To say that Nepal is rich in customs and tradition is to say that the moon rises every night. Ritual, custom and tradition pervade every aspect of Nepali life. From 2 minute blessings walking past one of 5 temples in a 50 metre street, to morning prayers on holy sites, to customs not allowing women to enter kitchens or temples when menstruating, to almost daily celebrations of one god or another, to bowing to your elder relations entering their presence, to placing colourful chalk in the middle of your forehead when coming or going, to placing your mother in law’s feet on your head to show respect whenever you see her.
Nepal’s diverse culture is very wonderfully demonstrated in its food. Of course, without a large serving of rice a meal is not complete in Nepal, but the types and tastes of curries, condiments and starters vary dramatically throughout Nepal. For a foodie, Nepal is a Restaurant of many assorted and wonderful discoveries.
Kathmandu
Kathmandu, the capital and largest city, attracts people from across Nepal to work and live. It remains in a loud, bustling, beeping, chaotic state most of the time. Continued concrete square blocks sprawl across it’s valley with streets of dips, rocks and holes circling throughout. Travelling from one side of Kathmandu to the other is a feat in itself, especially by microbus. Microbuses are the city’s form of public transportation that are not for the faint of heart. Microbuses are little more than vans fit to hold 8 people somewhat comfortably, although in Kathmandu this comfort is stretched to a modest 25 or 30. Breathing is optional.
I don’t know if it’s the traffic lights, a present from the Japanese government, that grace the major intersections in silence, with Nepali Police Officers always and continuously managing the chaotic motions of motorised and wheeled contraptions, but there is something mesmerising about the constant push, pull and likely death at any moment roads of Kathmandu.
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