BHAKTAPUR & DHULIKHEL (Day 18)

At 4:45 am the first prayer bell rang. There was no car or traffic noise, but by 6 am the crowds were out and the streets swung into life.

We stepped out into the very misty cold morning. Our first task was to find the local bus station to figure out all the where's and when's. We headed back down the long hill that we had so quickly sped up in the tuktuk last night. Things were quite confusing but eventually we got had a game plan. As we started walking back up the hill into the city, however, the guard at the toll booth stopped us and asked to see our city tickets. Uh, what city tickets? Apparently tourists have to pay a very steep price (over $10) for the mere privilege of entering the city (clearly we had been whisked past this fee by our tuktuk driver). Since all our luggage was still at the hotel, we had no choice.

On the way, we passed the pottery square with a wide variety of figurines and giant pots that they beat out instead of threw on a wheel. Eventually we reached another city gate, showed our tickets, and were back in the tourist center of town. We spent a few hours exploring all the amazing temples and beautifully carved buildings.This was also the first city that didn't allow any kind of motor-driven vehicle, so everything was much quieter and the air was actually breathable. Ok, the city fee was worth it!

In the very large pottery square, craftsmen beat out pots with their hands.The men of this city wear a special type of cap called a Bhaad-gaaule topi.

Durbar Square with Durga Temple... and the eight-sided Chyasalin Mandap

Durbar Square was also home to the Palace of 55 Windows. Built in 1427, the balcony is considered a masterpiece of woodcarving.

Around noon, we left our larger bags at the hotel and took a local bus to Dhulikhel, a city in the mountains.

We had to enter the bus through the back door. All the seats were taken, so we kept being pushed from behind by all the other people entering the bus until we were all tightly wedged together in the narrow, low center aisle. I couldn't stand upright and kept bumping my head on the ceiling. Fortunately at the next town, many passengers got off and we managed to get some seats for the rest of the trip.

The ride was very rough as we continued on through more mountain passes. The bus was quite old and the whole thing rattled. The bars in the center aisle (that one holds onto while standing) bounced all over because they were no longer firmly attached to the bus itself.

About 40 minutes later, we arrived in the small town. We first walked a hotel which had been recommended to us but we were not impressed. So we walked back and tried to find another hotel... but there absolutely nothing. There wasn't even really much of a town, just the large dusty street we had driven in on and lots of shabby houses lining either side of it. So we went back and got a room.

We asked at the lobby about some local hikes. We were told about one walk... but it would take 7 hours. So we said we would just go as far as we could get with the remaining light of day then turn back. But the hotel clerk said this was impossible. We could could ONLY continue in the same direction one started. He keep insisting we "couldn't go back" and that if we couldn't complete the whole circuit then we shouldn't even begin. Uh, ok. We decided we'd try it anyway (although we didn't dare tell the clerk!).

So with a hand-drawn map in hand, we headed out. We had planned on eating lunch in the restaurant, but the extremely high prices made us decide to try to find something local. Down near the bus stop we found a very small, inconspicuous restaurant. Even though the man didn't speak any English, we were able to order dal bhat and chai with relatively little trouble.

Our rice, green dal and spicy curried vegetables was served on a metal plate divided into separate sections (kind of like the old frozen tv dinners). The way it worked was when you finished one of the little sections of the metal plate, one of the boys in the kitchen would run out with a big pot and refill it for you. He seemed happy to serve us and genuinely pleased that I had three helpings of the dal. But eventually I had had enough and had to turn him down. The entire meal, even with unlimited refills of everything, cost almost nothing... and that was including a tip which the man only accepted with much difficulty.

It was only a matter of minutes before we realized how terrible the map was. We wandered aimlessly for quite a while trying to figure out where we were supposed to begin our idyllic hike. We eventually arrived at some hospital building and asked. We said we were trying to get to Paranati but they simply said "the way is far too muddy for you" and wouldn't tell us the way. We eventually gave up and decided to find the other end of the circuit.

We ended up in yet another section of town... even more dirty and run-down than the previous one. Not to mention the constant traffic of large trucks. We walked and walked, choking on dust, being chased by school children asking for money or pens, but still not seeing any of the 'breathtaking' beauty that this town was famous for.

It took us 40 minutes before arriving at a large truck path which started to lead uphill. After a while, we came across a very steep river worn dirt path, pounded hard from lots of use. It was filled with both lots of trash and lots of people. But we were told this was the way to Kali temple and so we continued on.

The path went straight up the giant hill while the road switchbacked up, which basically meant the road kept cutting across our path and that we choked on the dust fumes as the large loud vehicles slowly rumbled past while we waited to cross. There was a huge amount of people and many would stop and stare at us. One small group even kept pace with us, stopping when we stopped, walking when we walked, staring the whole time. Again we were accosted by school kids, and one man carried a blasting radio which kinda ruined the 'nature' mood.

After quite a while of climbing the river trail, we turned off to a steeper smaller river trail and arrived at the temple. unfortunately the day was so hazy so that we couldn't even see the foothills of the Himyalas, not to mention the giants themselves. We turned around and began the long, dirty, dusty, noisy, bothersome walk back to the hotel.

We joined a few other tourists on the roof for a drink... and got a very brief, very faint view of the peaks in the sunset. We ended up having dinner in the expensive hotel restaurant. Fortunately it was actually quite a lot of food.

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