Namaste Nepal (Part 3)

My body clock is still in MNL time and woke up again at 5am. Oh well, the plan was to go to Bhaktapur first and Nagarkot. And hike for a few days around the Kathmandu valley.  Bhaktapur is a well-preserved village with many temples and residential buildings, much like Intramuros, only Hindu and Buddhist-themed.

Our third day in Nepal started with a big scare for me. When I went to check my passport in my bag, it was gone! My heart skipped a beat. Did one of the dogs take it? Polly? Taps? My mind was racing, how will I get home without my passport? Before I thought of the unthinkable, Ms. Nadine walked in with my passport in her hand. So she photocopied it while I was showering. Haaaaaay, if that doesn’t wake you up, I don’t know what will.

To start our day, we had a very Western breakfast of pancakes, cheese, salmon, and egg highlighted with Nuttella. Didi (the household help) prepared some Nepali tea for us which was made with tea and milk, like Nai Cha.

Then it was time for us to head out to Kathmandu, un-assisted. With our red and orange Deuter backpacks in tow, we headed out and started to walk towards the Peepalbot or Pipalbot. It is said that in Nepal, each town and village has its own Pipalbot, a place where people hang out.

Pipalbot in Dhumbarai

After buying some trail food and other essentials in the convenience store, we also hang out in the Peepalbot where there is huge tree and wait for our ride to the bus park for Bhaktapur. We saw a fancy SUV almost running over a group of ladies planning for Holi in the Pipalbot. They were still smiling after the near accident. We chanced upon a friendly group of college boys, who helped us find our way to the bus park. 

After waiting for a bus that never came we walked to the ring road. Our newly formed barkada took a local bus to a busy street corner near Nepal’s police academy. It was Nadine’s and my first time to ride a local bus and as expected, people were staring at us, foreigners in a local bus.  

 

with our new barkada, Sujan and the gang

 

Then we rode a packed van where sitting in the luggage section looks as normal as sitting on any regular seat. Nadine and one of the boys sat beside the driver who chatted with them. The boys always were paying for our fare then we thought we can pay them when we finally separate ways.  But alas, as we bid them farewell and handed them our payment, Sujan, the one who can speak English well, told us, “We don’t need money”.  

 The bus we took to Bhaktapur stopped anywhere where buses can stop. So a journey which can take 30 minutes took two hours. But the sights and sounds of Kathmandu reminded Sati Nadine that she is indeed in Nepal. It took two days for her to realize we arrived. J

 in Bhaktapur

Entrance to Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the most expensive entrance fee we paid for in Nepal at 1,100 per person (around P550). We walked around the square and bumped into kids asking for chocolates.  Good thing, we bought some candies as trail food.

Then we walked around the ancient city, taking our sweet time exploring this ancient square filled with amazing architecture.  We had lunch in the square where we had a nice view of the many tourists and we had a mini-game where Nadine would guess the nationality of each Western tourist that come our way. A very friendly waiter served us Himalayan pizza and salad with yak cheese but the yak cheese tasted like hard cheddar to me. Bhaktapur is photogenic with its eclectic mix of Nepali culture still preserved in this  complex. According to Wikipedia, The Durbar square is surrounded by spectacular architecture and vividly showcases the skills of the Newari artists and craftsmen over several centuries. Truly, another assault to the senses.

 Durbar Square

After lunch, we headed to the pottery square and met a lot of friendly locals who showed us how they burn the newly-made pots to cure them. After buying some pasalubong and fruits in one of Bhaktapur’s store-filled alley.

 Since we are staying in Nagarkot for the night, an hour away from Bhaktapur, we looked for the bus park before it gets dark. After walking for than 30 minutes, we finally found the bus park. And the bus was quite a sight with the floor looking like it is going to collapse on the sheer weight of the dilapidated chairs and the roof looks like it's going to cave in anytime. While waiting for the bus to get filled, we observe two elderly ice cream vendor who can’t seem to sell their goods and ended up eating them.   

 

a residential complex we saw, on our way to the bus park

Another highlight while waiting for the bus to leave is the sight of a chinky-eyed girl with a big backpack running downhill looking as if she was running after something. We were amused and surprised when the girl suddenly ran back and got on our bus. Turned out she was also looking for this bus park and she was running towards the wrong direction at first.

The one-hour ride turned out to be not too bad with friendly locals always teasing and bantering with each other. The bus got really packed with some of the boys riding on roof already.

 Nadine and I decided to sit on different rows because of our bags. I got seated beside another friendly local, which I later found out to be a pastor, his name is Dolgit. The first thing I noticed about him is that he was always smiling. It's his first time to work in the Nagarkot area. He comes from a region in the western part of Nepal. To get to his hometown, you have to travel by by bus for two days and walk for two days. He was assigned in Nagarkot and will head a home church. Too bad, I just talked to him in the tail end of the trip.

with Dolgit, the pastor, in the bus to Nagarkot

 

It was almost dusk when we reached Nagarkot and it was getting cold. Nagarkot is already 2,175 meters above sea level. That is quite high for a village. For reference, Mt Apo, Ph’s tallest is 2,954 meters. As we were looking for the hotel we reserved, Hotel at the End of the Universe, the cold intensified and it was really dark. The hotel was of considerable distance from the bus park (20-minute walk). So while walking, Nadine, the Japanese girl and I were sweating and feeling cold at the same time. It was the perfect formula for a cold. Thus, when we arrived at the hotel, I was not feeling well already.  My throat felt scratchy and I felt a cold coming. We had a light dinner of hot soup and so Nadine put some local whiskey on my drink. Since there were no available table, we sat beside a Jewish guy from Israel who also had a terrible cold after climbing Lang Tang range. If it were any other day, I would’ve joked about this dinner with a German and a Jew.  He said it was freezing cold up in the mountains.  And he was writing about his experiences in a small notebook. On this third night, I had my longest sleep in Nepal, although broken a bit by bouts of sweating.