Getting up later that day I ventured outside for my first real taste of Kathmandu and proceeded to spend the rest of the day wandering around the tourist area of Tamel and the surrounding areas. Getting my first taste of Tamel I was extremely disappointed as the few streets that composed the Tamel area were EXTREMELY touristy. It was impossible to walk down the road without countless people offering treks, rafting, souvenirs and even hash. Needless to say the afternoon of my first day in Kathmandu was a huge disappointment.
The next morning I awoke and was determined to get out of the Tamel area as fast as possible and to try to stay away for the majority of the day. Thankfully I had heard that the Nepali games were occurring at the national stadium which wasn't too far away so I decided to head down in that direction while also checking out some sights along the way. The main sight I was interested in seeing along the way was Durbar Square which is just an ancient square in Kathmandu that contains several temples and palaces. Many of the temples contain stairs leading up their pyramid shaped bases and provide a nice location to just sit and watch all of the activity happening in the area. One of the palaces is even home to the Kumari which is a living goddess, a young girl lives here from the time she is born until she gets her first period. After that a new Kumari is chosen and has to live in the palace. Other than that particular palace none of them appear too special but are all quite beautiful to just look at.
After visiting Durbar Square I made my way to the national stadium and got to watch some of the countries favorite sporting events live. I started off watching half of a soccer match although one of the teams was clearly much better than the other so it didn't provide too much entertainment so I headed out to see some other events. The highlight of the afternoon probably had to be a volleyball game that I watched as the crowd was absolutely packed and really getting into it. The game was between a local Kathmandu team and one from out of town so everybody was cheering for the local team. When the game ended with a questionable call from the refs in favor of the visiting team the crowd got a little restless and the riot police were even called in. Time for me to make my exit. The volleyball match was the highlight of my time there but I also got to watch a little martial arts, some boxing and also some weird game that I had no idea what it was other than one guy had to get by a group of others (no other way to explain it). While hanging out at the games I also befriended a local cricket star and he invited over to his place the following evening for dinner and a party which I happily agreed to.
My third day in Kathmandu I headed up to the monkey temple (the real name is Swayambhu) which sits on a hill to the east of Tamel, a nice 20 minute walk away. The place at the top is one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Nepal and as a result it was packed with foreigners and locals alike. I was a little disappointed in it though because even though it was great to see and even allowed great views of the surrounding areas of Kathmandu (also several monkeys were present) the top of the hill was packed with lots of people trying to sell Buddhist trinkets and souvenirs, not something that I find to impressive at a religious site. After visiting the monkey temple I went to meet my new found local friend and to hang out with him for the remainder of the day. The party that we attended turned out to be just a large family gathering for dinner. So I got to meet most of the members of his family along with having some excellent home cooked Nepali food, and man do they ever eat a lot. I arrived at about 3pm and over the course of the next 4 or 5 hours I don't think I've ever eaten as much food in my life. The family dinner seemed to be consist of 3-4 meals instead of the normal one, and these were full meals not just small courses. That night was some of the best eating I did throughout my entire visit in Nepal and I couldn't thank the host family enough.
The following day I spent the time organizing everything that I needed for my trek around Annapurna. However the most important thing that I needed to get was a permit to allow me into the Annapurna Conservation Area, but since it was a Saturday all the government offices were closed (as I found out). So I had to settle by getting all my gear ready and waiting until first thing the next morning to get my permit.
My last day in Kathmandu I quickly got my permit as soon as the offices were open then boarded a micro bus (15 passenger van that had at least 20 people in it) to Besi Sahar. I arrived in Besi Sahar in the evening and quickly met up with a couple of British guys (Jaques and Ryan) and agreed to start the trek with them the next morning. This was great news as it meant that I wouldn't have to do any trekking on my own at the start. Over the course of the next 3 weeks I became great friends with them but I'll tell you more about that in my next entry about the trek.
One of the competitors in a martial arts event during the Nepali games.
On my walk to the Monkey Temple I crossed a river that ran through town and was extremely saddened to see the amount of garbage in it. Kathmandu had to be one of the dirtiest and most polluted cities I visited (although some in India are right up there too) as the surrounding mountains traps all the smog in.
Some yak butter milk candles lit at the monkey temple.
Ladies lighting smaller butter milk candles at the monkey temple.
A row of prayer wheels at the monkey temple.
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