Bodhnatha and Pashupatinath

The next day was dedicated to Bhaktapur, the third major town from the valley. I was thinking first to hire a bike for this but I realized that is too hot during the day and there are around 20km between Khatmandu and Bhaktapur. And apart of this the only way of going there is the highway, which is quite crowded during the day. Definitively the bus is the best and cheapest option. But before Bhaktapur I went to Bodhnath Stupa and Pashupatinath Temple. I took in the morning a small minivan from Ratna Park. In around 30 minutes I was in front of the main gate of Bodhnath. With me in the van was another foreigner. Being the only foreigners in the bus we started chatting. She arrived one week ago in Khatmandu alone. But of course that she hired a guide in Nepal that followed her everywhere she went. So comfortable to travel with a local guide, I was thinking. But I wouldn’t like. Where is the fun if he manages everything for u? The entrance should have been 50 rs (mentioned in the last LP) and I was decided to pay it, but the bastards doubled the entrance fee in one year. It was 100rs for foreigners. I was quite pissed off about this and I went around the stupa. I found a narrow street that led me to the back entrance where was nobody to ask me for a ticket.
Bodnath is one of the world’s largest stupas. Around the stupa is the village with the same name, the religious center of the Tibetan exiles. Here u can get a glimpse of Tibetan culture. The streets are full with Tibetan monks, shops and stalls with Tibetan products and Tibetan monasteries around the stupa. Most of the faces around you are either foreigners or Tibetans. Hanging from the top of the stupa to the buildings around u can see thousands of prayer flags if five elemental colours. Surrounding the huge stupa are hundreds of prayer wheels, and the Buddhist followers walk around the stupa in clockwise direction spinning the wheels. On the left and right side of the entrance there are two 3 meters big prayer wheels, each of it situated in a small room. They are filled with Buddhist prayers, which are sent farther to the skies with each turning of the wheel.

From Bodhnath the next point of interest for me was Pashupatinath, Nepal’s most important hindu temple. Is situated not so far away from Bodhnath, around 30 minutes walking. And it was a pleasant morning, the perfect time for a short walk until there. I couldn’t manage to arrive there following only the indications of the travel guide, so I’ve asked around. A young nepali man was very pleasant to come with me for a while showing me the direction and asking me a lot of questions. But his English was very poor and I didn’t manage to get an answer for most of my questions.
Pashupatinath temple is dedicated to Shiva, the destroyer and the creator of the Universe. He has more manifestations, as a destructive Bhairab or as a peaceful Mahadev and Pashupati, the lord of the beasts. In this for is said that he has a special concern about Nepal. That’s way before going in any important journey the king will always pay a visit to this temple for a god’s blessing. The untouchable community of Nepal (dalit) was allowed to enter here only from 2001. I went inside of the temple area crossing a bridge and coming from Bodhnath. The area is actually a park surrounded from two sides by Bagmati river. There are more temples inside the park and even a deer reservation.
The first temple as u come from Bodhnath is Guhyeshvari Temple dedicated to Shiva’s consort in her terrible manifestation form as Kali. Entry is not allowed to non-Hindus and from outside you cannot see too many things. The name of the temple is very strange. Translated it means “goddess’ vagina”.

Taking the steps up to the hill, the next temple is Gorakhnath temple. It’s actually a very nice complex of small temples, sculptures, shiva lingams, Nandi bull, shiva tridents and monkeys everywhere. A very peaceful place in the middle of the forest. And I was alone in this old complex. I had the feeling that the time broke out and I’m in another time.

The main temple, Pashupatinath it’s down on the Bagmati River bank. Non-hindu are not allowed to go inside. The Bagmati is considerated to be a holy river, like the Ganges. That’s way it’s a popular place to be cremated. The burning ghats are situated in front of the temple on the banks of the river. North of the bridge are situated the royal ghats. Here ten members of the royal family were cremated after the massacre from 2001. South of the bridge are the common burning ghats. In that day three cremation fires were burning there, carrying with them the body and the souls of the defuncts. As long as you stay on the other side of the river you can watch and even take photos if u want. I took a sit on the steps and watched silently for a while the cremation of the bodies five meters in front of me. A man with a long stick took care of the cremation moving around the wood and the body for a complete burning process. And just couples of meters far away of the fire two cows were sitting down very peacefully. Other foreigners were sitting with me on the steps watching quietly the funeral pyres. Dirty child beggars and ambulant sellers didn’t let us for a minute trying to get some money from our pockets.
Just across of the main bridge, on the west side of the river is the 6th century Bachhareshwari Temple. It has tantric and erotic carvings on it. It is said that during Sivaratri Festival human sacrifices used to perform here.
Pashupatinath is situated very close to the road to Bhaktapur. 5 minutes walking and I was on the main road. Five more minutes waiting and I grabbed a bus to Bhaktapur. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any seat. But 30 minutes standing is not so big deal.

The bloody temple of Kali. Patan

I've set the alarm quite early in the morning. I had big plans in that day. I was thinking to visit a Kali temple situated 20 km away from Kathamndu and Patan. But, when I woke up in the morning around 5:45 it was still dark outside, so I slept 45 more minutes. At around 7 o'clock in a nice cool morning I was outside searching for a bicycle to rent. I found one just around the corner. It was only 100 rupees (a bit more than one euro) per day for a chinese mountain bike.

I jumped on the bike and let's go. It was early in the morning and the narrow streets of the old Kathmandu were quite crowded. Once again I’ve crossed the checking point for Durbar Square without being asked for a ticket and I kept going down south of the city. The Bogamati river flows between Khatmandu and Patan. But I didn’t want to cross the bridge to Patan. It was another one south East of Khatmandu that I wanted to cross. But I didn’t manage to find it. At same point I found myself in a kind of dumping ground with garbage, dozens of dogs around me and slams everywhere. Some of Khatmandu’s poorest and lowest communities live here. I went farther as fast as possible to pass this trash hell, but finally I’ve managed to arrive nowhere. A dead end was in front of me. I had to come back through all that mess and start asking around. But nobody seems to know where was that crossing point. On the map was there just in front of me, but I couldn’t find it. Finally I gave up and I went farther west and I crossed the river using another bridge.

After 20 minutes I was on a nice small road far away of Khatmandu’s traffic. The road goes up and soon cycling become very difficult. The slope inclination was bigger and bigger and most of the time I was walking rather than cycling. It was a valley along the Bogamati river which was on my left. I passed some newari villages with a lot of nepalis staring at me. Not so many foreigners come here cycling on this damn hill. Finally I reached Pharping, a small newari town just 3 km away of Dakshinkali, my final destination. In Lonely Planet guid was written about it as a pilgrimage site for both buddhists and hindus. But it wasn’t so interesting. A lot of new Tibetan monasteries and some hindu temples. And after a shor break I went farther to Dakshinkali.

Dakshinkali is quite isolated. Situated between two hills and at the confluence of two rivers, Dakshinkali is a hindu temple dedicated to the bloody goddess Kali. Here is the place with Nepal’s biggest number of animal sacrifices. They slit the throats of the animals (buffalos, goats, pigs, lambs, chickens or ducks) whit knives or they chop off the heads and hold the decapitated animal so a stream of blood goes toward the Kali. The sacrifice will please the goddess and is interpreted also as doing the animal a favor by releasing him from a life of suffering and giving him a chance to be reborn as a human being. It can be sacrificed only an uncastrated male. I wasn’t there in a sacrifice day (in every week on Tuesday and Saturday) so I haven’t seen any of these sacrifices. The temple is very small and it has no walls, just a small fence around it, so u can see inside the Kali’s image. U can guess that here most of the time is a lot of blood, because the ground in front of the temple it’s almost covered with flies and has a reddish nuance.

Actually there is nothing special with this temple apart of the sacrifice, and I was thinking that I came there cycling so hard for almost nothing. The way back to Khatmandu was much more easier, except the climb from Dakshinkali to Pharping which was the most difficult part from the whole itinerary. The sky was cloudy and it was very nice to cycle back to Khatmandu. The only problem was the bike saddle. It was very uncomfortable and my bottom part wasn’t so happy and complained a lot.

When I was close to Khatmandu I took the right road to Patan. It started raining when I arrived in Patan and I was very hungry, so I stopped in the center of the city for a quick lunch. In front of the restaurant on the road some people were working to raise a strange construction: a kind of cart with huge wheels and a thin but tall tower on top of it. It was about 10 – 15 meters high, and somebody told me that there is a festival in the city and this cart will be dragged around the narrow streets of Patan.

Patan Durbar Square is my favorite among all three of Durbar Squares from Khatmandu Valley (Khatmandu, Patan, Bhaktapur). Here are the biggest number of temples and statues. All these temples face the former Royal Palace residence. Now, one section from this building was renovated and houses the best nepali museum. The glory of the square was during the Malla kings (14th to 18th centuries). The entry fee is 200 rs for foreigners and is payable at the southern end of Durbar Square. I arrived in Durbar Square from west side and I was thinking that doesn't make sense to go until the south end only to pay the entrace fee. Actually I was thinking that doesn’t make sense for me to pay at all. :D I don't mind paying but I hate this indian/nepali policy in which the price for foreigners is 20 times or even more bigger than the fee for locals. So, I didn't pay and nobody asked me about ticket. Only when I entered in the square a guide offered me his services and after I refused him he told me to go and buy a ticket from the south part. „Not right now.. First I want to see north part of the square and afterwards I'm going to south part to buy the ticket", I told him.

There are around 15 temples in the square, most of them with newari architecture. The three-storey Bhimsen Temple situated at the north end of Durbar Square is dedicated to the god of trade and business. Maybe because of this it's very weell-kept. Krishna Mandir has an Indian influence, unlike the near by Newari multiroofed pagoda temples. The temple is dedicated to Krishna an incarnation of Vishnu. In front of the temple sitting kneeled with folded arms on top of a column is the man-bird Garda, the god’s vehicle. Krishna Temple an octagonal stone temple is also situated in front of the palace and has two stone lions in front of the entrance.

Facing the former Royal Palace is a tall column, topped with a statue of King Yoganarendra Malla (1684 – 1705) and his queens. The king is represented kneeling and is protected by the hood of a cobra. On the cobra’s head is a bird figure. The legend says that as long as the bird remains there, the king may still return to his palace. A door and a window of the palace are always kept open for the return of the king.

Patan Museum is situated in a section of the palace around Keshav Narayan Chowk. The entrance for foreigners is 250rs and it’s said that is the best museum from Nepal. The main exponents of the museum are religious hindu and buddhist sculptures. And here one can find very detailed explications about hindu mythology. Who is Shiva and Vishnu? What is a Shiva lingam? What vehicles and consorts the gods have? U can find here answers for these questions along with others about buddhism. I found it very interesting from this point of view. But I was very disappointed because I couldn’t see any nepalis weapons. :(

And Durbar Square is not everything u can see in Patan. One can walk around, and find a plenty of temples and hitis(traditional nepali water tanks) along the narrow streets. Most of these are situated north of Durbar Square. I took a walk around with my bike and I managed to lose my chain locker. For a while I had to keep my eyes on my bike. Until I found a shop where they had bicycle chain lockers. I bought one and my bike was safe again.

The Golden Temple Buddhist monastery is not far away from Durbar Square. The doorway is flanked by a pair of lions male and female. The male male lion had a big sexual organ painted in pink.

It was almost the dusk and I decided to return to Khatmandu. Patan is very close to Khatmandu being separated only by Bagmati River. It was a rush hour and the traffic vas very very slow and was already dark outside when I arrived in Thamel. And Thamel is not the best place for cycling in an evening. The streets are narrow and there are a lot of pedestrians, and bikes everywhere. A nice walk through these narrow streets full with shops and restaurants during the evening is the best. So, I went to my hotel gave back the bike had a shower and came back to Thamel. The power cuts are very common here, but almost all of the shops have a diesel generator. That’s way even if there is no electricity one can hardly notice this. A tasty chicken steak with French fries and vegetables salad and a cold beer on a roof top restaurant. What else do u want more after a hot day of cycling around Khatmandu Valley?

Swayambhunath Stupa

Along the steps on the both sides there were a lot of stall selling handicraft and religious stuff. Most of them were tibetans. I’ve seen the traditional nepalese game: the lion and the goats. I was interesting to buy it but they asked me for a big price and I’ve changed my mind. Two small boys aproached me, asking my name and a lot of questions. I was sure that either they will try to take me in some place to buy something or they will ask me for money. And in the next one hour they followed me, trying to explain me what is what. I’ve tried to ignore them. I didn’t listen to their explication. I wanted to be alone not followe by those kids but in the same time I didn’t want to be rude with them, so I let them to follow me. At the end of course that they asked me for money.

“I don’t have parents, I’m alone, can you give me some money?” I don’t like this kind of aproach. I didn’t ask them to come with me and now they ask me for money. I gave them a little, 20 rs, that was almost nothing for me, but for a 10 years old kid from Nepal I think it’s something. And he asked me for more.

“You know what, I didn’t ask you to come with me. If is not enough give me the money back”.

Finally they left I could enjoyed alone the last 20 minutes. At the beginning they showed me another entrance from behind, and they told me that if I take that way is for free.

“Here 100 rs, entrance, there no money sir..”

But I didn’t listen to them and I took the main entrance paying 100rs. I don’t know why I didn’t take the other entrance. I guess I wanted to be honest in from of the kinds, not an european who wants to cheat. But in the next days I tool only the behaind entraces and I didn’t pay any ticket.

Swayambhunath stupa was quite impressive for me and something very different from what I’ve seen so far. A huge white dome, with a kind of golden square tower on top of it. On the each side of the square there are painted the eyes of Budha watching in each direction across the valley. The nose is actually a question mark, and is the nepali number one (ek), the symbol of the unity of all life. There is represented also the third eye, the symbol of Budha’s insight. And hundreds or even thousands of multicolour prayer flags are hanged around the stupa in all the directions. These flags, are usually a piece of cloth as big as a A4 or A3 paper written with prayers (mantra) in tibetan. All around the stupa there are prayer wheels, which piligrims spin as they pass by walking around the stupa in a clock-wise direction. On the each prayer wheel is written the sacred budhist mantra om mani padme hum (hail to the jewel in the lotus).

Around the stupa there are some small hindu temples and a lot of stall selling tibetan budhist handicraft. There are also some houses around(tibetan settlements), monasteries, restaurants, and you can see the whole Kathmandu Valley in front of your eyes. And of course… a lot of monkeys. I left the beautiful stupa walking towards Kathmandu just before the dusk.

When I arrived in my room I had the pleasant surprise to find that there was hot water. After the shower I had some fights with some huge cockroaches that invaded my teritory. I hate those huge cockroaches. I’ve killed three with my shoes.

Exploring Kathmandu

The capital of the Nepal kingdom, Kathmandu is the biggest city of the country with an over 740.000 inhabitants. Actually is the only city of the country, Pokhara the second city and tourist destination being just a small town. The city is situated in Kathmandu Valley just next to Patan being separated only by Bagmati river. The other city from the Valley, Bhaktapur is very close also, just 20-30 km far away. The original inhabitants of the Valley are called newars.

I woke up quite early in the morning when the weather was cool, the best time for visiting Kathmandu in a summer day. Of course I stopped first in the main tourist area of the city: Durbar Square. This area used to be in the Middle Age the center of the city. Here was the palace of the king, the central square and a lot of temples. In all the three cities from Kathmandu Valley there is a Durbar Square. In The Middle Age each one was a medieval kingdom and it was a kind of competition among the kings for building a lot of temples in Durbar Squares.
The fee entrance for Durbar Square in Kathmandu was 250, but somehow I manage to cross the checking point without being asked about the ticket. Actually I didn’t know where was that point until I effectively crossed it. The place is very interesting and different. Imagine yourself two huge squares joined together with a lot of pagoda temples and statues all around. The name of the city is called after a temple from Durbar Square called Kaasthamandap, buit in 1596 A.D. by King Laxmi Narshing Malla. The entire temple is built from wood without any metal nails and it’s said that it was built from the timber from a single tree. All the temples from the Square are hindu temples, but there are completely different from the Indian temples. All are pagoda temples with two, three, four or five story. And most of them have erotic carvings on the roof strut. It’s an entire Kamasutra carved in wooden. You can see there animals, women and animals, gods, people all of them having sex in different position. There is also a big sculpture in the Square with Kali the bloody goodness, where every year during the Indra Jatra Festival in September water buffalos and goats are sacrificed being decapitated with a single blow of the sword. In front of the square is the former king palace and on the right side of the palace there is a very nice building with a lot of wooden carvings of it. It’s the house of Kumari, the living goodness. The name of the building is Kumaru Bahal. She is a young girl chosen from a certain cast of Newari when she is very young 4 –5 years old, and she is not a goodness all her life. As soon as she is a women, after her first period or after she loses a lot of blood because of an accident she is not anymore a goodness and she has to leave the house. The process of finding a Kumari is very complicated. There are a lot of demands for her. She must have the body of the Banyan tree, legs like a deer, neck like a conch and eyebrows like the cow. She must never have lost a drop of blood. But once she is chosen she lives in luxury life. Her feet must not touch the ground. When she leaves the palace she is carried in a palanquin. Is very difficult for an ex-Kumari to find a husband. It’s said that a man who married a Kumari will day young.
Although Durbar Square is not anymore the center of the city is the most used place for meetings, and is the perfect place to come and observe the Nepalese life. Here, around the Kaasthamandap temple the vegetables vendors come to sell their products. And also here the young couples or the good friends come in the evening to meet, sitting on the stairs of the numerous temples and talking. Here in Nepal the cows are also holly like in India, and in Durbar Square u can find lots of them. Most of the temples are still in use and u can walk around and watch the hindu people praying or dooing pooja, the hindu ceremony of offering food, fruits and flowers to the gods. It’s a kind of jumping in time the walking tour in this Durbar Square. All around you amazing medieval streets, buildings and temples, ladies in sari, ancient traditions and ceremonies. And not only Durbar Square is like this. The entire part of the old Kathmandu city is like that. The streets are narrow and all around you is full of pagoda temples, in the same style. Almost all of them are small two or three story temples. Some of them are with a huge clock in front of the temple, or they have a 4-5 meters pillar with a god statue on the top in front of them.
In Lonley Planet guide there are two walking tours from Durbar Square. One is going up north of the Durbar Square and the other one down south. Along this walking tours you pass narrow streets, big chowks where 4 – 6 streets meet and form a kind of square with some temples, streets vendors and old newari traditional buildings. The water tanks, so called Hiti, with a lot of sculptures and steps where is the place where the women go for the water with huge pots carried on the top of the head and stopping for a small chat with the other female neighbors. This is the old part of the city. There is also a new part with fancy shops, large streets, nice buildings. It’s the best place from Nepal to see the different between old Nepal and new Nepal. The imposing king’s palace is situated just next to Thamel, the tourist district of Nepal. The pink modern building is surrounded with a double 5 meters fence, with huge gates and guards everywhere.
After half of the day walking around Kathmandu I’ve started starving. A good time to eat something, I was thinking. And where can be the best place to eat in Kathmandu? Of course that Thamel, the tourist district of Kathamandu. This place is amazing. It’s packed with restaurants, bars, souvenir shops, travel agency. And tourists everywhere. And nepalis hanging around and asking you if u want some grass. Or trying to sell you something. The travel agencies offers great tracking trips, rafting trips, paragliding, safari trips, Tibetan trips. Nobody can complain of coming here and becoming bored. I noticed, that the price are slightly bigger than in India for rafting and tracking, but it’s understandable as far as Nepal is one of the best destination from world for this kind of activities. After thirty minutes of walking around Thamel I’ve spotted my restaurant: “Yak Café”, a Tibetan-run restaurant. And what else can u try in a Tibetan restaurant than MOMOS, the Tibetan well-knows dish. I’ve order buffalo momos(mince buffalo meat wrapped in dough and fried) and tongba (hot millet beer). The momos were delicious. They Tibetan equivalent of Romanian sarmale. The tongba was quite strange. I didn’t like it so much I guess because I wasn’t used with it. They bring u a wooden mug full with wet millet seeds and they pour inside hot water. And u drink it with a straw. U can feel the alcohol inside the hot beverage.
After having such a nice lunch it was the time to move on. Next destination was Swayambhunath, a Tibetan stupa one hour walking from Thamel. The stupa is known as the “monkey temple” because of the large number of monkeys that are everywhere around you. I decided to walk to the stupa from Thamel. In my way I passed one village where I was followed by a lot of nepalis eyes. From the base of the hills there is a road around the hill for the cars and there steps up to the stupa. I took the steps.

Din India spre Kathmandu

Sunauli orasel la granitza dintre India si Nepal si punctul terestru de frontiera cel mai des folosit de turisti pentru a ajunge dintr-o tara in alta. Un orasel parca mai prafuit, si cu un trafic mai haotic decat orice alt oras indian. Daca nu ar fi uriasele portzi de intrare pe care sa scrie “Welcome in India” si “Welcome in Nepal” si traficul intens de masini grele nici nu ti-ai da seama ca este un punct de frontiera. Intre cele doua tzari traficul este aproape liber, astfel incat controlul de frontiera este minimal. Nepalezii si indienii pot trece liber granitza si lucra in una dintre cele doua tzari fara nici o alta formalitate.

Ajung la granitza intr-o calduroasa zi de sfarsit de Aprilie, cand este mijlocul verii indiene. Din Mumbai am luat un tren spre Delhi unde am stat o zi si de acolo spre Gorakhpur, nodul feroviar cel mai apropiat de Sunauli, aflat la trei ore de mers cu autobuzul. Am ajuns aici nu fara aventuri. Trenul din Delhi spre Bihar, care trecea prin Gorakhpur isi schimbase traseul cu o zi inainte si eu nu am aflat decat cand eram deja in tren. Asa ca a trebuit sa schimb inca un tren in Luknow, capitala statului Uttar Pradesh, cel mai populat stat indian. A trebuit sa caut seful de gara sa-mi semneze biletul cum ca trenul meu si-a schimbat itinerariul si pot lua alt tren spre Gorakhpur. Mi l-a semnat fara probleme dar in schimb nu mi-a putut garanta un loc in tren. Dupa vreo 4 ore de asteptare si cu doua ore intarziere a sosit si trenul meu, in jurul orei 2 noaptea. Era o calatorie de 7 – 8 ore cu trenurl intre Luknow si Gorakhpur. Si taman atunci cand aveam bilet fara loc s-a intamplat ca trenul meu sa fie cel mai aglomerat tren in care am fost. Era asa de aglomerat de pur si simplu erau o gramada de oameni care nu reuseau sa intre in tren. Nu neaparat din cauza oamenilor cat din cauza bagajelor care blocau usile. Zici ca toata lumea se muta. Aveau cufere intregi cu ei. Pana la urma am reusit sa intru pe la compartimentul unei clase superioare. Dar nici o sansa de loc. Nici macar pe culoar nu am reusit sa patrund. Pana la urma am dormitat pe rucsacul meu pe locul aflat la imbinarea dintre vagoane, inconjurat din toate partzile de muntzi de bagaje, indieni si un sadhu, om sfant indian jegos care fuma hasis si dormea la picioarele mele.
La granitza esti acostat de o gramada de indieni si nepalezi “binevoitori” care te ajuta cu de toate. Itzi arata unde este biroul de emigrari (care este asa de mic si pricajit incat am trecut pe langa el fara sa-l remarc), unde este cursul valutar etc. etc. Invatzasem sa devi suspicios fatza de indienii binevoitori din locurile frecventate de turisti. Si m-au cam prostit olecutza. Viza de intrare in Nepal era 30 de dolari si indienii de la casa de schimb valutar insistau ca nu se accepta decat dolari. Nu accepta euro sau rupii indiene, si ca pe partea nepaleza nu sunt case de schimb valutar si nu se accepta rupii indienii. Puteam sa merg sa verific dar daca era adevarat trebuia sa trec granitza din nou ca sa schimb in dolari. Aveam 10 dolari si am mai cumparat 20. Cat despre rupii nepaleze, nu am cumparat decat vreo 300 cu toate insistentzele lor ca dincolo nu sunt case de schimb valutar.. Abureli… Erau cu carutza pe partea nepaleza. Si cursul de schimb era mult superior celui de pe partea indiana. Acolo am si schimbat 50 de euro in rupii nepaleze. Cat despre cei 30 de dolari pentru viza, am remarcat ca se acceptau in orice valuta nu numai in dolari. Formalitatzile au durat foarte putzin. In 30 de minute eram in Nepal cu viza de nepal. Completarea unui formular, 30 de dolari si daca nu este coada in 10 minute ai viza. Simplu si eficient. Sincer, puteam trece granitza dintre Nepal si India fara sa ma intrebe nimeni de sanatate.
Sunauli – Kathmandu, in jur de 290 de kilometri si intre 8 si 10 ore de mers cu autobuzul. Pe partea nepaleza imediat am fost “mirosit” si un nepalez sau indian s-a tzinut scai dupa mine sa-mi arate de unde sa iau autobuzul spre Kathmandu, cica. Dar m-a condus la o agentzie de turism. Acolo ma preia altul care nici macar nu ma intreba cand vreau sa plec, sau sa-mi spuna cat ii pretzul ci pur si simplu se apuca sa completeze chitantza. “Ooo… stop nene.. Prima data zi-mi cand pleaca cat costa..” Cica in 15 minute pleca si costa 450 de rupii.. Am platit desi mi se parea cam piperat pretzul si pe urma vine cu mine sa-mi arate de unde sa iau autobuzul. Statzia era de fapt la 5 km de locul acela, dar miselul nu mi-a spus nimica si l-am intrebat de mai multe ori..
“Here .. here boss.. I’ll show u from where.. Just come with me!” Si ma trezesc ca opreste o hardughie de carutza, care nu era nici ricsa, nici tractor, nici masina, nici camion ci o combinatzie de toate, plina ochi de oameni si imi spune sa sar inauntru. Inauntru, unde? Acoperisul hardughiei era plin de bagaje, inauntru nu mai incapea nici un ac iar pe marginile masinii era plin de oameni suspendatzi. Ma agatz si eu cu chiu cu vai suspendat in spatele masinii si pornim.
“So, is this my bus to Kathmandu?”, il intreb pe sub mustatza..
“No no boss.. Ek minute..”
Dupa vreo 10 – 15 minute, timp in care mainile aproape ca imi amortzisera, ne oprim si toata lumea sare jos. Autobuzul meu imediat a aparut. Dar m-au cam tras in piept. Era unul local, nu de turisti, de la care puteam lua eu singur bilet fara sa ma mai incurc cu intermediari. Si bagam mana in foc ca biletul era in jur de 350 de rupii si mi-au luat 100 de rupii comision, doar pentru ca m-au condus pana la autobuz. Dar arata destul de acceptabil autobuzul. Avea scaune care se lasau pe spate si nu era aglomerat. Eram destul de obosit dupa o noapte de nesomn asa ca atzipeam destul de des. Ma trezeam cand autobuzul se oprea din cauza caldurii. Era o caldura sufocanta. Cand autobuzul era in miscare din cauza geamurilor deschise nu se simtzea dar de indata ce se oprea simtzeai erai ud leoarca de transpiratzie. Si facea pauze lungi de ma scoatea din sarite. De fapt nu numai pe mine ci si pe un nepalez care la fiecare pauza mai lunga vocifera si se rastea la sofer. Mai sa-l ia la bataie nu alta. Satele si oraselele nepaleze se derulau pe sub ochii mei. La prima vederea parea mult mai curat decat in India. Apele erau limpezi, pe jos doar putzine deseuri si trasaturile locuitorilor erau foarte diverisficate. De la cele specifice indienilor, la trasaturi mongoloide si combinatzii dintre cele doua.
Era intuneric afara si eu dormeam dus cand autobzulu opreste si toata lumea coboara. Erau pauza de masa. Eram undeva intre muntzi, intr-un orasel sau satuc nu puteam sa-mi dau seama prea bine din cauza intunericului. Era pana de curent si “restaurantul” in care urma sa mancam avea pe fiecare masa lumanari. Singurul fel de mancare era “daal bhat”. Adica o farfurie intinsa pe care tzi se punea orez, un fel de tocanitza de cartofi, un fel de supa de linte, un amestec de legume, si pentru cei non vegetarieni trei bucatzele de carne de pui. Toata lumea avea acelasi fel de mancare, pentru ca era singurul din meniu.

Era trecut de ora 1 noaptea cand ajungem in Kathmandu. Soferul ma trezeste cand autobuzul era aproape gol. Pana imi iau bagajul si pana ma dau jos din autobuz ma trezesc singur cuc la o margine de oras intr-o semiobscurditate inconjurat de taximetristi care intocmai ca ulii infometatzi se repezeau la mine oferindu-se sa ma duca in Thamel, partea din Kathmandu unde sunt cele mai multe hoteluri. Nu prea aveam chef sa iau taxiul, pentru ca stiam ca o sa ma super-taxeze dar alta optziune nu aveam la acea ora tarzie de noapte. Asa ca sar intr-unul din ele. Erau masini mici, albe Maruti Suzuki, cam cat dimensiunea unui Tico de mari. Intreb de pretz. Imi spun “Meter boss, meter…” Dar nici prin cap nu imi trecea sa ma duc dupa taxator. Eram intr-un oras necunoscut si ma puteau plimba pana dimineatza prin oras. Si in plus de asta stiam ca ar cam trebui sa fie in jur de 200 de rupii pretul. Intalnisem un nepalez din Kathmandu in tren in India si il intrebasem. Pe urma imi cer 300 de rupii. “Night charge”. Eram nehotarat si in mod suprinzator, au lasat la 200, ceea ce mi s-a parut echitabil. Asa ca am pornit. Pe masina nu era scris niciunde “TAXI” si eram cu doi neplezi in masina, la o margine oras necunscut in miez de noapte. Dar ma simtzeam destul de in siguantza. Nepalezii pareau destul de simpatici. Am ajuns in Thamel si toate hotelurile erau inchise. Soferul opreste in fatza la un hotel si bate in poarta pana iasa un nepalez mititel cu ochii bulbucatzi de somn. Pricep si eu din ce vorbesc ca nu mai au camere libere. Mergem mai departe si oprim la altul, unde se parea ca au locuri disponibile. Aveam de gand sa stau 5 noptzi in Kathmandu dar am luat doar o noapte. Fusesem adus de taximetristi aici si stiam ca si ei aveau o cota parte din pretzul de cazare, asa ca cea mai buna ideea era sa iau o noapte si a doua zi dimineatza cand ei nu mai erau de fatza sa negociez pentru restul de noptzi obtzinand un pretz mai mic. Mi-au cerut 400 de noapte dar am reusit sa scot cu 300 noaptea. Stiam ca puteam merge si mai jos dar la aceea ora tarzie stiau si ei ca nu prea ma tragea inima sa ma mai plimb la alt hotel. Ma duc sa vad camera si arata chiar superb. O camera normal de hotel de doua – trei stele in Romania. Cu doua paturi, noptiera, masa, baie gresiata si fainatzata, apa calda, toaleta in stil vestic.. Totul era curat si ordonat.. Mi-a placut.. Si 300 de rupii erau cam 3 euro jumate. Am coborat la receptzie am facut formalitatzile de cazare, am platit taximetristul si camera si am venit in camera si m-am arunat in pat, adormind aproape instantaneu.