Bhai Tika – Brothers and Sisters Day

Some kids insisted I take their picture when I was walking around the backstreets. Looks tough, eh!

Some kids insisted I take their picture when I was walking around the backstreets. she looks like a toughy!

Day 75 – Location: Kathmandu; Nepal

15/11/12

Today was the final day of the Tihar festival,Bhai Tika – a day when sisters give their brothers a tikka to give them long life and thank them for their protection. After breakfast I waited for Ashman. He’d invited me to his house nearby to become an honourary brother for the ceremony, a kind gesture. We walked towards the monkey temple down the backstreets, arriving at a modern Nepali house. Upstairs we waited in Ashman’s large shared bedroom for the others to arrive. The interior was quite a modern affair and looked pretty western, definitely the highest living standard I’d seen in my visits to family homes. They even had a PC which I’d never seen in a Nepali house. Ashman’s elder brother arrived who shares the room. He’s 26 (Ashman is 22) and also works as a waiter in a nearby hotel. Then his cousin, her husband and three little girls joined us. His cousin was arranging a huge mountain of food onto silver trays.

Now that's a feast alright!

Now that’s a feast alright!

 

In Ashman's room was this hypnotic, pulsating psychedelic shrine. I've seen them in some businesses too.

In Ashman’s room was this hypnotic, pulsating psychedelic shrine. I’ve seen them in some businesses too.

After they’d made preparations for the ceremony more people arrived, an older man and his wife (I think he was their uncle), another female cousin, and Ashman’s younger brother. It gets confusing because in Nepal they also call their cousins “brothers” and “sisters”!

The “brothers”, ( the uncle, me, Ashman and his two brothers) were sat arranged eldest to youngest in a line, on two sides of a square because there wasn’t enough room for us. We had to sit cross-legged, a bit of a problem for me as I have no flexibility and long legs! I even got told off for not sitting properly but I explained it was physically impossible for me. One of the girl cousins, under direction from her mother, took a brass jug of water with grass coming out of the spout, and went in circuits around us dribbling water on the ground. This is holy water or oil and she was making a protective barrier for us, a ritual called Puja. Then she had a cup of holy water and a bunch of long grass which she dipped into the water and “painted” over the drip barrier she’d made.

Me and my "brothers" after the ceremony

Me and my “brothers” after the ceremony

Next she came along and dripped holy water on our heads, coming around again to comb the water into our hair. Now a silver tikka tray was produced filled with the brightly coloured powders I’d seen on sale in the streets. The cousin and her sister took it in turns to dab a line of coloured spots with cotton buds vertically on our forehead, held in place by a gluey paste. Inevitably some coloured powder was going onto our clothes or our faces causing some amusement amongst everyone, it wasn’t a stone-hearted affair.

The aunt carefully dots the tikka line on her son's forehead.

The aunt carefully dots the tikka line on her son’s forehead.

Ashman with his completed tikka

Ashman with his completed tikka

Now it was the brothers turn to give the sisters a tikka. They came along the line and we each put a coloured spot on their foreheads until they were finished. A tray of orange marigold petals was brought and the cousins sprinkled them over us. Finally we were each given a big malla – a garland of marigolds around our necks, plus a smaller garland of dried purple flowers for the two eldest, me and the uncle.

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It was eating time. Each of the brothers were given a small tray with baked fish and eggs, which were pretty tasty. I was already quite full from breakfast. After that the big silver trays heaped with food were brought forth. There was one tray for each of us! My eyes boggled at the amount of food, even with my notorious appetite there was no way I could even scrape the surface of this. They were stacked with round sweet roti donuts, apples, bananas, a box of nuts and chocolate, and little cakes/sweets similar to Indian ones. As we picked away at this feast even more food was produced – one of the cousins had big pots full of curried chicken, potatoes, chick peas and prawn crackers. I tried a bit of everything, the chicken being especially tasty. I was offered beer and whiskey, I asked to try the whiskey and was given a large glass! I said it’s too much but was waved off and so had a pretty tipsy lunch!

Oh god, we really have to eat all this?!

Oh god, we really have to eat all this?!

My stomach was fit to burst and I couldn’t eat any more. After finishing we each gave the female cousins some small money, another part of the ceremony. I thanked my guests and we left. Ashman was heading to another part of town to see another sister. I walked back to Freak Street and then headed out to Thamel where I took my broken camera zoom lens and broken waterproof camera to the repair shop. I spent the afternoon working on the blog at a café, and in the evening went to Yak restaurant again to meet the Dutch girls I’d met the previous night. We were soon joined randomly by some Aussies they’d met when trekking and we had a pretty chilled evening eating and drinking there. The girls weren’t up for another big night as they had to pack their bags, so I wished them well and toddled off home.

On the way back from Ashman's these kids asked for a photo. They were entertaining little rogues!

On the way back from Ashman’s these kids asked for a photo. They were entertaining little rogues!

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A dog sleeps next to souvenir masks at the Durbar Square

A dog sleeps next to souvenir masks at the Durbar Square

 

 

 

Newari New Year

Thamel lit by the Tihar lights

Thamel lit by the Tihar lights

Day 74 – Location: Kathmandu; Nepal

14/11/12

After the festival of lights I’d been planning to leave Kathmandu, but Ashman (my waiter friend from the hotel) had invited me to join him for the final day of the festival, tomorrow, so I decided to stay for that. Today was the Newari caste’s new year, and during breakfast I heard that there was music and dancing at the Durbar Square so I hurried out to catch it. Most of the shops were closed today, it being another national holiday. Durbar Square was crowded, and I climbed up the steps of one of the tiered temples to watch a long procession of musicians, flag bearers and shouting groups walk past the square for twenty minutes. One man was carrying a very long pole covered in flags, maybe two stories high, and was twirling it around his body athletically. The musicians in the procession played drums and cymbals and most of them had traditional dress: the men with black clothes and black Nepali hats, and the women with black and white dresses.

A festival street mural for Laxmi, goddess of wealth

A festival street mural for Laxmi, goddess of wealth

I walked into Thamel to collect my camera which had been in for a clean. There was a long convoy of open-backed jeeps driving through the streets, each full of young guys and girls drinking, singing, shouting and waving flags. Most had big speakers and were blasting out distorted dance music or had people shouting chants through microphones, with their passengers yelling out replies. It was fun and very noisy!

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After collecting the camera I came across a big convoy of motorbikes clogging the streets. There were hundreds, mostly ridden by young people, honking, revving, cheering and waving flags. There was barely room to squeeze past.

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On the way back to Freak Street I bought a 100% goose-down jacket for the cold evenings. A copy of course, but three times cheaper than you can get at home. It made me look like the Michelin man but it would be really warm and ideal for trekking if I went again. Goose-down jackets are very light and they compress to the size of a small sleeping bag.I passed more convoys of jeeps blasting out music, and dancing in the streets on the way back to Freak Street.

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I got some lunch in the wi-fi bar across the road, one of the only open places in the area. A graying, overweight and long-haired German hippy in his 50’s joined me at my table and we got chatting. He works as a translator online and has been travelling for 6 months in India. He’s now in Nepal for another 5 months. He had a nasty story; in India his landlord sent a gang of guys to beat him up to try and get money from him. He left the country soon afterwards, disillusioned with the attitude of the locals to Westerners living there. He told me that although on the surface this area of Kathmandu seems alright, he’s been hanging out for a while in shisha bars and he’s seen guys throwing around big wads of cash – he is convinced there’s a lot of drug dealers and human traffickers around here. Like every big city there’s a seedy underworld. He was going to be travelling South East Asia as well and gave me some advice on good places I should check out.

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I bid him farewell and rested at the hotel for a while. Once it was dark I was bored and feeling fed up and a bit lonely. Although I like Freak Street it’s not a great place to meet solo travelers. I decided to head into Thamel to see if any celebrations were still going on. Sure enough I came across a street performance with singing, music and traditional dancing. The dancers had painted faces and were dressed in gold, twirling around energetically to the songs. It drew quite a crowd.

Celebrating with drums and singing

Celebrating with drums and singing

 

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After it was over I went to Yak restaurant for dinner. The tables here are shared so I hoped to find some company. Sure enough I was sat at a table with an old lady from Brussels and two Dutch girls. The old lady was a bit eccentric but quite an inspiration. In her late 70’s and she was still going trekking. She said she loves walking and Scotland is her favourite country. She had recommendations for the best trekking areas in Nepal and India. The Dutch girls were cool and were travelling together. They’d be leaving the day after tomorrow for Bangkok. We ended up going to a nice bar together and chatting the night away. It was just what I needed to perk me up a bit and we suggested meeting tomorrow evening.

Made completely from coloured rice and other vegetables!

Made completely from coloured rice and other vegetables!

I walked back home and hit the hay, quite tipsy after happy hour cocktails. Although it was after 10, in other countries you might think twice about wandering dark narrow streets at night, but in Nepal people of all ages are still wandering around and it doesn’t feel dodgy as long as you use common sense.

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Thamel is lit up for the new year

Divali: The Festival of Lights

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Day 72- Location: Kathmandu, Nepal

13/11/12

It was the third day of Tihar, called Divali (or Diwali), the Hindu festival of lights. I wanted to go around in the evening to see the lights and so I had the day free. I wandered up to Thamel. It was still super-busy in town and I walked some of the backstreets on the way, coming across food stalls selling sweets and cakes for the festival, and many people selling mallas (marigold garlands). In Thamel I went around the shops asking about prices of sleeping bags, jackets and other bits and bobs I’d need for another trek. Now that winter was coming it was going to be very cold up in the Everest region where I was interested in going. Prices wildly varied and in some cases I knew you could get half of what they were originally offering. I also popped into the courier agency I’d used to send my passport application and they confirmed it had arrived in Hong Kong. Good.

A weird walking guy. These iPod t-shirts are really popular here and Facebook ones too.

A guy with a really weird walk. These iPod shirts are really popular here and so are Facebook ones.

 

Busy festival market

Busy festival market

 

Festival mallas

Festival mallas

 

Tihar food for the brothers and sisters day

Tihar food for the brothers and sisters day

Today there were groups of kids going around from shop to shop with drums or tambourine shakers chanting out a repeating song. They would stand in the doorway of the shop making all this noise until the owner brought out some small money to give to them. I saw this throughout the day with loads of groups. It’s kind of their version of our Halloween trick or treat (though no tricks!) and with so many shops in the area they must leave with a good haul!

Children's band

Children’s band

I had a tasty English breakfast bun in a restaurant and continued my hunt, asking about tours and trekking in travel agencies. I found a camera shop which was the first I’d found in Nepal to offer sensor cleaning as a service. I had two spots on my sensor which I couldn’t remove with my blower and so every photo had two dark marks in them. The guy knew what he was talking about and said they could also look at my broken big lens and my broken waterproof camera. I decided to come back later to get everything fixed.

Thamel

Thamel

 

Street butchers. Nice jaw bones.

Street butchers. Nice jaw bones.

 

Some dogs get walked just like home. They are always posh breeds. I was told they often escape and breed with the street dogs to make the funny hybrids you see around!

Some dogs get walked just like home. They are always posh breeds. I was told they often escape and breed with the street dogs to make the funny hybrids you see around!

I walked to the KEEP office that I’d been to before with Camille, to get some more information on treks. Unfortunately it was closed for the festival. On the way I saw a man decorating the ground in front of a hotel entrance with coloured powder. Behind it, leading into the hotel grounds was a trail of orange paint with little red footprints. I asked what it was for and they told me it’s for Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Further through the day I’d see people doing the same outside many other homes and businesses with designs of varying intricacy.

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I walked back to Freak Street. On the way I bought a hoody, the nights were getting way too cold now for the few layers I owned. I had a nap at the hotel and around 4pm went to the tempo stop near the bus station.

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I caught a tempo going to Bodnath stupa, which I’d visited about a week ago but in the daytime. As today was the festival of lights I was hoping the place would be lit up and I knew the locals did their rounds there in the early evening. Half an hour later I arrived and entered to find the place packed. There were crowds of people walking around the stupa, way more I’d seen the last time I came. There were a lot of Tibetans and some groups of women were singing. A line of beggars were along one section and people would stop to give each one money. The sound of drums, cymbals and horns wafted down from the monastery windows. The sun was already setting and I only got a few golden light photos before the shadow came – I should have come half an hour earlier.

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The line of beggars

The line of beggars

 

Making the daily prayers

Making the daily prayers

 

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Another Laxmi line being constructed leading into the business.

Another Laxmi line being constructed leading into the business.

After a few rounds of the stupa I was hungry and climbed up to a rooftop restaurant in the circle of buildings. The view was good, the stupa in full view and the sky slipping into twilight, temple tops, roofs and the hills in the distance silhouetted against the orangey blue. As I tucked into the tastiest pizza I’d had in my travels (it was only a veggy one too!) I soaked in the atmosphere as loud, alien sounding horns boomed out with the sound of chanting and drums waving over the site.

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It was dark now and I did some more stupa circuits. Outside the shops butter lamps had been lit around the ornate designs painted on the ground in front of each one. Other lamps sat in hollows along the stupa wall. I passed a monk who was sat meditating despite the bustle and hustle passing him.

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Inside a doorway in the stupa wall was a small area where inlaid statues were lit by lamps. I had my tripod and took photos of them, a young kid was watching with interest. I called him over so he could see the camera screen, and let him push the remote trigger to take photos, which he loved.

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Outside I walked by tables full of lit butter lamps for sale, and one small shrine was covered in them, a monk lighting and placing them on steps around it.

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I caught a taxi to Thamel and we drove by buildings wreathed in coloured electric lights. It looked like Christmas. So many buildings had rows of lamps and the Laxmi paint designs on the floors. It was really nice.  In Thamel I dropped my camera off to get the sensor cleaned, and then walked back to Freak St. The lamps sitting along the narrow old streets on the way made for a charming scene, it felt like I’d entered a fairytale book. I popped into the local bar to use the wi-fi and then went to bed.