After that, we went for a walk and had some inexpensive momos.
First trip to India, January 2015
Day 35, February 12
Kathmandu-Bhaktapur
First trip to India, January 2015
Itinerary
We left our unnecessary things in the hotel storage room and went off to look for a bus stop to get to Bhaktapur. We had read that buses depart not far from Ratna Park station, which is about a 20-minute walk from Thamel. The station is a bit hidden away; we asked a couple of times how to find it and eventually did. We also found the right bus by trial and error, namely by asking each driver.
Bhaktapur is very close to Kathmandu, about 15 kilometers away.
We got off the bus on the outskirts of the city, though the center was still not far at all.
The entire center of Bhaktapur is considered a national monument, and so entry here is very expensive, namely 15 dollars per person. At all the little streets leading into the center there are checkpoints where tickets are sold. A couple of years ago, entry to the city center cost three times less, but apparently enterprising Nepalis realized that tourism brings in quite a lot of money and quickly raised the prices.
We had barely walked five hundred meters from where we jumped off the bus when they demanded 30 dollars from us too — the protected historically important zone had begun… The only thing that is a little pleasing is that this ticket is valid for as many days as you ask for — you just need to tell the man issuing the ticket in advance; he will write your passport number and the number of days needed on the ticket.
First we went looking for accommodation. Yesterday we found several suitable guesthouses and today we were thinking of choosing one of them. We settled on the Golden Gate guesthouse; it is located right on the main square — Durbar. The room had a little balcony and two separate beds. The bathroom was separate, but overall we liked the place and the hotel — so we decided to check in.
The town is truly amazing. As Volchy said, they sell tickets for a time machine. Even in Kathmandu, it felt like I had gone back several centuries. But here that feeling was multiplied many times over. It seemed as if I were in some parallel world.
Narrow streets with low houses — each one practically a masterpiece, with carved wooden doors and windows, and matching carved balconies. If it weren’t for the motorcycles racing through the streets and the omnipresent advertising, this would be a pure 16th century setting, no more.
In shallow wells, women washed clothes. Men sat in wooden gazebos and played chess. Souvenir shops sold very beautiful carved wooden изделия.
We left the boundaries of the historic town and walked to the artificial lake, where we drank tea on the shore. Unfortunately, there is no masala tea here like in India; we miss it. Nepalese people make just black tea with milk — also tasty.
We went to the supermarket and restocked our supply of cookies. It’s not as cheap here as in India, but it’s still convenient when it’s available.
On the way, we visited a square where clay items are made. We watched a little man at a potter’s wheel shaping a small pot — an extraordinary sight, as an ideally shaped vase emerges from an shapeless lump of clay in practically a matter of moments.
We saw how these clay items are then baked, with the little pots stacked and a little house built over them.
Toward evening it became overcast, clouds covered the sky, and because of this lighting through the clouds everything seemed even more unreal.
We returned to the city center, to Durbar Square. We had a snack of soup. Then we headed to the hotel. We sat on the little balcony and drank tea. And then, when it got dark, we went for a walk.
The town is not lit up in the evening, and we made our way through the narrow streets almost by touch.
We saw some kind of festive procession there: there were musicians with drums and some other apparently folk instruments, someone was riding in a car of honor, and the procession was brought up by old men with large candlesticks.
There is such a sense of peace here in Nepal. Life flows slowly.
In the evening we sat on the balcony again and drank beer with yak milk cheese. The cheese turned out to be very tasty; we savored every bite. It had little grains like Grana Padano, but with a distinctive aftertaste.