vaga #6/2 Waking up in Thamel

PART II

Kathmandu and what happens inside that photo at least for the "eyes of the vagabond"

Thamel, is a central, historic and commercial neighbourhood in Kathmandu.

the next chapters of "vaga#6" Nepal, will be  Thamel, since it is a great centre of activity and there will be many images because  there are so many things that happen within its chaotic labyrinth

WAKEUP IN THAMEL

I arrived in Kathmandu at 3 am (as I have already mentioned the cheapest plane tickets). I took a taxi to the hotel that I had pre-booked  in Thamel, after a while the taxi went down through alleys, a labyrinth of earth. All very dark and lifeless until it stopped at a dead end, with half or a  little English he told  me "Its here". I swallowed, and my stomach tightened, ' I said to myself, take it ', he looked sure of what he said, an absolutely dark alley, black, just the lights of the small  Suzuki about 20 years old that barely illuminated anything. Pufff !!! there was the hotel. I breathed again, and they were waiting for me there. I always ask for a room with a window and got it on the third floor. I just took off my pyjamas and drop my bones. I don't know what time of the dawn I started hearing bells here and there. I said it will be those of the schools and I tried to resume the sleep, but no, the bells continued, distant sounds others were faraway and others were not so much, from all different directions, in my daze and with the exhaustion that I was still carrying I still thought they were the school bells, many schools.

Impossible to resume sleep and I began to pay attention to the sounds; some high and hysterical  little bells, others soft and more pleasant bells of medium sound, they felt very close and others just a thread of sound and when the sounds overlapped it was very magical, then a lapse of silence and I told myself I would finally be able to go back to sleep and no more ticliticlitilcic . After about 45 minutes I looked out the window and did not see anything special, but after a while I saw on the roof a woman ringing the bell, I was close enough  to see her, She lit, candles, incense, a well with water, fresh flowers and put them on the balcony, and then she prayed, for about 3 minutes, and left all the offerings there, plop!!! are the morning prayers, and I began to look more, there were already several candles and flowers, and incense on several roofs where they had already made their prayers, .... So I thought it was curious,

The photos are of the only roof I could photograph, and it was once the woman left, the others were too far away for photos or just couldn't be seen, a man doing a different prayer with prayers out loud, raising his hands and bowing over and over again. The next day I changed hotels and I couldn't photograph them any better. The new hostel was not so bad with the bells, but I did see other sunrises from the new window equally surprising and illustrative thing that I will relate in another chapter. Again I insist the blog is carefully designed to be seen on computer for your real visual appreciation.

Thamel, has terrible environmental pollution, it is dust in suspension, about 70% of the streets are not paved in Kathmandu and that is the reason. In many photos you see the dust in suspension and I realised to clean the lens of the phone several days later, so the lack of sharpness increased, given the explanation there are diffuse photos that bother me, however, they are important for the story and on the other hand they are close to reality.

The bells I couldn't see were on an altar under a tree outside the hotel and there you see many types of bells, at least 6 different in size and thickness. The faithful go, open that door, bring flowers, incense, candles, water, some food, then another person comes and the same, I deduced that it was the altar of the alley and those who did not have access to the roofs of the house did it there. They are Hindu prayers.

after my breakfast at the hotel I went for a walk, I threw myself blindly into the labyrinths, alleys after alleys, it was a warm day, and I let myself get lost, no destination, just looking, I will start with the photos of the streets and what I saw when I left my house that was in a corner of Thamel,  from the dirt alley I went out to other dirt alleys, about four quiet blocks until I reached the ones with the sacred flags suspended from side to side. because  I had  arrived at night everything was a surprise to discover... fascinating!!!!

turning a corner and chaos begins, amazing, it was hard to absorb it the are photos of my impression: Chaos and Contrasts. It was abysmal from quiet narrow alleys to streets crowded with people, Nepalese and tourists, - it was low season as I like to visit places, or else I would be crowded with tourists - shops; of crafts  the most varied and mainly in the tourist streets, others more  from things for Nepalese, where you can find anything. Altars, pagodas, small and mysterious places of prayer, a tremendous "bodhy" tree that is sacred and very old full of strips rolled to it already faded by time and by the smog. Human transport, bicycles about 70 years old, there are almost no motorcycles like the rest of Asia, however there are sacred cows..... They are  prayed to in the street, between shops and tourist agencies. Immune to what happens around, candles and incense are lit, offerings of flowers, food, water and the bells are ringing, next to tourists buying trekking clothes, many and varied restaurants, hostels,.... Quite a few buildings were in a state of semi-collapse, the 2015 earthquake that destroyed Kathmandu, and many others were under repair. Everything works chaotically in unison, but in harmony, it is one of the contrasts. All in tranquillity, there is no rush, no stress, no annoying noises, a few taxis that can enter as they need special permission. Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located at one end and there is the palace complex of the former monarchy, several temples and its surrounding streets filled with beautiful architecture belonging to ministers and personalities related to the reigns. It is the centre of many religious festivities of Kathmandu and in those days they flooded it with faithful, there are great holidays full of colours, music, parades ......

I loved the women's clothes and their colours, cheerful, elegant...

I end with a night where the restaurant I frequented was closed after 8 pm to celebrate my birthday the number 60, which I narrated previously in vaga #1 "the 60s" well, it was here in Thamel, a week after arriving. Guitarists, drinks at cost and cake as a gift, I shared it with Patricia from Canada as it was also her birthday in those days and it was Rafael's first night in Nepal, and it was his welcome with Nepalese affection.

I was woken by the bells and with them, I finish, they are from a beautiful pagoda in the middle of Thamel, with their eyes open, observing everything: Chaos, Contrasts, Prayers in Thamel