Playing Tourists in Kathmandu

By Crivenica

The bad part about living far away from home is that you get homesick from time to time. I definitely was homesick the other day because it was Chinese New Year and my big family got together for some wonderful homemade chinese food and tons of family fun. And there were other times when I saw pictures of my close friends in Facebook having fun and I felt like I was missing out on some precious moments.

That is why I was so happy when friends from home came to visit us. Separately, two of my girl friends, Anti and Shilla, came to visit me in 2009 and each time I got to play tourist in Kathmandu with them. We had a lot of fun, but most importantly I had the chance to share my life here in Kathmandu with them. Both visits were definitely treasured moments.

We met through work about six years ago and because we share the same value, work ethics, and view of life, we became really good friends. Working together for 14-16 hours a day, seven days a week for over a month and bunking with each other in Banda Aceh also helped the bonding process.

Anti came on a short four-day visit after a conference in India, but we covered most of the must-see spots in Kathmandu and still had plenty of time to sit around in outdoor cafes chatting while sipping masala tea. It was in March, so the weather was pretty nice with friendly comfortable temperature, though the Himalayas were not always visible during this time.

Shilla combined her visit with a travel through Delhi, Jaipur and Agra before she spent a week in Kathmandu. We visited many of the same places which I took Anti to earlier in the year, ate a lot of food, and did some extra cool stuff.

Here are some of our favorites:

The Garden of Dreams

Garden of Dreams

Located at the beginning of Thamel, a busy tourist trap area clogged with stores, budget hotels, cafes, mediocre restaurants and bars, the Garden of Dreams is a haven amidst Kathmandu’s car horns, traffic and eye sores. I’m sure when the garden was designed and built privately by Field Marshal Kaiser Sumsher Rana in 1920, it was a much quieter area. I’m just glad that it has been refurbished and opened to the public with a small entrance fee because this is definitely one of my favorite spots in town.

I took both Anti and Shilla here and they both loved it because we don’t have anything like this in Jakarta. It’s just great being able to take a break from the hustle bustle of life in a beautifully landscaped garden where you can sit on a park bench or lounge on the grass and have a philosophical discussion about the future with your girl friend. I spent some wonderful hours doing just that with both Anti and Shilla here.

Check out their website to learn more about the history of the garden.

Durbar Squares

Patan Durbar Square

A long time ago, Kathmandu valley used to be three little kingdoms (from one larger kingdom divided into three to be ruled by the three sons of the former king). These kingdoms were Kathmandu or Bhasantapur, Patan and Bhaktapur. Even today, the division of the valley is still based on these ancient kingdoms except that there is no more kingdom. However, the history is still very much alive in the very well-preserved durbar square of each of this kingdom.

Durbar means palace and durbar square is basically the courtyard where the old palace of the kingdom is located. Each durbar square was the center of government, economy, religion and everyday life. They may not be the center of political events anymore, but they are still very much a big part of today’s economy, religion and everyday activities. And this makes durbar squares great to visit because you get the ancient palaces, temples and markets in one place.

Patan durbar square is my favorite because I find the architectural legacy there is the most beautiful and it is less crowded compared to the other two. Besides, I know the small streets of the old town of Patan pretty well that I gave my girl friends walking tours like a pro! Walking through the old town is a wonderful way to see how the locals live and be absorbed by the local culture.

Just be aware of people offering you guided tours if you visit durbar squares. Shilla and I were approached by two young Nepali guys who dressed like some Bollywood stars, we weren’t sure whether they were really offering guided tours or they were being flirty.

Temples

Anti & I at Swayambunath Stupa

Most tourists and religious pilgrims come to Kathmandu to visit the temples. Nepal, being the birthplace of the Buddha Himself (he was born in Lumbini), has several important Buddhist stupas actually, even though it is mainly a Hindu country. The main stupa in Kathmandu is the Swayambunath, also casually known as the Monkey temple due to the troops of monkeys guarding the area. It is located high on a hill, so it is a trip to climb up the stairs to get to the stupa, but the view from the top is worth the climb. I drove my guests to the top. It might not be the same experience of climbing the gazillion steps, but I got them up there faster with less sweating.

Shilla and I also had the chance to visit the other important Buddhist stupa in the area called Bouddha and had a lot of fun taking great pictures there. We also visited a very important Hindu temple called the Phaspupatinath temple. We couldn’t go into the temple itself, but we had the chance to observe the activities and saw the cremation area along the river. By the way, this is where men in Nepal gather every year on Shivratri festival to smoke pot as an offering to Lord Shiva.

Nagarkot

Shilla & I at Nagarkot

I wish I had taken Anti up to Nagarkot, but the idea didn’t occur to me then. Fortunately, I was able to get a car to take Shilla there. Nagarkot is about 32 km east of Kathmandu on one of the hills surrounding the valley. People usually stay overnight up here and wake up before dawn to see the sun rises among the Himalayas. We didn’t do that.

Shilla and I went up there early enough, but we were there simply to enjoy the great clear view of the Himalayas. The viewing spot was nothing to write about, but it does its purpose. This is one of the best places to view the Himalayas if you don’t have a lot of time traveling the country. And this morning trip with Shilla is one trip I wouldn’t forget easily due to the amazing view and the very embarrassing and very private thing that we had to share. I will spare you the details.

Mountains Flight

The peak of Mount Everest taken on our mountain flight.

Taking a mountains flight is another great but a more expensive way to enjoy the majestic Himalayas. It costs about USD 120-150 for a half hour flight along the mountains, but I think it’s worth to do it at least once. Shilla and I shelled out the money to do it and I think neither one of us regretted it.

Well, I had a blast taking my friends around the K-town, but there are more to my friends’ visits than the places we went to. The private moments and conversations we had are something I will cherish forever. I hope we will have more experiences like this in the future. However, I must say that Anti’s visit was well timed because after her visit, she met her husband, got married and they are now expecting the birth of their baby girl any day now. While Shilla, after her India-Kathmandu trip, left Indonesia for Melbourne to pursue her masters degree and has just recently returned home.

I will always get homesick for my family and friends, but I’m not worried about not having quality time with them because I think we will always make time for each other. As a matter of fact, Shilla and I are already planning to visit another good friend of ours, Indri, who lives in Tokyo with her husband. So, I’m crossing my fingers that everything will go as planned and maybe, I’ll be writing about our Japan trip in the summer.

Note:
This year is the official Nepal Tourism Year. So friends, maybe it's time to plan a trip here and visit all these places I wrote about. I still have a lot of info to share on places to shop and great food to eat. Wait for those posts in the near future.