During my stay in Bhaktapur, I’d like to volunteer with a local organisation that needs support with their online systems. The main project coordinator wasn’t around today, but one of the staff members gave me a first briefing. It didn’t take too much time, so I had ample opportunity to roam around the old part […]
Music and Dance
It’s the last day of Bisket Jatra today. Or second to last, I lost track. In comparison to huge chariots, even bigger poles and pools of chicken blood, today was almost mundane. Devotees of the various gods and goddesses walked through the streets, visiting their favourite temples. Many of them were wearing traditional Newari dresses […]
Shivaratri
“Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival of Nepal and India celebrated annually in reverence of the God Shiva” (wikipedia). The guys at the house had gotten pretty excited about it, as it’s the one day were one can smoke excessive amounts of weed in the streets without being considered a lowlife. Yesterday it was that […]
Up and Down
Getting to sleep the other night proved a bit difficult. There was a lot of unfamiliar noises from the pigs and dogs around the house and in addition the villagers had a bar playing music till the early night. The village has a water-powered generator that provides a bit of light after sunset but they […]
Climb that Hill!
Time to lace the boots and get some dirt on them. Heading out of the old town I followed the familiar track up the hills, past the Spanish mosque and onwards into steeper terrain. Coming my way were a couple of older women, heading for the market in town to sell their goods. The path […]
Yoshin Pole
It’s New Year’s eve today (in the local calendar) and as part of the celebrations, a huge pole was erected on Bhaktapur’s pottery square. The small square was jam-packed with locals and a couple of visitors. More than a hundred people were working on erecting the pole with ropes and supporting tree trunk constructions. Even […]