Bhaktapur has a Jatra and it has a chariot. Both are huge. But Bhaktapur is not the only city in the valley that sports these kind of things. I had heard marvellous stories about the Bunga Dyah Jatra in Lalitput, supposedly featuring a 20 metres high chariot. I couldn’t believe that and put it off […]
Around the City
Southeast Asia is a dangerous place. Lots of people, including visitors, get killed in traffic accidents. That’s not really on peoples’ minds though and when westerners are going to any country in the region, they are usually more afraid of Malaria. Palestine is probably a much safer place, especially for visitors. The Israeli occupation kills […]
A very diverse Day
Friday started with a visit to Cambodia’s recent history. The Tuol Sleng museum in town is a former school that was turned into a prison by the Khmer Rouge. They used it to ‘interrogate’ political opponents and interrogation here as the same meaning as with the catholic inquisition. Those unlucky enough to end up here […]
Morituri in Bhaktapur
Happy Nepali New Year, everybody! Around here, the first day of the new year is not greeted by littered streets and hungover masses. Instead, people flock to the holy places to bring offerings. I joined my guest family on their visit to the chariot, where they wanted to offer rice, fruits and a chicken. The […]
Bethlehem
Tuesday was supposed to be my lazy day. I had extended my 3-night stay in Ramallah to a 5-day one and wanted to spend my last day with doing nothing besides some writing and drinking coffee. Fellow traveller Nigel got in the way though. He’s working as a journalist and mentioned that he’d join an […]
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 […]