Saturday, March 12, 2011

Kathmandu Durbar Square

After my last update we decided to brave the rainy weather and head to Kathmandu's famous Durbar  Square.  This was where the city's kings were once crowned and legitimised and from where they ruled (durbar meaning 'palace').  As such, the square remains the traditional heart of the old town. The architecture is some of the most spectacular in Kathmandu.  Andrew and I grabbed a taxi from Thamel (the tourist part of town) and grabbed the entry tickets 200 rupees each and wandered around, checking out all the historical sites.  It's not an overly large place, however there is a great deal to see.  We ventured into some really cool old buildings, admired the statues of deities and went inside the temple of the living goddess Kumari Devi. Nepal has countless gods, goddesses, deities, bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and other manifestations, which are worshipped but there is also a real living goddess.  The Kumari Devi is a young girl who lives in the building in Durbar Square. Whilst we didn't get to see her, apparently she spends the majority of her time here and is lavishly taken good care of.  It was quite interesting.


Kathmandu Durbar Square


I was most intrigued by the architecture and apparent display of history.  I grabbed quite a few photos, although the overcast weather made it a bit hard to do the place much justice. 

We grabbed another taxi and headed back to the hotel for a bit of a rest. We found a nearby restaurant and had some more momo's (these were fried and delicious).  Later on they would come back to haunt me.


A gorgeous little Nepalese girl in the street


A local man in the street near our hotel


Anything goes - Andrew is constantly being offered hashish everywhere he goes!





A local rickshaw driver


Andrew outside our hotel, Kathmandu Nepal


I've heard of the cat among the pigeons, but the cow?


Some holy men, at Durbar Square



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