Pringles and rice and rice and rice!

Up early today for pick-up at Tiger Mountain to head to the airport, then back to Kathmandu for the final 2 days of my trip.

The schedule is jam-packed and while I am pooped I know it only makes sense to make the most of my final time here.

Easy flight to Kathmandu though funny enough when I got to the airport I was told I was on a different flight that was scheduled to leave 2 hours earlier but was delayed. Weird. but ok. It worked.

Once I hit the ground in Kathmandu I was greeted my my guide, Suresh, and driver, Gulson. Remember them from the beginning of the trip??? (It will be my last day with them. 😥 Wow, my trip really is coming to an end. Bummer.)

I didn't think we had lunch on the schedule but I wasn't sure so I stopped at the stand in the Kathmandu airport and bought a snack. Of course I thought of Gene because if he had been there he would have killed me for buying them, but not for the reason you think. He LOVES Pringles and whenever I buy them he can't stay out of them. It's totally unlike him because he can always exercise restraint but for some reason Pringles bring him to his knees 😂

I asked Gulson if it was okay if I ate in his car. "Of course." So, "of course" I offered some to him and Suresh. Both took some 😋

Now, I was curious if Suresh would because he seemed like he was rather health-conscious, and right on point, when he took some he said, "You have to have junk food sometimes." Right on, Suresh!

I am going to be totally honest. By now my brain is pretty zapped. It's overflowing and I am just really wanting to be home, but, Good News - The day ended up being great! I was on the tired side and didn't take as many photos as I would have otherwise but I am so glad we did what we did.

But please keep in mind I am not certain of where we went, becuase, well I was tired LOL.

First stop: Somewhere in the outskirts of Kathmandu. Let's call them the "suburbs." But picture the suburbs with rice fields in between homes and women everywhere winnowing rice and preparing it to dry. And of course, dogs, dogs and more dogs.

Oh my, the women work SO hard!!!

Do you know why there are wearing masks???

This scene is unfolding EVERYWHERE we go today.

In open air spaces, on temple grounds, in small alleyways.

"Just" for rice.

I think I should never look at rice the same.

I take it for granted as a cheap, easy staple.

For them, it is life and they work REALLY hard for it.

**Side-note: I am home now (and obviously working to get caught up on my blog.) One of the things I am really trying to work out in my mind and heart is how to make sure my trip was not in vain, only for myself. I want things I saw and experienced to seep into my veins and become part of me. It's not easy because once back home all the "old ways" kick in.

Question: What about seeing all of these women working so hard to put rice on the table can I use? How can I make sure to honor their hard work?

Please, let me know what you think ...

Anyway, back to the day at hand. (Ok, so I just looked at the itinerary to see where I was.) So far we are in Bungamati Village and then we went to Khokana - another Newari village. I do not know where one ends and the other begins in the photos ...

Bungamati is a classic Newari village that dates back to the 16th century.

Anyway, Suresh and I continued to wander. This day was not about visiting tourist places. In fact I don't think we saw any. Prabin who was the manager of my private touring knew that I really wanted to see and experience authentic Kathmandu. He put this day together. Thank you Prabin!

What we did see were temples, and dogs, and kids, and men playing cards (day after Tihar ended so they were still in festival mood.). Suresh was pointing out new architecture vs old.

Suresh pointed out the three eras of construction materials. See below.

Bottom is rock which is what was originally used.

Then mud bricks mortared with more mud.

Then newer bricks.

We talked about how some people and communities still have not fully recovered from the 2015 earthquake. And no, they don't have homeowners insurance here. People are at the mercy of their own funds and whatever little government assistance they can get to rebuild.

Until the funds are available to rebuild their home ...

Typical square -

temple, dog, drying rice ...

Temple still in process of being rebuilt since earthquake.

It was really cool and inspiring to see how

they try to reuse original materials as much possible.

After the earthquake locals sifted through the rubble

and organized what could be reclaimed.

Since it was the day after the festival the marigold garlands were still hanging around the homes.

Look at those gorgeous doors!

AND the offerings were still outside many of the front doors.

I can't recall exactly why they do this.

And I am not sure the goat cares "why" 😂

More rice ...

One stop is a woodworkers shop. He and his team make and sell some beautiful pieces. Many small but some large and spectacular, very detailed pieces.

I just HAD to buy Ganesh!

More rice 😂 a monastery and yes, another dog.

I think it's somewhere around here that Suresh spots a shop that sells spices. He says, "Oooh. They usually have really fresh, pure turmeric."

He then tells me how shops in Kathmandu often sell less-than-pure turmeric, and for a much higher price. He asked if it was okay for him to stop in and check.

Of course! Was he kidding??? It would be my pleasure to experience a "real" interaction.

Spoiler Alert - No photos of this. Somehow it felt intrusive as I was just trying to be a fly on the wall while Suresh conducted his business.

Let's see how clear of a word picture I can create ... The store does not appear to be fully open as the shutter is only halfway up. Suresh walks up and pops his head under and speaks in Nepali to the older man sitting on the floor behind the counter

We enter and Suresh speaks to the man.

The man is very respectful and offers me a Namaste. He is sitting cross-legged on the floor, watching something on a small phone, and he is busy working on something.

He is filling what looks like really long rolling paper with some type of herb. I think. Maybe incense??? I think that seems right now that I recall it.

Then the man calls for someone from the back and out comes a young man. He and Suresh have a conersation and the young man grabs a huge tub of turmeric.

Suresh tastes it. Then he clearly asks for some.

The young man measures out the desired quantity on the scale. Not a digital one. (Under the counter there is a series of weights that he uses for the scale. He grabs a large one - 1kg - and then places it on one side of the scale.) Wow. Old school. It works, of course. (Sometimes I wonder about our obsession with new technology when the old works.).

Can you picture 1kg? Probably not, if you are like most Americans. (We really need to move to the metric system like the ENTIRE rest of the WORLD!)

Anyway, it's a really big bag of turmeric. (technically just over 2 lbs) I ask Suresh how much he paid - 4USD. Hold cow! You cannot buy a small bottle of turmeric for $4 in the US.

And that's it. Suresh is happy. He has his pure turmeric.

We continue our stroll.

At some point we come across a collection of ducks. Suresh says we are in an area where they don't eat chicken but they do eat duck and duck eggs. I wish I could remember why, especially since I know he told me. (Don't forget, I was tired so lots of it went in one ear and out the other that day.)

Up next: One of my favorite "stops," on our stroll.

I can't recall exactly how this went down but all of a sudden Suresh is talking to this man who is sitting on the stoop. Then Suresh starts telling me about the man's earrings. His earrings reflect this age, in a certain range, not exact years There is a tradition that once a person reaches certain ages in old age, there is a celebration and an earring. When that person reaches a higher old age range, another hoops. This man has two hoops in each ear so we know he is in his 80s. So cool!

Ooh, I just remembered. I witnessed a particular ceremony - Pasni - a rite of passage. No pictures but just bear with me. The family is dressed up, especially the baby. Suresh points them out and says, "It's Pasni - the rice-feeding ceremony."

Pasni is when the baby officially goes from milk only to solid foods.

I LOVE how much they celebrate different aspects of life. (Lecture time: LOL I think this is sorely missing in our country. And I have thought this for a long time. We don't have enough milestones that really celebrate different phases of life.)

(What made me recall this right now is that when we were with this man Suresh pointed out that I saw a baby and his family earlier in the day celebrating Pasni and now I am seeing a man at the other end of the spectrum of life celebrating those milestones.)

One of the things we were supposed to do is visit a Mustard Oil "factory," but since Tihar had just ended the day prior many places were still closed.

Now, mind you, I had never heard of mustard oil until this trip. I saw it used several times while watching cooking demos. Once back home I bought some to cook Nepali food. The oil is SO fragrant. Think of liquid dijon. YUM!

We meet Gulson and then drive to Kirtipur - one of the oldest settlements in Kathmandu Valley.

On the way we stop on a bridge to enjoy the views of the river below and the gorge on the other side - Chobar Gorge. The gorge is where all the water of Kathmandu Valley drains.

There are many people leisurely strolling. Don't see many, if any, westerners (at least based on skin tone.). I suspect this is not a normal tourist stop. Again, that makes me happy.

Suresh proceeds to share the folklore of both Buddhist and Hindu traditions about the creation of Kathmandu Valley.

"Would it be possible to cut off a mountain or a hill with a sword? There is a dramatic saga about a Buddhist deity, Manjushri (sometimes identified as an incarnation of goddess Saraswati) in connection to the current Kathmandu Valley. He is credited for transforming the big lake into a valley by means of his ‘Bajra’, a mythical and mighty lighting sword. Local legends suggest that it was a one blow cut.

Geologist and theologians rarely find much common ground but in this story of Kathmandu valley, they both agree that the valley, eternities ago was a lake. Swayambhunath and its elevated land used to be an Island. Geologists suggest that the lake was likely drained by a series of land erosions initiated a gradual but complete drainage of water eventually. Some claim that the erosion was likely an earthquake initiated one. The point of escape of water is known as Chobhar gorge today. It became the valley we can recognise today."

Copied from, https://honeyguideapps.com/blog/chobar-gorge-in-kathmandu-nepal

He also tells me how there are caves here and when he was younger he would go down and birdwatch. By the way, Suresh is an AVID birdwatcher. He even published a book, A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Chitwan. Cool!

We watch a variety of birds fly along the gorge and settle into crevices on the gorge walls. Lovely.

(Sidenote: Honestly I did not take any photos in the other direction on the opposite side of the bridge. The Bagmati River is very polluted and it smells over there. Suresh tells me why and I can't remember but it made me sad.)

After a few minutes we get back in the car and continue our journey to Kirtipur.

Suresh goes inside and comes back a moment later. (I think to buy a pass for bringing me into the area.)

We set out on foot to explore ...

Right away I notice it seems cleaner than other areas. (No judgment - just saying.) I also notice (I think this is where) for the first time (I think) small trashcans outside of each front door. Correlation???

Also, throughout the community we discover murals painted on the walls depicting important aspects of Newari life. Suresh knows I like art and had been particularly interested in street art and public art so I know he was quite pleased for me to see this. It all looked quite freshly painted and Suresh had not been familiar with it.

It turns out it was part of a very recent initiative. Great story here.

There may have been more but these are the ones we saw. Love it - a great way to honor tradition and culture, especially as life hurls away from the past.

No visit to Kirtipur is complete without a trip to Bagh Bhairab Temple - an historic Hindu temple.

Hello goat! Who cannot love this pic???

The temple - which I did not take a picture of - I was tired and that sounded like effort LOL sits atop a hill with SPECTACULAR 360° views of Kathmandu Valley. (Sorry but just couldn't capture that with my camera.)

We continued our walk and stopped at Chilanco Bahal - a very, very old sacred place. Both Hindus and Buddhists worship here.

At this point I was working on temple and stupa fatigue. Not to be rude, just a reality of travel. At some point all the churches, castles, temples, run together and no longer elicit the same enthusiasm.

I am SO glad I took these two pictures becuase now that I read about it and look at my photos I see how uniquely beautiful it is with its exposed brickwork.

I think Suresh told me what this object is - but I jsut can't recall.

I just thought it was beautiful!

Now as you join me in this walk, please realize that we have passed MANY MANY women drying rice in all kinds of places. Tucked on smalls streets, on temple grounds, in front of homes.

I so wanted to capture photos of women doing it on the tiny alley-like streets but it just felt wrong so you will just have trust me and imagine.