TRAVELMAN NEPAL: Durbar Square, Kathmandu Old City, and Thamel (Part 2 of 3)

Durbar Square is a UNESCO World Heritage site. I didn’t know it existed until Matrika asked if I wanted to pay the fee to go through it. I asked how much it was. Matrika said 1000 Rupees (about 10 dollars). I asked what was inside. He said, the old palace, and many old temples and shrines.

****—-When I look at this, I imagine the god saying, “Hoogedee Boogada A la bla da da!” Then getting disappointed when he fails to scare people.——-****

...Hmm. I’d seen quite a few cool things already on this day for free. Ten dollars is pretty, pretty steep in these parts. I’d seen temples already as well... And I’m not all that interested in them. But then again, I’m here, and it’s a big attraction in Kathmandu, apparently. ...Hmm, I don’t know.

***——This was in the middle of a street. At first glance, I thought it was some kind of trough, but then I realized it was adorned with candle trays. It seems to be a random object of religious significance and place of prayer, or just a trough with candle trays in the middle of the street——-****

I told Matrika something to the effect of “I think I’d rather not pay the 1000 Rupees, and see other things instead.”

He nodded.

****——I like the depth of focus I was lucky enough to get in this shot. Just wish the sky wasn’t blown out—-****

Thirty seconds later we were at a ticket booth buying tickets to go into Durbar Square. Clearly, he misunderstood me. I’d already been on the fence about it, so I went with it, acted like it was my plan all along, and bought the ticket.

****—-Notice that this tree’s roots grow around a stone pedestal-like structure. I don’t know what keeps it from falling over——****

For my money, Durbar Square wasn’t worth 1000 Rupees. Particularly because much of it was under reconstruction from the 2015 earthquake. The funny thing is, I’m still glad I went. Now I know for myself, and I learned some things I’ll share with you. I’ll also make up some facts just for fun.

For starters, This is a picture of the first king of Nepal. He won it in a poker game. ...Actually, what he did was unite all the territories into a kingdom under his rule. He’s like the father of Nepal, like George Washington without the wooden teeth. This wall had a picture of each king in chronological order (You can thank me later for not posting all of them). Here’s the first king depicted telling someone the bathroom is upstairs and to the left...

I forget what year Matrika said it happened, I think it was in the 1970’s- Anyways, the entire royal family was murdered... Except for one dude! He was the brother of the king or something. He’d gone out for a pack of smokes, and lucky him, his whole family was murdered and he became king. Some guys have all the luck.

This is the courtyard of the Palace. That guy’s not a soldier, he just likes cosplay...

Like I said, much of the palace and temples are under recontstuction. The white side of the building was built later by the British.

All of these windows were beautifully decorated with hand carved framing...

A bit hard to enjoy with the scaffolds, screams of band saws, and banging hammers...

Earlier that morning, while bouncing down the road on the bus, Matrika and I talked about the 2015 earthquake. He told me that Kathmandu wasn’t damaged nearly as badly as the rural areas. However, many of the old temples, shrines and palaces collapsed, thus the restoration of Durbar square.

****——Example of the fine craftsmanship. The center piece of this carving is about the size of my hand, there were hundreds of these—-****

****——These are plates? I don’t know what to call them, but they were salvaged from the parts of the building that were destroyed. They will be put back in place during the restoration——****

That was about it for the palace, the courtyard, and scaffoldings. This snake god statue was outside the main courtyard. I don’t like giant snakes...

The platform pictured below had a temple on it before the earthquake.

After the earthquake, thousands of people were homeless. Their villages had been leveled. Matrika and almost everyone else in Kathmandu picked areas to help. They’d go out on their days off with supplies, then they’d build villagers houses that were decent enough in which to sleep. He said the houses weren’t much but they provided shelter. This giving of time and goods went on for more than a year...

I think this is a good place to call it a post. The pic above can seem a bit benign, but to me it represents the massive destruction and suffering from the quake. I’m thankful for everyday my loved ones (and strangers) are spared from such catastrophe. The earth can shake, burn, flood, etc., and it’s all just... gone.

More Durbar Square, some streets, and a couple pics of Thamel in part 3 of 3.

Travelman log...
!steemitworldmap 27.7042 lat 85.3055 long Kathmandu Old City, Durbar Square Part 2/3,Nepal, d3scr
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