The Solo Traveler: Leaving Bhaisepati for Patan

As I was getting ready to leave Bhaisepati, I knew I wanted to begin my travels by spending more time in Patan. My weekend visit at Newa Chen had been so delightful, I chose a similar traditional place, Hira Guest House, two blocks away as a transition until I could find a long-term room.  It was a decision that changed my time in Nepal profoundly.

Hira began about two years ago with the leasing of a portion of a 200 year old Newari house, originally owned by the Hira family. The project of several ex-pats, the six-room guest house is run by a small group of young people in their early 20's. Their success providing personalized, friendly service and their enthusiasm for improving the business made them totally engaging.

The top floor, typical of Newar homes, was the restaurant and food preparation area along with the terrace. From here I could see the Golden Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, over the railing.
Some Golden Temple Professional Photos http://www.magic-photographer.com/2010/03/25/buddhist-golden-temple-unesco-world-heritage-site-patan-kathmandu-valley-nepal/

From the windows of my room on the right, family homes almost within reach.

 And from the windows on the left, more families.

Every morning and evening, the 12-year old priest from the Golden Temple, who leads for one month, made a circuit around the temple. Ringing a prayer bell and accompanied by guards (to protect him from being touched, in part), the priest stopped for prayers at several small holy places on the route.  One morning from the restaurant window, I finally got this speck of him hurrying along, barefoot, clad in white, with two men in blue shirts, one before and one after.

But it was meeting the three young people who kept the guest house going, along with two house keeping staff, that directly influenced how I spent some of my time during July and August in Patan.

My first personal conversation with Aman, the guest house manager, was about his plant growing experiment on his roof top terrace in a building several doors down the street from Hira. It turned out that his passion was a long term project on his family land in the Terai.  http://farmhousenepal.com/

If Esther had a job title, it would be co-manager.  From her, I learned that Hira Guest House's profits go to support a local orphanage. The beginnings of a website is at Mercy Mission to the Himalayas http://mercymissionnepal.org.np. She had grown up in a Kathmandu orphanage, reconnecting as a teenager with her natural family. She also lived for a while at Mercy Mission.

With the night guard who, typical of small establishments, also makes and serves breakfast, I ate eggs over easy--the only ones that qualify, in my experience in Nepal including attempts at several 5 star hotels--learned more about soccer, and went to a Sunday service at an international church.

Over the course of a month, I visited Aman's family in the Terai with Esther, went to a "bioponic" farm in Godawari with Aman, visited Mercy Mission with Esther, and got set up at the Joshi residence with Aman's help.

All in all, an internet search for an interim place to stay that turned out to be far better than expected.

A traditional Napali dinner hosted by Aman and Esther on their terrace

29 July--A Diverse Birthday

Several days before Tuesday, the 29th, I gave some thought to how I'd like to spend my birthday. In a vague way, I approach birthdays with the idea that the day's activities set the stage for the year to come.

I went on line and located a fancy-looking spa and booked an early morning massage.  Added to that was a short list of food and sites and people to complete my loose plan for the day.

Around dinner time on Monday, I got a call from my Bhaisepati friends inviting me to breakfast at the Hotel Himalaya to celebrate my birthday and my friend's birthday, also the 29th. www.hotelhimalaya.com.np
A quick phone call to the spa with an explanation about my birthday breakfast invitation produced a later appointment. So, I was delighted to begin my birthday with my friends.  Unfortunately, the husband, with whom I share the birthday, wasn't able to come because of illness. It was lovely, however, to see the girls and their brother, and share a breakfast with their mother.  It was also the second day of Eid al-Fitr which made the meeting even more special.

The family driver took me directly to the spa which was a gift, as I didnt know where it was located.  Several hours later, I left the spa feeling well-pampered and with a birthday gift certificate in hand.

It was a lovely, sunny day and from the spa I walked 20 minutes of so to Black Pepper for what I thought would be my main meal of the day.

Trying to set a good example for my new year, I walked the 40 or so minutes back to my room arriving hot and tired and looking forward to a rest in front of the fan.  Within minutes, Nischal, the son in the family home where I'm staying, was at my door.  He invited me to dinner that evening at 8:00.  Eid al-Fitr is a holiday in Nepal and the extended family was gathering to enjoy some time together.

So, I changed and was off to Bhat-Bhateni to buy a hostess gift--another 20 minute walk one way.

To fortify myself for a walk in the hot afternoon sun, I stopped by Swotha Kiosk for a coffee.  The organic coffee and tea shop has been a daily destination since I've been at the Joshi residence as it's located just a block away and has great coffee and the daily paper.

People here often ask my age, usually within minutes of meeting--a bit disconcerting.  The coffee shop owner had asked several weeks ago and I must have volunteered that my birthday was the 29th though I dont remember doing it.  When I went to pay for my coffee, he had remembered and the coffee was "on the house". (Yesterday, August 1st, the owner shared it was his birthday, though he doesnt usually tell people he said.)

With dates from Iran and chocolates from Switzerland in hand, I changed once more and was ready at 7:30 when Nischal knocked on my door.  Here I am in my kirtha with Hari Har, the father of the family and the owner of the home where I am staying.  We are on the top floor, the fifth floor in American terms, which consists of this room and the kitchen across the hall.

Hari Har and I

Nischal took me up to the terrace where he, Hari Har, and two son-in-laws were chatting, and six or more children were playing.  Shortly, a plate of food arrived for me.  No one else was eating. Hummm.  When I asked if they had eaten, yes, they had and would I please go ahead. Everyone's English was excellent which made conversation very easy for me.  The food was good consisting of potatoes, chicken, several crunchy snack foods, and an unidentifiable item which was delicious.  It turned out to be goat lung, stuffed with egg and flour, boiled and then fried. I finished most of the food and was more than full, this being my second dinner of the day.

We chatted some more.  Nischal had seen my passport when I took the room and quickly figured out how old I was. He was telling the group my age and said, "I know your birthday is soon."  With such a lead-in, I had to say that this was the day.  A short while after, Nischal left the group and a few minutes later, four little children, including his daughter, age five, appeared.  One after another, they said, "Happy Birthday, Grandmother," with a kiss on the cheek.  It was too sweet.

Then the most unwelcome news that dinner was ready.  Maybe 30 minutes had passed since I polished off a complete dinner which turned out to be a "snack".  Off we went to the fifth floor for a buffet style dinner! It, too, was delicious typical Newari food.  Dessert was special and Kabina's (Nischal's wife) contribution to the dinner...much, much better than cake, in my opinion.

My "no thank you" helping at dinner

This Joshi family gathering had the parents, their children, less one daughter who is in Canada, and their grandchildren, plus various in-laws.  Altogether, I guess there were about 35 people.  The holiday was an occasion for four families to come together which they said happens three or four times a year, in addition to many and various other holiday gatherings. After most family members had left, Siddhi presented me with a necklace and a bracelet as a birthday gift.

Left to right: Nischal, me, Siddhi (Hari's wife), Hari Har, Pritha (daughter who owns local restarurant) and Kabina

So by the end of the day, my birthday was delightfully full of surprise, people, exercise, food, and indulgence. A lovely, unique day.

A Visit to Lalitpur: Newa Chen

After I arrived here in mid-November, I spent hours trying to figure out where I was from a series of maps and online, how to spell the name of the suburb I was living in (there are at least three variations, perhaps four), and where to begin to make sense of this place.  For somewhat arbitrary reasons, I decided I would pay more attention to things Buddhist, rather than Hindu, to the Newar ethnic group, as they had populated the Kathmandu Valley since historic times with a rich cultural history, and to Newar architecture, one of three traditional styles in the country.

The Kathmandu Valley and its peoples are filled with layer upon layer of complexity and Lalitpur is no exception.  Lalitpur (Sanskrit for City of Fine Arts) is also known as Patan (derivation unknown me) and Yala (Newari after King Yalambar from the second century A.D.), among other names.  For the most popular legend about Lalitpur’s name see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patan,_Lalitpur

Located just across the Bagmati River from Kathmandu, Lalitpur is thought to be among the oldest settled areas in the Kathmandu Valley, so the guide books say.  Eventually (c. 1487) it became one of three strong city-states--the other two being Kathmandu (Kirtipur) and Baktapur. It is surrounded by rivers and built on a flat plain that was part of the large lake that once filled the Valley. Lalitpur has the same helter-skelter collection of buildings as Kathmandu, but perhaps because of its smaller area (about one-third the size of Kathmandu proper) and slightly fewer traffic jams, it feels friendlier to me. Until recently, the majority group in Lalitpur was the Newars who have a long history in Nepal as traders. http://www.btdc.com.np/newari-culture

From where I live, we drive the width of Lalitpur to get to downtown Kathmandu--about 10km; Amjad’s office is located in Lalitpur, and so is the zoo--both about 5km from the house. Although the south-north road to Kathmandu is very familiar, I looked forward to spending more time getting to know other parts of Patan.  (From what I can figure, “Patan” refers to the part of Lalitpur which encompasses the oldest part of the city.) So, in late April, I had my first several-day excursion to spend tourist-time in the old city.

I splurged on accommodations, as I was staying just two nights, and made a great choice in Newa Chen.  http://www.newachen.com/  By this point I had read a bit about traditional Newa homes, had wandered into the courtyards of more than several in Thamel (the old part of Kathmandu, filled with inquisitive tourists who wander everywhere, invited or not!). So I was enthusiastic about the prospect of spending time inside a “real” home. It was, as advertized, a faithful renovation of a 350 year old home with changes needed to make it a guest house. The owners, the Hyaamo family, collaborated with UNESCO, the local tourism organization, and various others committed to preserving the heritage and culture of the Newa people to accomplish the work.  It was truly a pleasure to spend time there.

The U-shaped roof line

Looking down to Patan Durbar

Newa Chen is a U-shaped building on one edge of a central courtyard, a pavilion-type structure in the form of a traditional public rest house, and the family residence at the far end of the courtyard. The photo is taken from the center of the second floor (3^rd floor in American terms) where breakfast is served.

Looking beyond the rest house, the reception area is on the left, an art gallery beyond the posts.

Breakfast was served outside in the rest house





or on the second floor.

There are eight guest rooms each named for an item of significance in Buddhist iconography.  My room was translated as Lotus Blossom.  This is the interior side of the door to the room.

And these locks provided the security on the outside.

The room, long and low, was two-thirds the length of the street-side of the guest house.  It was the first time I'd slept under a mosquito net.  When not in use, it is tucked up on the ceiling. The entryway, bathroom, wardrobe and bench were off to the left.  A sitting area with cushions on the floor and a low table was at the other end of the room opposite the beds.

There were half a dozen niches in the room, each with an interesting object. 

This set of three windows (sometimes five) is typical of Newar art and is a show piece. They are located just under the eaves of the building. The windows are pieced together from prefabricated units of different sizes and shapes. Each window consists of two frames, the inner plain frame and the carved outer frame, held together with wooden ties and wooden nails.

The set of elaborately carved windows above is on a building in Thamel, Kathmandu.

















"...the latticework is made by combining three different battens: a perforated batten, the serrated batten and the key batten. The lattice produced is pressed into the prepared frame and cannot be disassembled without dismantling the entire frame." (p 108, Korn)   I need closer looks to understand how the lattice is made!

The latticework accomplishes its purpose though--to see what is happening beyond the building without being observed from the outside.


Skip the paragraphs below, 
if you are not interested in more information about how traditional homes were generally organized.  Again, it was Korn's book that gave me the information.
     "A deciding factor for the utilization of different rooms in the house is its vertical location.  The size of the house is virtually irrelevant, as is the size of the family or the caste consideration.  Despite variations in the size and external decorations, common principles of space utilization developed between all social groups.
     A central wall...normally divides the ground floor into two narrow rooms, of which the front room usually services as a shop or workshop. [At Newa Chen, this is the art gallery and  no longer open to the street.] The back rooms are storage rooms, or workshops, opening onto the courtyard. [This area became the reception area, including interior stairs at each end.]
     ...
     The actual living space and sleeping areas of the family begins with the first floor. [There were five? guest rooms on this floor, one of them mine.]  Depending on the size of the house, the two rooms created by the central wall are further divided...to form sleeping quarters for family members, or for married sons, who remain in the parental home with their own family. [The house here in Bhaisepati, although modern in design, was built so that the owner's two sons, with their families, could live here comfortably with their parents.] 
     Of the common three-storyed house, the second floor is the main living and family area. [At Newa Chen, the common dining space, a business center, and three? guest rooms are on this floor.] ...
     Both the kitchen and the family shrine are located in the attic space.  Because of their religious significance, strangers and members of lower castes should never enter the kitchens or the precincts of a high cast shrine.  Room divisions seldom occur except for a rudimentary separation of the shrine.  Specially designed tiles and occasionally a dormer window give lighting and ventilation.  As a rule cooking and eating remain communal affairs involving the whole family."

A view of the attic from the top of the stairs at Newa Chen--the shrine at one end, the cooking area at the other.

     "The interior furnishings and decorations are very simple in contrast to the often extravagant facades.  After the clay and tile oven, the most important is the all-purpose straw-mat which serves as a carpet during the day and for sleeping on during night. ... In the morning the bedding of blankets and cotton rugs, is rolled up and stored away.  Clothing and valuables are kept in wall recesses and wooden chests.  A stove as a heating apparatus is unknown, and in its place portable clay bowls of various size are filled with burning charcoal. ... Clay or metal oil lamps...stand in wall recesses....
     Stocks of rice and other grain are stored in wooden chests or clay pots, while potatoes and vegetables are kept in bamboo baskets hanging below the overhanging roof.  Clay and brass pitchers are used as water utensils.  Wood, carried into the town from the hills by porters, is the usual heating fuel although the poorer people burn dried cow dung.
     Water for drinking and washing is collected from private or public wells, or from fountains situated in each sector of the town.
     The "bathroom" is either the courtyard, the roof terrace, the street or the place around the wells and fountains.  The latrine, formerly considered an unclean place, is not located in the house.  Instead, small children use the street or any open place, while men and women seek out segregated public latrines, which are narrow alleys hidden away behind walls."

This look at Newa Chen may seem to have way too many details except for two things:  I'm interested in the particulars of the traditional architecture which will become hazy for me as time passes if I don't write them down; every time I leave the gate at home, I see examples everywhere of the present day equivalents of the traditions above.


Source: The Traditional Architecture of the Kathmandu Valley, Wolfgang Korn, 1976

Construction Site at the Central Zoo

During our visit to the Zoo, there were a number of workers laboring on a construction project near the main gate. From what I have seen, demolition and construction are powered with human labor using basic tools--the 30 foot well at a nearby restaurant was dug by one man with a shovel supported by two men and a young boy on the surface; the bricks and mortar for the third floor of the house across the street were carried from piles on the street by women with baskets and tumplines; the 12 foot stone wall was dismantled with a hammer. The one exception has been the few pieces of heavy equipment I've seen in use for building and re-surfacing roads.

The Central Zoo in Patan

On a Saturday in late February, just as the weather was starting to warm up a bit, the family went to Nepal's only zoo.  It is located quite close to home and was begun as a private zoo in the early 1930's. Opened to the public in the mid 1950's, it is now run by The National Trust for Nature Conservation. It exceeded my rather low expectations.

driving in from the main street

waiting our turn to enter

an endangered gharial crocodile

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/reptilesamphibians/facts/factsheets/gharial.cfm

                                                        

White Pelicans

http://www.kidsbiology.com/animals-for-children.php?animal=Great%20White%20Pelican
                                                                                                            

The woman in the kirta is holding a fish, probably a carp, in her hand.  The pelican on the right has a fish in its pouch.

Blue Bulls

Black Buck Antelope

Barking Deer? fauns

A tool to chop straw for the animals

And an even bigger tool for chopping straw and corn stalks

Royal Bengal Tigers waiting for dinner

The greater one-horned rhinoceros  

Definitely an herbivore

Mr. Crow

Hummm...Himalayan Black Bear feet with claws

Rides are available from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.

Assamese Macaque

Giant Aldabra Tortise from the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles lives 100-250 years.

The Nepalese hobby horse

It was a lovely family day.