Adventures of Katt and Vince: Kathmandu Walking Tour

In our new hats with our new CD

We awoke to the sun shining on us in our hostel room and the sounds of birds chirping and children laughing. It was going to be a great day. We got dressed, brushed our teeth with the water you absolutely cannot drink and headed upstairs to the roof top patio to enjoy a wonderful and tasty breakfast that consisted of banana porridge, scrambled eggs, smoked toast, and tea. Our hosts gave us a map of Kathmandu and we planned out a walking tour of all of the different temples in the area. Some of these temples date back to the 9^th century and have withstood war, famine, natural disasters, and disease. It is no wonder that the traditions and beliefs here are so powerful and present in the day to day lives of the people. There is an alter on almost every corner where offerings of flowers, milk, and honey are made to the various deities that are part of the Buddhist and Hindu religions.

Happy children

While walking around the narrow streets we really got a feeling of closeness and togetherness from the Nepali people. Walking beside them and seeing their bright and happy faces despite the constant struggles that someone living here is bound to face really made the two of us happy and appreciative of the things that we have back home. Everyone that we encountered on our trek was very helpful, especially when we hopped out of a tuk tuk cab to get off and go shopping and discovered that we did not know our left from our right. The streets here are very confusing and it is helpful to have a strong sense of direction and to check your map often.

Drubgon Jangchep Choeling Monastery

Vince with his new drum

The temples are beautifully designed and were made by the hands of skilled craftsmen and craftswomen. Every one that we saw was unique and a treat for the eyes to behold. Golden statues, coupled with wooden scenery depicting great stories and traditional tiered designs with tiled roofs transported us back hundreds of years to a time where superstition won over science and technology. You really forget who you are in these moments because you are in awe of something greater than yourself. It feels like every building surrounding the temples and every tile on the well traveled roads are centuries old.

We set ourselves a budget for the day and then proceeded to completely blow it on souvenirs and gifts. There are so many beautiful handicrafts and there are streets and streets of shops in Thamel, where we're staying, and around Durbar Square, where we ended our walking tour. We couldn't help buying one cool thing after another! Our decor and wardrobes are going to be heavily on the Nepali handicraft side now.