Patan Durbar square

Patan 3

It was very interesting to see that people still used these ancient buildings. People were sleeping and kids were playing in ancient temples. It was kind of nice that they weren't just shut off museums, only accessible to tourists.

Patan 2

wooden pillars.

More shots from Patan

One thing that I really enjoyed in Nepal was the feeling of decaying splendor. Some of those places were pretty impressive, despite being in the process of falling apart. And the wood they used was incredibly durable, lasting for hundreds of years.

More shots from Patan

One thing that I really enjoyed in Nepal was the feeling of decaying splendor. Some of those places were pretty impressive, despite being in the process of falling apart. And the wood they used was incredibly durable, lasting for hundreds of years.

food

One thing that never impressed me in Nepal was the food. I never had anything that was more than a less flavorful version of Indian food. I have had pretty good Nepalese food in Taipei, so I guess it was just bad luck. But I ended up doing something I try very hard not to do when I travel. I started eating non-Nepalese food. There was a French place run by a crazy French woman, and they had excellent cheese and tapenade, which paired with some decent bread became my go-to self catering choice in Kathmandu.

Patan

As soon as I felt sure that I would be able to walk for a day, I went straight to Patan. One of the three medieval city states, I was told that Patan was famous for its metal work. The kings in Patan, Bhaktapur, and Kathmandu would compete to build the most amazing Darbur squares. My personal favorite was Bhaktapur, but Patan and Kathmandu were both impressive as well. I was, of course, very excited to be able to walk. And Patan was not quite as noisy and crazy as Kathmandu, so that was also nice. I didn't stay the night - a day trip turned out to be enough for me to see the Durban square and walk around the busy streets a little bit and that was enough for me.

back in Kathmandu

So I was back! The break did me good. The streets were still noisy and treacherous, but I felt happy to be back. I was energized. I stil had the 2 other medieval cities (Patan and Bhaktapur) to visit. I was back at my old hotel, and my new room was better than the 1st. I was considering a trip to the birthplace of the Buddha in Lumbini. I felt like walking. I did some light yoga to warm up and then as I was walking out of my room to eat breakfast...
snap.

My back was out. I was limping immediately. With no access to ice. I couldn't walk within a few hours. Trapped in the hotel room. No electricity for most of the day. Sweating on a bed. I got feverish and hallucinated. Eventually a doctor paid me a house-call and prescribed some tylenol for the pain. A hotel employee went to get it for me. Ironic that the pharmacy where they picked up the tylenol was on a corner where I had been offered every major drug only 5 days before. Heaven forbid you actually want a pain-killer that works! It must be saved for people to party with!

My trip to Lumpini was off. I started getting better on the third day, but that wasted time was awful. The hotel was nice enough to give me some water to drink and bring some food to my room, but I couldn't even eat a full meal each day. I tried to get a little bit down. But it was very irritating to spend my limited vacation in a situation far more stressful than work.

Pokhara 4

My barber in Pokhara. He gave me an ayurvedic massage as well, but it wasn't very good. Clearly, he is a barber, not a masseuse.

Pokhara 3

Photos from my bike ride. Breathing truck exhaust was awful. And I got a little bit lost. But it was interesting.

Pokhara 2

some nice shots of the sunset in Pokhara.

Pokhara 1

Pokhara was beautiful when I arrived. The sun was shining. It was quieter. The air was cleaner. I was really happy for the break. I wanted to arrange for a trip up a mountain to see the sunset. The owner of my hotel suggested I wait until morning and climb up to see the sunrise. So I spent the day walking around, relaxing, doing nothing.

The next day, when I woke up at 4 AM it was raining extremely hard. My hike up the hill was an awful slog through mud with a visibility of about 4 feet. I turned around early, and I was told that it had been raining every morning for weeks. I murdered the guy at the hotel in my mind, went back and bitched him out, and moved to another hotel. The rest of the rainy day I spent drinking masala tea and reading.

I discovered that I didn't have enough time for a real trek around the Himalayas. And there wasn't much to do. I rented an awful bike and took a quick trip around the town. Then I drank more tea. Without the option of the trek, it became clear that I needed to get back to Kathmandu early, so I changed my flight to go home after a few more days. They were primarily spent drinking tea and looking at rain. I also met this American engineer who was living in Shanghai, and it was kind of interesting to talk with him about his life there. The highlight of my time there was my trip to the barber (photos to follow).

Yeti Air

They gave us cotton to put in our ears. Thanks Yeti Air!

time to go

At this point, I was exhausted by Kathmandu. Time to go to the mountains! I booked a ticket to Pokhara on the amusingly named Yeti Air and looked forward to a relaxing break from the city. Maybe I could even take a quick trek in the Himalayas!

Durbar Square 6

Some final Durbar Square shots, including what I think is Bhairab, the wraithful incarnation of Shiva.

Durbar Square 5

This was outside a temple that I was not allowed to go in (I'm a bit impure, as it turns out.) People smeared orange pigment on that thing in the red cloak (I guess it's some god?) until it started to look like a pumpkin/Tibetan monk.