KATHMANDU (dpa) – It was a meditative and mysterious welcome. We passed statues of mythological creatures guarding the entrance before being greeted silently by Nepalese elders.
In the hall, reproduction Buddhist and Hindu figures from ancient Nepalese shrines towered over us. But this was not a temple, it was a luxury hotel on the outskirts of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.Just a few hundred metres from the hotel gates we saw a very different face of Nepal: rusty cars rolling over dusty streets where barefoot children played, emaciated holy cows chewed the grass, and monks in orange robes walked.Time seems to have stood still in many quarters of Kathmandu. The small square Tahiti Tole is dusty in the dry season, like most parts of the city. Rickshaws and motorbikes negotiate the potholes in the road. Many small roads lead to Tahiti Tole, none of which are named.If you are looking for someone in Kathmandu, you travel to the nearest large square and simply ask passers by.Nothing is more impressive in Kathmandu than Durbar Square, which is surrounded by temples dedicated to Hindu gods Vishnu, Shiva and others. The high buildings are up to 500 years old. Dominating the square is Taleju Temple, which Nepalese are only allowed to visit once a year. It is not open to tourists.Children play on Durbar Square between street traders and sadus – “holy men” from India with long white hair and beards.Also on Durbar Square is Kumari Bahal, home of the “living goddess”. She is chosen in early childhood and lives in Kumari Bahal until puberty, after which she continues her life as a normal person and is replaced by a successor.Nowadays you also see western tourists and modern cars on the streets of Kathmandu, yet the city has not arrived in the 21st Century.Until the 1950s Nepal was not open to tourists. The first western visitors who came in large number were hippies. Mountaineers who wanted to conquer the country’s enormous mountains 8,000 metres high followed them.But now the Thamel quarter of Kathmandu is a western oasis. A room for the night in cheap accommodation costs just a few euros a night.The restaurants here also serve western-style food. Nepalese cuisine cannot compete with Indian or Chinese specialities so the restaurants offer their guests a taste of home such as Indian rice dishes, Italian pizzas and German bread.The tourist attractions of Kathmandu are easy to reach from the Thamel quarter. Street traders here sell everything Nepal has to offer: arts and crafts, mountain tours, bootleg CDs and hashish – even if it is officially forbidden.“Where d’you want to go?” a small Nepalese man asked visitors. “Mount Everest? Annapurna? If you like, we can set off tomorrow.”If you want to scale Mount Everest – right to the summit – you need a lot of advance planning and many thousands of dollars. But treks to the “smaller summits” can be booked just a day in advance.The street trader was persistent. “I can arrange everything: guide, carriers, trekking pass.” Then he apologised. “I don’t want to seem tiresome. It’s just that business is so bad.”Indeed, Nepalese tourism has seen better days. Fewer visitors are coming since the Maoist rebels revoked their ceasefire with the government in 2001. Last November a state of emergency was declared.But there is only occasional fighting between troops and rebels, and the rebels do not involve tourists in the fighting. Yet the effects on tourism have been considerable.European foreign office officials report that Kathmandu is generally peaceful, not least because the streets are strictly patrolled at night. Yet travellers are advised to inform themselves of the exact situation in Nepal before their trip and to be careful when travelling in the country.However, the fascination of Nepal remains.In Boudha, home to the largest Buddhist commemorative monument in Nepal, exile Tibetans have settled. Monks and pilgrims stand silently, praying and meditating. Anyone who visits here can hardly believe anything could disturb this peace.
