And Miles To Go Before I Sleep ...: Gorgeous Kathmandu : A Trip To The City

Finally It was time time to hit Kathmandu city, the heart of Nepal! It is a lively city surrounded by hills and clouds, with full of traditional sights, colors, with a different taste and definitely different smell. Yes, it smelled like smoky wild grasses and wet red bricks. I was astound to see how Nepal has captured the flavor of traditionalism and the essence of history in every corner of the city.

A glimpse of beautiful Kathmandu City

The one interesting fact I want to share that when I asked Bijaya out of curiosity that why almost all the buildings, flats, houses are not painted; I meant the use of plastic paints; Though it's true it all looked so great in designed decorated red bricks, different types and shapes of bricks, but my question was why?
Bijaya answered weirdly. At first he said most of the people could not afford the cost of using plastic paint and then he added, it was also done to hold on to their traditions.

Made of Red Bricks

Mahabir's Restaurant, situated in Thamel, Kathmandu

A view from top of Kathmandu City!

It was great to see such lovely houses with different colors, bringing a new dimension every time! It looked like a city of fairy tales, painted like the pictures of the books.

Though I hated the air pollution of the city, and the other thing I hated most was the wires. It almost ruined all of my pictures! I could not find a proper place to click my cam where no wires are hanging in a very unorganized way and to it's worst, most of the time those were jumbled with each other.

When I explored a little bit about Kathmandu I came to know that this city has a rich history, spanning nearly 2000 years, as inferred from inscriptions found in the valley. Religious and cultural festivities form a major part of the lives of people residing in Kathmandu. Most of Kathmandu's people follow Hinduism and many others follow Buddhism. There are people of other religious beliefs as well, giving Kathmandu a cosmopolitan culture. The name "Kathmandu" was also originated from

the name of a temple that's "Kashthamandap" which stands in Darbar Square. They said, In Sanskrit, "Kashtha" means, "wood", and "Mandap" means "Covered Shelter".

The name itself bears their religious and traditional values.

A temple of Darbar Square, also a UNESCO heritage sight

Beautiful "Rani Pokhari", another temple of Kathmandu

It was clearly shown when I visited Thamel, one of the greatest tourist attraction in the city. Such amazing sights and full of traditional shops with traditional handicrafts! It was totally different than the supershop or shopping mall, rather being in such street shop that were carrying their traditional looks and in the same time so well-organized and well-decorated is the most lovely thing you could imagine!