm easily impressed after my nightmare situation in Chengdu. After waiting about five minutes for my bag (Dad's came off nearly immediately) we went through Customs, which was really just walking through an area marked Customs with no one there paying attention to people coming in. Then we made our way up to Level 2, the departure level. From the international visitors lounge there, we placed a call to the transit hotel, and were met by a very kind man who took us to the hotel and helped us get checked in. Dad and I thankfully showered and immediately went to bed. 0500 came fairly quickly, but I felt quite rested and ready to go and I believe that Dad did as well.
We checked out of the hotel, the concierge took us to the check in counter for Air India, and my goodness those employees at check in were some jolly men! They were laughing and joking with us while they printed our boarding cards and checked our bags. Dad and I made our way through security and entered the departure area, otherwise known as Duty Free Mecca. I've traveled a lot and seen a lot of Duty Free areas, but this was pretty crazy! Shops all crowded together and brightly lit for quite a few minutes of walking. We escaped this area and stopped in a coffee shop for an Americano and croissant to go. Sustenance in hand, we found our gate and enjoyed our food. Once on the plane, we only had about an hour and a half flight to look forward to. I love looking at people on small flights like this. Who are the predominant travelers, tourists or locals? This flight had a decent mix of both. There were quite a few Nepali and Indian people, and perhaps about 20 Western tourists. We were served a mostly awful meal (now thats the airplane food we're all used to! haha) and were informed we were about to begin our descent. I happened to casually glance out the window to my left, and BAM - oh hi Himalaya mountain range! It took my breath away. We were low enough now that we were practically parrallel to the peaks and they were proudly showing off their snowcapped summits, brilliant white snow and glacial ice sparkling and shimmering in the sun. I wasn't in a window seat, so I handed my dad my phone to snap a few pictures. The plane landed, we all disembarked and hopped onto a bus that looked so old I'm confident Ghandi himself may have ridden it. This bus took us all of 1 Km to the entrance to the airport (whew, long distance!) and Dad I filled out our Immigration cards, got our Nepal visas (SUPER EASY! You go to a computer and scan your passport. Then it brings up several forms where you ensure all of your information is correct and add the information where you'll be staying in Nepal and for how long.) Then it brings up a camera which takes a Vogue worthy photo of your jet lagged self (frizzy humid hair and exhausted pale skin to boot! Hello Paris fashion week!) before printing you a receipt of your visa. Then you go to a counter and pay a nice man $25 - what a bargain! Dad and I then changed money into Rupees (exchange rate is 100 to 1, favoring the USD). We went to collect our bags and this time mine came off immediately and we waited for his. At least we're even, right?
What we did next is one of my absolute favorite parts of traveling to a new country. We walked outside.
Now granted, this is always sensory overload but I LOVE IT! All the of the sights and smells, feeling the weather, seeing the people - welcome to Nepal! The air was scented with woodsmoke, and smelled relatively crisp. This was surprising because Kathmandu has a terrible air pollution problem. The sun was shining and it was warm and humid but not too extreme of either. Dad and I were met by our driver from my mother's friend Bijesh's company. He picked us up and we headed off to Bhaktapur, to meet the GHI group that is here with Mom. This is a surgical trip, with both gynecological and hand surgery (different surgeons, of course!). I will give lots more information about what they are doing here in another post.
We bumped along a typical third world highway - ostensibly two lanes, really turned into four. Cars and pedestirans and tractors and motorbikes and animals all jockeying for their own piece of the road. I was surprised that the road seemed to be in quite good condition (again, good being a relative term). The drive to Bhaktapur from Kathmandu took about 15 minutes and before we knew it we were rolling up at the entrance to the ancient city.
"In the soft, dusty light of evening the old city of Bhaktapur, with its pagoda roofs and its harmonious blend of wood, mud-brick, and copper, looked extraordinarily beautiful It was as though a faded medieval tapestry were tacked on to the pale tea-rose sky." Charlie Pye-Smith, Travels in Nepal
Sadly, Bhaktapur was quite damaged in the earthquake. Many of its iconic buildings and monuments lie in crumbled ruins, including the arch at the entrance as well as several temples, portions of the palace, and other ancient buildings.
The "City of Devotees" was most likely founded in the ninth century, and by 1200 it was ruling Nepal. In that year Bhaktapur witnessed the launch of the Malla era when, according to the Nepali chronicles, King Aridev, upon being called out of a wrestling bout to hear of the birth of a son, bestowed upon the prince the hereditary title of Malla ("wrestler"). To this day, beefy carved wrestlers are are the city's trademark temple guardians. Bhaktapur ruled the valley until 1482, when Yaksha Malla divided the kingdom among his three sons, setting in train three centuries of continuous squabbling. It was a Bhaktapur king who helped bring the Malla era to a close in 1766 by inviting Prithvi Narayan Shah, the Gorkha leader, to aid him in a quarrel against Kathmandu. Siezing on this pretext, Prithvi Narayan conquered the valley within three years, Bhaktapur being the last of the three capitals to surrender. Bhaktapur is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and hopefully that status will help enable them to rebuild in a manner in keeping with the history of the destroyed buildings.
I enjoyed our walking tour of the city - the ancient part of the city is nearly all pedestrian. Occasionally a motor bike would whiz by, but generally speaking it was all people on foot. I wish that our guide had been more informative, but that is ok. Our entrance ticket is good for one week - I would like to read up on the old city and then go back. The beauty of the city is undeniable - it is easy to imagine 11th century people wandering the streets, trading and talking. At one point I could tell that we were approaching a square. I looked up, and what was the first thing that I saw? Goats lounging at the foot of the temple. Sacred goats! While we were wandering the alleys I took advantage of the time to observe the local people going about their daily business. Women doing washing in cisterns, children kicking soccer balls and flying makeshift kites, men hawking their wares at their stalls, young Buddhist monks walking for their morning alm collection. Many of the buildings damaged in the earthquake are currently being propped up with wooden or steel braces to help prevent the buildings from collapsing further. In the case of many of the buildings, half of the building was destroyed and the other half was perfectly intact. Many of these buildings had grass and trees growing on the roofs, adding to the picturesque charm. I took photos of the important buildings, but I took more photos of the local people, of the small details that I love seeing - a child being carried in its mothers arms, a family of four on a motorbike, small plants growing in the cracks of ancient masonry.
While strolling the streets I saw a vendor selling freshly made samosas. My mouth began watering and I asked our guide if these were safe to eat - my logic being that the filling of potatoes, peas, and spices are all precooked and then the samosa is fried in boiling fat - and he said that they were. I asked if the rest of group wanted one, two other people said yes. Mom and I split one and it was TO DIE FOR DELICIOUS! One man in the hospital group told me that I was courting certain death - I'm happy to report that not only am I alive and well, I have had zero GI distress thus far. I think that eating street food is safe as long as you are extremely careful about what it is. It is generally good idea to check with your guide, as they often know or have previously seen the vendor and their habits.
Now I will wax poetic about the samosa. Crisp, still hot pastry from the frying oil stuffed with the best mixture I have ever tasted - it was still the potatoes, peas, and spices but the spices were incredible. It didn't have much fire at the first bite, but it had a slow burn that built into this incredibly pleasant warmth in my belly and the back of my throat. Most of all, it left me wanting more. I'll be repeating that experience as soon as possible!
We soon stopped for lunch at a beautiful restaurant in the Taumahdi Tol Square, Cafe Nayatopola. While the view was lovely, the food was not as great. Don't mistake me, it wasn't bad, and if I had not just had that samosa, I probably would have thought nothing of it. I had paneer masala with rice, and while it was good, it was not very flavorful. I happily ate it anyway though!
After this we walked around the square. I climbed up to the top of the Nyatapola pagoda. It is five tiered and the tallest in Nepal. The stairs were quite shalllow and slippery, and I was a little nervous coming back down! It was quite hot at this point, so Mom and I walked Dad back to Durbar Square, the main entrance square, where he found a shady cafe. She and I then walked around more of the city, including Potter's Square where we watched craftsmen making pots, candle holders, and other goods as they have for centuries. After this we walked back to where Dad was, and ordered water and I ordered lemon grass tea - my favorite! Sitting in the shady cafe was very pleasant after walking in the sun. We then walked back to the entrance area where the group spent some time browsing in the textile shop of Bijesh's brother. Textiles are my big weakness, and I bought two lovely patterns of fabric. One for myself, and one for a certain best friend who loves elephants (we'll see if she reads this and the surprise is ruined, hah!). Then it was onto our bus for a winding road through the valley to Dhulikhel, where we are staying. The drive was absolutely beautiful. The land is lush and green, and the hills are terraced with rice paddies. At the top of a high point is a huge statue of Lord Shiva, looking down upon the land.
As we passed through towns I could smell incense wafting through the air, mingling amongst the other smells of exhaust and humans and animals. We arrived at our lovely hotel, the Dhulikhel Lodge, which is perched on the side of a hill, overlooking the valley. My parents and I went to our rooms, and Dad and I showered (I only rinsed off due to FREEZING water!) and changed. Then Mom and I walked up the hill to a little corner store to stock up on some essentials - to be specific, gin and potato chips! We walked back to my parents room and had a little happy hour before walking up to the dining area, which is on the third floor on top of the main building that is at the summit of our hill. The view is amazing! By the time dinner began I was beginning to feel a bit hazy.... I could tell the jet lag was setting in! Halfway through dinner I hit the wall. I left half of my meal and half of my beer and stumbled down the five sections of steep steps to get back to my room. Upon making it there without incident (miraculous!) I stumbled inside and decided to check if there was hot water in the shower. There was! I turned it on full blast and soaked off all the dirt of travel. Clean and happy, I brushed my teeth, took half of an Ambien, and succumbed to sleep. I think I was asleep by 915 pm, local time! I slept like the dead until 2:30 Sunday morning.... and then BING! Wide awake.
Monks collecting alms at the entrance to Durbar Square, Bhaktapur
The view from our hotel, Duhlikhel Lodge
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