Himalayan Odyssey(23)

27th October, 2008
After arriving back at the Bhaktapur Guest House yesterday, thankfully now mostly free of the UTI that kept me in the city, today we are going to visit the old royal city of Bhaktapur itself. Dominic has already seen most of it of course on the day that I was obliged to return to the guest house in sorry state.

The walk into Bhaktapur city from the guest house is not long, taking about 15 minutes. On the way we stop to watch rice harvesting and threshing in a field using a treadle driven thresher.

Rice being harvested near Bhaktapur

The city, like Durbar Square in Kathmandu, is a 'pay to enter' proposition but the cost is low. There are many old buildings in the city and many of them are under restoration. Even though tourists have to pay a fee to enter the city, it is still very much a 'working' place and there is a grammar school just inside the gates.

Backstreets of old Bhaktapur

When buying our tickets we talk to the very friendly student manning the ticket booth. When he finds out that we are from Australia he tells us that he is learning to play the digeridoo.

Walking on into the city we are accosted by another young man whom I manage to offend with ease. As he comes alongside us I tell him that we do not need a guide thankyou, thinking that he is one of the usual touts who annoy tourists. In a slightly huffy voice he says that he is a student and just wishes to talk to us and be of whatever assistance he can. I am suitably chastened and he leads us through some interesting back streets before taking his leave - we wishing him well in his studies.

Rice spread out to dry in a square in old Bhaktapur

In Peacock Alley I buy a small wooden carving of 'Garuda' which will look good on the wall at home.

The eponymous Peacock Window, Peacock Lane, Bhaktapur

Then we visit a shop selling handmade paper that Dominic and the others visited the previous Saturday. After buying a small package of greeting cards the owner Mr Prajapati offers to give us a guided tour of the paper-making factory out the back. He then takes us up through the four-storey building explaining the contents of each floor until we arrive in his son's study on the top floor. We partake in a very welcome cup of tea with father and son while discussing the son's book publishing - he has written a guide book to Bhaktapur which will be published in paper form. There is also an explanatory book which will be printed locally on hand-made paper. Our suggestion to him is to also publish it electronically.

Following lunch after walking back we spend a lazy afternoon mostly just watching the rice-harvesting going on in the valley.