In search of Everest

On Saturday Bernie and I headed for Nagarkot where, if our luck held out and the monsoon clouds lifted enough, we might get a glimpse of Everest. A young taxi driver picked us up at Baluwatar Chowk (traffic intersection closest to CECI Place) and off we headed. There is currently a bus strike (called Bonda) on so taxis are at a premium. We were lucky to get one within the appropriate price range. Just past Pashupati nath we did a driver switch. Older brother Ramesh took over. He turned out to be much more than a taxi driver. He was a veritable tour guide, answering our questions and offering to stop whenever we wanted to take pictures. The road was full of potholes and as we rose into the hills it turned into a series of narrow switchbacks. Every curve I held my breath praying not to meet some truck. Somehow we managed to avoid them even when we did meet. The teeming city had turned into a lush green countryside with rows and rows of meticulous terracing containing mainly corn, rice and potatoes. Housing construction changed as well. More and more we began to see the bamboo slat and adobe style houses common in other developing countries. It took us over an hour to travel less than 30 kilometers.

Ramesh took us to probably the most expensive hotel in Nagarkot. Luckily it was full. The next hotel, Countryside Villa turned out to be on the expensive side though we talked them down from $75 US to $40 US per night. It was lovely – built into the hillside overlooking a valley that was bordered on the far side by the towering Himalayas. Everest was there but mostly obscured by cloud. Periodically we would get glimpses that Bernie and I agreed had to be Everest.

After a session of bird-watching accompanied by a drink and snacks on the outdoor balcony, we headed out for a trek. We sauntered down the rough track leading up to the hotel, checking out some of the lesser hotels as well as the birdlife. Bernie identified the big birds circling overhead as Kites. At Club Himalaya we discovered a tourist map that indicated a lookout tower 4 km past the hotel, so off we headed. The road wound ever upwards past spectacular views on one side and army ranger training grounds on the other. We satisfied the guards with a friendly ‘Namaste’ as we passed. Ramesh had indicated that this was a ‘Lovers Lane’ and his description was borne out by the number of couples that passed us on motorcycles heading upward. After a struggle reminiscent of the climb out of the Grand Canyon, we made it to the lookout tower. The place was obviously pretty popular because there were a number of picnicking families and quite a few couples wandering about. I actually think that some of the views on the way up were better, but by the time we arrived the clouds were moving in again.

It had taken us two hours to climb the 4 km and it took less than an hour to get back to our hotel. We cleaned up then met on the balcony for a delicious supper of local Thali. This was the first time since I arrived in Nepal that I needed my sweater. It is definitely cooler in the mountains.

It poured rain that night but had stopped by morning. I was up by 5:30 am to watch the spectacular sunrise that I had been told about. I had to chuckle when I stepped out on the balcony into a thick blanket of fog. You could barely see the balcony below let alone the valley or mountains beyond. I sat for a bit and watched as the fog tried to break up, but eventually went back to bed.

Bernie and I had a wonderful buffet breakfast (North American style) with omelettes and fruit and watched for the fog to lift. It kept teasing us by lifting off the valley and letting the sun through and then rolling back in.

Ramesh had promised to come back to pick us up because, as he pointed out, we would have a lot of difficulty trying to catch a taxi back from Nagarkot. He arrived somewhere around noon and we headed towards Bhaktapur to see the ancient palace and temples. The ride back down the switchbacks was even more harrowing than the ride up. It was a relief when we arrived in Bhaktapur.

The Durbar Square here is magnificent. Pictures just don’t really do it – not mine, anyway.

We spent the next few hours wandering around the quaint cobbled streets of the town, checking out the amazing wooden architecture, Thanku painting, clay pottery, and wood carvings.

There is a lot of eroticism in some of the depictions of the Hindu gods in the Thanku paintings and wooden carvings. Ramesh pointed out a few of the more famous ones. He also pointed out the famous peacock window and the palace of 55 windows. He was a thorough tour guide, making sure we saw all the major sites in Bhaktapur. By the time we headed home, Bernie and I were wiped.

Back at CECI Place I cleaned up, snacked on a few things, and because the internet wasn’t working, went to bed early.