Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Flew to Delhi on Monday afternoon no problem but when we arrived at the transit desk, found out our flight to Kathmandu was cancelled. After much waiting and negotiating, managed to get on a late night flight with another airline.
Spent the morning wandering through the streets of Thamel. So many small shrines and temples dotted throughout the city. Checked out the old 70’s era hippie enclave of Freak Street then concentrated our sightseeing on Durbar Square, the heart of Kathmandu. So many amazing temples but so sad to still see so much destruction from the devastating 2015 earthquake. Climbed up the remains of one of the main temples we sat on 33 years ago when we first visited Nepal. Many of the Durbar structures were closed for renovation including the Royal Palace and Museum . One of the untouched buildings in the square was that of the home of the Kumari. She is the living goddess of the Nepalese Nuwari. The building has a beautifully carved courtyard. The Kumari only comes out of her house 13 times a year and her feet may never touch the ground. Amazingly enough, just after having coffee later in the day we saw her glide by us in her palaquin !! Not every day you see a living goddess. We just happened to be there during a major festival so got to see the procession of the god statue in his enormous chariot thru Durbar Square.
