It was the perfect weekend afternoon to make our way through the heart of Kathmandu. The streets around Durbar Square are an endless maze of shops and temples. Even in the low-season, there were still plenty of people. And I'm almost certain that we, with four children in tow, stood out more than the usual tourist. See for yourself...
I'm not sure if you can tell, but there are at least 7 people in the below photo looking at us. Check it out:
Of course, we couldn't let the opportunity pass by to do some shopping of our own. Luckily I learned how to bargain hard years ago, and I can now bargain in Nepali, so we walked away with some pretty good stuff for a fairly decent price. The shopkeepers tell me that they are giving me the "real Nepali" price, but I think it's more along the lines of a "Nepali-speaking foreigner" price. Oh well. Probably better than just the regular "total foreigner" price.
But the highlight is Durbar Square, and the surrounding temples. Tucked deep inside the bazaar, centuries-old Durbar Square is truly an amazing sight. The pagoda-style buildings are not Chinese, but rather (as some claim) a pre-cursor to the Chinese Pagoda. In any case, it's spectacular.
Durbar Square is also a great place to take a rickshaw ride. It was our first-ever family rickshaw ride! Quite the historic moment for us. The kids (mostly) loved it, and it was very much an appropriate time to say "We're not in Falls Church, Virginia anymore!" No kidding, my daughter totally said that. And she wasn't even making a pop-culture reference to Dorothy and Toto. It was just the absolutely correct thing to say.
At first, the rickshaw driver was more concerned about getting his photo taken with his fingers up his nose, but he eventually got down to haggling and we were off!
And to make it an even more historic day, I spent the evening making cookies for the first time in like 20 years. Yes, they were peanut butter cookies with chocolate on top, and, yes, I have the photo to prove it.
A great way to end a pretty great day in Kathmandu...
I'm not sure if you can tell, but there are at least 7 people in the below photo looking at us. Check it out:
Of course, we couldn't let the opportunity pass by to do some shopping of our own. Luckily I learned how to bargain hard years ago, and I can now bargain in Nepali, so we walked away with some pretty good stuff for a fairly decent price. The shopkeepers tell me that they are giving me the "real Nepali" price, but I think it's more along the lines of a "Nepali-speaking foreigner" price. Oh well. Probably better than just the regular "total foreigner" price.
But the highlight is Durbar Square, and the surrounding temples. Tucked deep inside the bazaar, centuries-old Durbar Square is truly an amazing sight. The pagoda-style buildings are not Chinese, but rather (as some claim) a pre-cursor to the Chinese Pagoda. In any case, it's spectacular.
Durbar Square is also a great place to take a rickshaw ride. It was our first-ever family rickshaw ride! Quite the historic moment for us. The kids (mostly) loved it, and it was very much an appropriate time to say "We're not in Falls Church, Virginia anymore!" No kidding, my daughter totally said that. And she wasn't even making a pop-culture reference to Dorothy and Toto. It was just the absolutely correct thing to say.
At first, the rickshaw driver was more concerned about getting his photo taken with his fingers up his nose, but he eventually got down to haggling and we were off!
And to make it an even more historic day, I spent the evening making cookies for the first time in like 20 years. Yes, they were peanut butter cookies with chocolate on top, and, yes, I have the photo to prove it.
A great way to end a pretty great day in Kathmandu...
Chris- it looks absolutely positively wonderful! Best wishes,
ReplyDeleteTiffany
Makes good reading Chris! If its not too much to ask ,pls inbox me the recipe for peanut butter cookies....good luck wih your journey.I can so relate to so many things you write about and it makes me smile to see the same things from a different perspective.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Sumi
So glad you're blogging! I'm thrilled to be able to keep up with all your adventures! Love the photos! And the kids have gotten so big!
ReplyDelete