I almost did not go to Nepal. With the fuel crisis due to the current blockade from India and the aftermath of the earthquake in April, it did not seem like the best time to go. I was unsure of its safety or ease of getting around. I am extremely glad I decided to still go because Nepal is a beautiful country that I now wish I had spent more time in and will definitely be returning to. I’ve been telling everyone I’ve met during my travels to go!

Arriving in Kathmandu, the capital, this was the first real adventure of my trip. I had zero plans whatsoever, and I really intended on just figuring it out as I go. The first night I was incredibly disoriented, but I had my first introduction to a meal I was going to be eating a lot of: dal bhat, which is simply rice, lentils, cooked veggies, and papad. Needless to say I got sick of this really quick. Luckily I finally figured out the food situation in Nepal, meaning, not to eat Nepali food. This tiny hole in the wall Indian place had the best naan I’ve ever had in my life and on a little street corner was an amazing falafel wrap for barely over a dollar. Entire meals for $1-$3. I love Asia.

Thamel is the ‘backpacker’ area where everyone pretty much stays. I decided to venture out to the Swyambunath, or monkey temple, with a fellow backpacker from Portland. There was an entrance fee for foreigners, but at this point I had been asked a dozen times if I was Nepali, so I used this to my advantage. The temple was perched on a hill overlooking the city which was surprisingly huge. There were a few cute monkeys here and there, when all of a sudden a deluge of 200 monkeys come running up the stairs. A stampede of monkeys is pretty cool until you remember you don’t have a rabies shot— and then you are terrified. Some of these monkeys were fighting pretty intensely and I was not about to get bitten. 

Towards the end of my stay I visited Pashupatinath (there isn’t a lot to see in Kathmandu), which is a hugely famous Hindu Shiva temple. Again I played the “Ignore me I’m Nepali” card speaking terribly broken Hindi, and walked right in (it’s also restricted to Hindus only). This temple was incredibly old.. and incredibly dirty, unlike the immaculately clean Buddhist temples you see all over Southeast Asia. I stopped on the bridge to watch the cremations that were going on. I don’t really know how to describe seeing multiple open cremations at once, but it’s strange. I had never seen a cremation before, let alone a dead body. Admittedly I was morbidly curious. The smell of the burning bodies eventually made my stomach sick so I left shortly. For a while though, I watched a man who was lying over his father’s body (presumably) waiting for the cremation to begin. It was moving.

Nepal in general reminds me of India. Sort of like an India lite. To my surprise it was extremely backpacker friendly and there were so many other solo travelers (since it is the mecca of trekking). I wish I had ventured west and gone to Pokhara or visited Chitwan National Park. This just means there will have to be a next time now!!