Bhaktapur: a mad pageant

The Saturday sky opened azure and there was excitement and a smell of turbine exhaust in the air as airlines sent one plane after another to Lukla airport to work off the backlog of cancelled flights. After being rained out yesterday and with a threat of bad weather returning Sunday, I've never been so happy to have a boarding pass in hand.

After the expansive serenity of Sagarmatha, returning to the big city was a shock. We stayed in Bhaktapur, a section of Kathmandu which is the oldest capital of Nepal.

Our hotel was part of a 750-year-old building, rustic/modern inside and featuring an elegant lokishura Buddha statue in the open-air lobby. The original people of Bhaktapur are of the Nawari cultue, some Hindu and some Buddhist. We found Nawari cuisine different and quite good.

Saturday was a Hindu holiday celebrating the birthday of the deity Rama, and we stumbled into a procession that was assembling to visit all of the Rama and Vishnu shrines. Chaotic and colorful.

Life is difficult in Nepal, the second poorest country in Asia. Though water resources are plentiful overall, the city experiences shortages and the locals draw it from communal wells. This one is in Dattatraya Square, in front of our hotel. During dry periods they let their containers sit in the bottom of the well until some water seeps in and may get only a liter per day for a family.

The famous Peacock Window is not only intricately carved, but the inner part is composed of woven wood fibers. A wood carving shop adjacent to the hotel is trying to duplicate it.

 Intricate wood carving is seen throughout Bhaktapur.

The paper making shop across from the Peacock Window displayed the various steps of the process. They made all kinds of paper and masks.

In Taumadhi Square the next day, there were more unexpected festivities.

We hoped to see butter lamps lit at the temples the evening before, but it happened in the day.

The National Art Museum in the former palace has a nice collection of Hindu and Buddhist art and artifacts.

All sorts of shops and entrepreneurs line the streets, like this sugar cane juice vendor.

After a salad (finally!) for lunch at the hotel, we took a city bus to Timi, a pottery-making center. We didn't find the pottery, but a minute after this photo was taken Judy was pulled into a parade/dance on the street. We were the only Westerners around and got quite a few curious looks.

And even the "correct technical name motor spirt" fuel truck was colorful.

Judy wisely planned three days in Bhaktapur as buffer time in case we didn't get out of Lukla on time. So we had two days here rich in experience. Now we're ready to head off to Bhutan for a week.