Day 2

We did so many things today, I’m having a hard time remembering them all. We began our day at Ason market. Because Saturday is the Buddhist and Hindu day of worship, it’s also the day when many families do their shopping. I can’t imagine how these people make any money. On the same street, there are dozens of pashmina shops, or dozens of electronics shops, or dozens of tailors, and they are all exactly the same. We later went to an underground market that was much less crowded, and much sadder. Chris said that many of those vendors probably lived in their shops, and were possibly low-caste so not as many people shopped there. Roaming around the market are holy men who basically attack you with what is called a tika, or a blessing of vermillion powder placed on your forehead—sort of like ashes, for all you Catholics. Once they come up to you, you really have no choice but to receive it and then give them some money as an offering. We’d successfully avoided them for most of the morning but of course eventually ended up being branded, too.

After the markets we all ordered momos for lunch, which are sort of like little dumplings filled with meat or vegetables. We then went upstairs to a coffee shop, where Chris interviewed Hannah and me for a film that he’s making—more on that later. I hate being awkward on camera. Ugh.

Every taxi ride is an adventure—traffic laws don’t really seem to apply in Nepal. Although drivers technically drive on the left, this rule is pretty flexible and taxis, tuk tuks (little 3-wheeled buses that pack in ridiculous numbers of people), motorcycles, and bicycles weave in and out. Traffic signs, traffic lights, sidewalks, and crosswalks are nearly nonexistant and crossing the street is a pretty exciting endeavor, to say the least.

My favorite part of the day, and possibly of the trip so far, was visiting Swayambhunath, a Buddhist and Hindu place of worship at the top of a 385-stair climb. It’s amazing to me how Buddhism and Hinduism exist in complete harmony, for the most part, even to the point of sharing some of the same gods and, in the case of Swayambhunath, holy sites. The climb up was rushed because we were trying to beat what looked like an impending storm, but once we got to the top (and I caught my breath) the view was indescribable. We could see the entire city, framed by the Himalayas (Technically, the foothills, but I’m from North Dakota. They’re mountains to me.). It was peaceful, and beautiful, and I took dozens of pictures that I’m sure won’t even come close to doing it justice. It’s nicknamed the Monkey Temple because of, fittingly, all the monkeys running around the area. Monkeys are animals that, to my mind, belong in zoos, so to see them running wild is sort of surreal. After we’d had our fill of scenic pictures, we went inside a Buddhist monastery and heard the monks saying their evening prayers. They used drums and horns along with their chanting and one of the Nepali men standing nearby said they believed that God could hear the instruments because they were so loud. I think my favorite part was watching the young monks sitting at the edge of the room who couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9 years old. I’m pretty sure they were supposed to be devoutly praying, but as soon as they saw me take out my camera, they began totally hamming it up and making goofy faces at me.

On our way back down, we found a little side path and decided to follow it. It took us through a wooded area to the back side of the temple, where we had a much less crowded view. Hannah went to take a picture of an adorable little boy climbing a tree and accidentally stepped on a stray dog that snapped at her and freaked her—and us—out. There are sooo many stray dogs everywhere. It’s really kind of depressing, but I suppose not as depressing as the beggars (sometimes holding dirty and clearly malnourished infants) we also see around the city.

On our way back to the neighborhood our hotel is in, our taxi got stopped by a man handing out brochures about Tibet and asked us to sign a petition demanding that China stops terrorizing Tibet and asking for UN interference. We got out of the taxi, looked to our left, and saw a huge group of people sitting on the ground, chanting, and spinning Buddhist prayer wheels. Nearby signs explained that they were fasting to protest against the Chinese government. They flashed us peace signs, and our hearts broke for them. We signed the petition, Chris left a donation, and we got back in the taxi and tried to process the scene.

We’re off to another relaxing and delicious dinner. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your comments. It’s great to hear from you all!