Kathmandu
Kathandu is back to normal, and even has democracy reinstated. The general impression I got was that the king has finally realised that the writing is on the wall, so has backed down with a view to becoming a constitutional monarch (i.e. better to live like a king for the rest of your life than to be ousted, even if you have managed to amass a fortune of USD300 million).
The Maoists (who are outlawed), even held a rally the day parliament resumed, and I understand it was peaceful. Apparently, their top priority is the removal of absolute monarchy and they are going to be involved in the elected representatives who will rewrite the constitution (and probably remove the King's ability to interfere with parliament).
So, the streets were once again crowded with cars, pedestrians, motorbikes, cycles, rickshaws, cows. There is a very functional social contract for the transport system in Kathmandu. Each of the road users gives way to all other road users. Faster/larger road users will beep those in front to inform them that they need give way or otherwise take care. To use the floral prose found in the Nepali English dailies :
perambulatory egress of all types is thusly amicably fluent
So we got check of Patan, which is one of the two old cities in the Kathmandu valley (the other being Baktopur). The venerable wooden architecture is stunning, and there are lots of nooks and crannies to investigate.
And summer was in, bigtime. Must have been over 30 degrees every day. It was a stark contrast to the subzero temperatures of a few days earlier.
The Maoists (who are outlawed), even held a rally the day parliament resumed, and I understand it was peaceful. Apparently, their top priority is the removal of absolute monarchy and they are going to be involved in the elected representatives who will rewrite the constitution (and probably remove the King's ability to interfere with parliament).
So, the streets were once again crowded with cars, pedestrians, motorbikes, cycles, rickshaws, cows. There is a very functional social contract for the transport system in Kathmandu. Each of the road users gives way to all other road users. Faster/larger road users will beep those in front to inform them that they need give way or otherwise take care. To use the floral prose found in the Nepali English dailies :
perambulatory egress of all types is thusly amicably fluent
So we got check of Patan, which is one of the two old cities in the Kathmandu valley (the other being Baktopur). The venerable wooden architecture is stunning, and there are lots of nooks and crannies to investigate.
And summer was in, bigtime. Must have been over 30 degrees every day. It was a stark contrast to the subzero temperatures of a few days earlier.
posted by Mikaere Curtis | 5:06 PM
1 Comments:
AWESOME trip!!
I remember coming back down to kathmandu and being overwhelmed.The heat was the least of it. I hadnt realised how little smell there was in the cold, and how quiet it had been. bright, loud, fragrant, hot Kathmandu made me see auras on arrival. Im ashamed to say I wasted a whole hour having a bit of a lie-down waiting for my head and stomach to catch up!!
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