Today, we visit Patan, a city in the southern suburbs of Kathmandu. Our first impressions are very positive. Patan is way more charming than Kathmandu. The temples are more beautiful et the red brik houses are really transporting us into what we imagined Nepal to be. We were a bit disappointed with Khatmandu to be honest. It was not at all what we thought we would see. But this time around, we’re there! It is the Nepal we thought we would find. So we just lose ourselves in the streets, we spend some time observing the baker prepare donuts, artists hitting, sculpting and polishing silverwear, construction workers building a house. Côme is fascinated by those workers that build the structure of a house and by the artist hammering a future silver chandelier. He invents himself new hobbies: blow on incense as soon as he sees one and turn the many prayer mills and ring the bell afterwards.
We find a very cute restaurant in a dead end. We have to crouch in order to go through an archway and get into a courtyard. Then we access the upper floors with the emergency stairs. We really enjoy the atmosphere of this restaurant and of Patan itself. We spend there a very pleasant day. It’s sunny, every alley offers something to discover. On our way back, we walk by a “pre-school” so we decide to go take a look. The entrance guard is smiling and takes us to the director who agrees to see us. We ask many different questions about schooling in Nepal. Julia is surprised to see how easy it is to have access to a school, just out of curiosity here.
And then, we’re back in Kathmandu, back in the crowds, the noise and the not so nice streets. We pass by a mall and tell ourselves we have to check what a Nepali mall looks like. So we get in… It’s the worst mall we’ve ever seen. There’s not much space, we feel claustrophobic and the only thing we want is to get out. There are “trendy” dummies though…
Today, Côme:
Did not understand: why there were bells after praying mills (it did not prevent him from ringing them though).
Learnt: how to build a house from the start.
Loved: watching the men hammering the chandelier and eating spicy meat.
Julia:
Did not understand: how can we save our planet if even in Nepal there so much pollution and plastic.
Learnt: about a typical school day in Nepal.
Loved: the charm, diversity and authenticity of Patan.
Doo:
Did not understand: why are the restaurants always hidden in back alleys and gloomy dead ends whereas other shops are everywhere.
Learnt: that Nepalese mall really didn’t push you to buy.
Loved: Patan alleys.