Day 57 - Kathmandu, Nepal

Day 57 – Hers.

It was odd to wake up without Tien buzzing around – the silence was nearly deafening until I realised that the electricity was on and I tuned the telly to the only English language channel I could find – I think it was Al Jezeera, again – I wonder what’s happened to the BBC....

Barry, Cindy and I had arranged to have breakfast together – the last official morning of our tour – so I went downstairs at 7:30 for a last cheery cup of coffee with new friends.  They are doing the Everest Base Camp tour from Sunday – and are most eager to hear Rob’s experiences.  We may, therefore, try to get in touch again on Saturday – but we’ll see how it goes....  At breakfast I met a 75-year-old English woman, Joyce, who has trekked all over the Himalayas – and got her Derbyshire chapter of the Rotary Club to sponsor a Nepalese village.  She was high in the mountains when the avalanche hit earlier in the week (two Italian climbers and their guides were killed) and had to turn back; she was contemplating which other mountain to tackle in her remaining time here.... Note to Mom: I’m sure bridge is a safer pastime.....

After breakfast, Barry, Cindy and I said our farewells.  I wrote up a bit more of the trek until 10:00 when the shops open – and then went out in the sunshine to have a walk through Thamel.  The air in Kathmandu is completely different to a week ago – clearly the monsoon season has finished – it is dry, pleasant – still hot, but not humid – and the whole place looks much less seedy and unhygienic.  I bought a scarf to replace my favourite black and white one that I seem to have left up some mountain (I’m a bit annoyed at myself – I bought that scarf in Buenos Aires and it has travelled very nearly all the way around the world....) and a ‘Learn to Speak Nepalese’ book that I plan to study tomorrow.

I returned to the hotel at lunchtime – just peanut butter, crackers, a banana and some fig biscuits today – it’s actually nice to have normal food for a change - and settled in to uploading photos....I must take advantage of the electricity while it lasts.......

I had forgotten that the tourist information officer in Durbar Square had told us about the Indra Jatra festival that begins today.  There are a LOT of festivals here – but then I guess if you have 320 gods to appease....   When I again encountered Cindy and Barry this afternoon, with their friend of a friend, Ravi, they had been to Durbar Square and seen the giant lingua pole that is raised on the first day of the festival.  One of the hotel clerks later pointed out the new mask – I think it is Bahirav – on display in the stairwell for the festival period as well.  Ravi encouraged me to get out a bit this evening to see some of the opening festivities.  I determined to do so and set off at 6:00, following a group of women in the direction of Durbar Square.

‘Indra’ is apparently the Lord of Rain and the king of Heaven and ‘Jatra’ means procession. One purpose of the festival – that apparently lasts 8 days – is to thank Indra for the monsoon rains now that they have finished. (I did say that the air feels much fresher suddenly....)  It also seems that some of the festival is dedicated to Bahirav, a manifestation of Shiva who is believed to destroy evil.  So tonight, the first night of the festival, women process through a set pattern of streets, many in the white of mourning that eldest daughters and widows must wear for a year, carrying candles and incense to remember loved ones who have passed away.  At first there were only a few women in the streets, but by 7:00, there were hundreds – with men looking on from the sidelines and police at the corners, directing traffic away – well, trying to.....  I didn’t go all the way to the square or even to the river – I imagine it was quite a crush. Still, by the time I returned to the hotel at nearly 8:00, I was covered in dust and my new scarf smelled strongly of incense – but I’m still glad I made the effort – certainly something different today.......