Bus Trip Nepal · 2023
Kathmandu · Chitwan National Park · Pokhara · Poon Hill Trek · Kathmandu
November 18, 2023
Kathmandu: Colorful Temples, blue Smog and the Afterlife
"Is the temple on the other side of the road?" my boyfriend shouts as he stands beside me. Three thousand mopeds and motorcycles roar past the broken curb in both directions in a wild escalation of anarchy. Since there are no traffic lights or signs in Kathmandu, the torrent of traffic just does not stop. It never does. A scene that makes the utter chaos of traffic in Naples, Italy, look like a stroll through a manicured English garden.
"Yes!" I yell back through the blue-tinged smog.
"Good, then we probably won't get there!"
To people from Western cultures, Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is like spring-loaded glitter bomb that bursts every two seconds, spewing gold coins, confetti, unicorns, dust, noise, gods of destruction, and indefinable fumes.
For a week, we walk 20 miles through Kathmandu, crisscrossing up and down every alley that opens in front of us. Is it dangerous? Have we managed to see the city without ever crossing a street? And if not, what about life after death?