Nepal is squeezed in between India and China/Tibet and has more than 27 million inhabitants (2006), most of them Hindus, with Buddhists on the second place. They have a flag, which you will never forget, if you have seen it once. Most countries in the world have a rectangular flag. Some countries are a bit more daring and have a square one. But Nepal is the only one with a completely different flag, consisting of two triangles. According to legends, thousands of years ago there were two mythological kings, one came from cow herders, who descended from the moon (Gopalas), the other was from a group of buffalo herders, who descended from the sun (Masipalas). Therefore, both sun and moon are represented in the flag. No historical evidence has been found for the story, but it is still a beautiful flag.
 

Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is situated at an altitude of 1,336 meters. The city has about 700,000 inhabitants. In the Kathmandu valley, you can also find the historical cities Patan and Bhaktapur. Politics have been as turbulent in Nepal as the weather in the Nepali mountains. Until approximately 1700, the country was often in the hands of another country, or divided between kings and tribal heads. In Kathmandu valley, the area was split up in three small kingdoms. Even though Nepal is much bigger than only this valley, the distances outside were long and the roads difficult to travel, so Kathmandu valley was what Nepal was all about, and the kings were the most powerful of all. Of one of the kingdoms, Patan, you can still find beautiful and well kept or well restored memories.

Patan is on the list of "world heritages" of UNESCO. As a result, it is a protected pedestrian zone and no traffic is allowed in. There are beautiful palaces and temples, and a lot of exquisite wood carving. There is also a Krishna temple. Krishna likes animals but not animal offers, and therefore the animals inside the temple square are alive, and mooing, bleating, cackling and shitting. It is a small square and it is full of Krishna devotees. Offers are made, but they are all vegetarian, and mainly bananas, still in the peel. The burning of those bananas creates a thick black smoke, which hurts your eyes and remembers you of the smell of burning rubber tires.
In between all of that, chickens, goats, cows and other animals are running around. One sheep lies on the floor panting and looks like he has offered himself to the gods. Rubbish is everywhere and it stinks like hell. Krishna must have had a bad-working nose.

One of the temples in Kathmandu is called “Pashupathi Nath”. It is dedicated to Shiva and death reigns in all forms. Tourists stand on one side of the river, which is reduced to a small muddy stream, while on the other side cremations are carried out like in a theater but without pause for popcorn.
There are several elevated “stations” where you can see all phases of cremation. On the first, there is a dead body wrapped in white cloth, while on the second, a body is put on a box of wood and covered with flowers and hay. The hay is lit, and the fire will consume the stack including the body in about two and a half hour. A temple staff member consequently wipes the remaining hill of ashes into the river. Now at least we know why the river looks like this, when so many bodies are carelessly wiped into it.
The next temple we visit is called “money temple”. It is not clear to me where that name came from. In all temples there are so many monkeys, that they may as well be called “monkey temple 1-10″. This temple is, contrary to the Pashupathi Nath which seemed to be dedicated to death, dedicated to life. Parents come with their newborn babies to get blessing against childhood diseases.

Another famous temple we visit is the Boudhanat temple, a Buddhist temple, as the name already promises, which is very popular with Tibetans, many of whom came to Nepal to escape the Chinese pressure. The temple rises to the sky as a snow white dome from the red brick houses around it. The street around it is lined with stalls, displaying items of copper, reflecting the bright sunlight to the tourist in the hope they may be convinced to buy, totally neglected by the white cows that slowly walk around the temple. Happily colored flags are all around us and music sounds from every shop. Merchants try to sell us mini-violins, which look like only a person with mini-brains would like to play them; or a small child perhaps, because Anna really likes them. Another thing that is on sale almost everywhere are pictures from the Kamasutra. Tiny men emerge whispering from dark corners and try to sell their attractive booklets not only to me, but also to my poor children, thus totally neglecting the filters we put on the internet to avoid the appearance of poorly dressed women.

Kathmandu used to be very popular with hippies and other users of hashish in the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, you see many middle-aged hippies still hanging around, as a sort of wilted flower power, especially around "Freak Street". The same street has been called "Pilgrim Trail", "Hashish Trail" and "Hippie Trail". Apart from the hippies themselves, the street is not much different from other streets in the neighborhood, with souvenir shops, carpets and trekking gear on sale.
Overall, there is a really happy atmosphere in Nepal, much more than we are used to in Bangladesh. There are many colors around and music is everywhere. The people also seem to be happier. Even in the rural areas, where they are very poor, they smile and are always ready to start a conversation. What we enjoyed a lot as well, was the Thamel region, where you have nice restaurants and bars. We just ignored all the items on sale.

Click for Nepalese recipes