Are you one of those travellers looking for a place that will serve as a cultural melting pot? Are you one of those seeking to experience something new through travelling? Still confused…… We will help you out as you have come to the right place……….. Don’t judge till we give you a glimpse of the capital of Nepal…..
We call ourselves travel freaks………..
Before we start our conversation, let’s start with a general question……..
Table of Contents
1. Why is Kathmandu called the “cultural melting pot”?
This is something we feel Kathmandu truly deserves the aforesaid tag.
Just imagine, whenever anyone narrates about Nepal, the first place that comes to mind is the capital of Nepal, i.e., Kathmandu. This place has so much to offer for travellers regarding food, culture or heritage that it will leave an indelible mark on the hearts of anyone visiting this place.
We were no different, to be honest. This is an incredible place where we experienced some fantastic local cuisine, a blend of Hindu and Buddhist monuments, historical architecture, and, lastly, interacted with the ever-smiling warm people of the city.
Hope we clarified a bit. However, it’s always better to experience yourself rather than listen to what others have to say. Never mind, let’s move to what you might be thinking next……..
2. How did we reach Nepal and then to this place?
To answer this, the current blog is insufficient. For those unaware of when we landed in Nepal, checkout our Nepal blog series.
You will definitely be able to plan your own customised itinerary after reading it.
Do let us know of any queries via our email or social media Instagram handle.
Now let us continue from where we left off in the last blog. You will now wonder………..
3. How was the journey to Kathmandu from where we left in the last blog?
If you read our last blog on Manakamana Temple, you have got a glimpse of how adventurous the day trip was. As a result, our journey continued from the Manakamana Temple to Kathmandu.
It took us about four hours to reach Kathmandu, from where one could get the Manakamana cable car tickets. It was close to 8 o clock when our bus finally reached its destination. The road condition was good, and the traffic was never too much. Now you may say, what does “never too much” mean? If you belong to any metro city across the globe, it will be normal for you people.
Now that we reached. We know what you will be thinking……….
4. Where did we choose to stay?
To be honest, there are many stay options across the city. However, we decided to stay close to the Gongabu Chowk. You can get many budget-friendly stay options near Gongabu Chowk.
It was a busy marketplace on both sides of the wide Ring Road. We could even spot the differences between Kathmandu with its counterparts. The main difference is the population; it was more than any other place.
It was way too crowded, just like any other metro city. On top of that, Kathmandu was also too dusty compared to Pokhara and Chitwan.
As you might now be curious to know one thing……..
5. How was the first impression of the city?
As we were telling you, it was way too dusty. However, the first impression is not always the right impression; we understood as we started exploring the city.
So coming back to our story. We got down from the bus, and the first thing we noticed was the BG Mall. Our bus driver was referring to us on the way to Kathmandu.
A few staff from our stay came with a luggage trolley that we generally see in our Indian Railway Stations. For the first time, we saw such a trolley in any hotel. It was relieving as we didn’t have to pull or carry our luggage.
On entering our hotel, we noticed that the hotel had five clocks that were displaying times from New Delhi, Sydney, London and New York besides the local time. It was close to 8.30 at night, and we were tired and hungry as well.
We had also planned for an early morning departure for the day trip. It was time for us to quickly grab some dinner and end our day.
Wait…… we know what is going on in your mind…………..
6. What to see in and around the Kathmandu valley beside the temples?
We will answer this through our story. You see through our eyes what we saw then. You can then decide what to see in Kathmandu. The alarm rang sharply at 2.30 the night.
We were reluctant to get out of bed, given that it was the month of December. We were supposed to be ready by 3.30 in the morning to view Sun Rise from Nagarkot.
Being travel freaks, we were ready by 3.30 in that harsh cold weather. We reached Nagarkot by 4:30 and were looking for a suitable place to catch a glimpse of the rising sun and click some mind-blowing pics of the rising sun with the mighty Himalayas in the backdrop.
We were also hoping for the weather to be clear, and thankfully that happened. The place was so beautiful that we thought of staying a bit longer.
We had to move to the next spot, called Bhaktapur Durbar Square.
The distance between Nagarkot and the Bhaktapur Durbar square is approximately 12-15 km, that takes about half an hour to reach.
It was already office hours when we decided to move from Nagarkot. We decided to have breakfast on the go. As soon as we had our last grab of breakfast, the bus stopped for the Bhaktapur Durbar Square.
The sun was well above our heads, and we felt reducing a thermal layer from our bodies. Slowly we were moving and experiencing the old Kathmandu. It felt like we sat in some time machine and landed in the 12th century.
A sign board grabbed our attention where it was written to be built under the reign of some Malla Kings that ruled the Kathmandu valley in the medieval period. Bhaktapur Durbar Square falls under the UNESCO world heritage site category.
Myth and mystery lovers might love to hear this story that we are sharing now……….
After walking for about 10 minutes from the parking, we were in front of the Bhaktapur Durbar Square ticket counter. We slowly noticed the famous palace with fifty-five windows, Nyatapola Temple and the Golden Gate.
Besides these three popular ones, there were several architectures that can hypnotize you to get lost in these architectural wonders. However, one elderly man with a stick stared continuously when we clicked pics.
We went up to him, and while talking, he appeared to be a friendly person. He was a local residing in the Bhaktapur region for the last five generations.
He even revealed a myth. There was a Lion’s Gate in front of the fifty-five windows palace. Two lion statues were there, and the locals believe those two lions come to life every night to protect the region from negative energies.
It amazed us a lot to hear such kind of beliefs were still prevalent in society. He even told us that the Nyatapola Temple was more pious than any other temple in Bhaktapur. It survived many earthquakes and natural calamities.
In the meantime, we saw it was already two o clock in the afternoon. We didn’t realize that we spent over 3 hours. We didn’t have lunch and needed to rest to explore the local shops late evening. We decided to bid adieu to the elderly person and return back to our stay.
We had planned to explore this beautiful Bhaktapur Durbar Square during the daytime and then local shops late evening. You can also opt to visit places such as Patan Durbar Square, Kirtipur, the National Museum of Nepal or the Garden of Dreams.
On the way back, we saw the city and the busy lifestyle that it had to offer.
Now as you got to know what we would be doing in the evening, you might be curious about…………..
7. How was the experience of the local shops near Gongabu Chowk?
Later in the evening, we explored the local shops for some souvenirs. We had expected to get some souvenirs kind of. Unfortunately, we mainly observed branded showrooms that we generally see in other big cities.
Finally, while having tea, the tea shop owner mentioned exploring the China market region for some authentic experience. It was close to 7.30 in the evening, so we decided to plan it for the next day.
A wonderful day came to an end. You can opt for your stay even close to the Bhaktapur Area to experience the heritage this region offers. Due to the locality, we decided to stay close to the Gongabu Chowk. We had our trip planned for the next day to explore the religious monuments.
Wait, you might now think this one last question……….
8. What kind of help are we gonna provide?
No doubt, this question is bound to come to your mind. Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will be giving you a glimpse of our journey and also helping you to plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and keep an eye out for the next destination story of Nepal. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com
by mitkau