Sacred Tortoises and Rapping Guides
"You have friend in Nepal?" the young tout whispered in my ear.
"Of course I do! I have many friends! HE'S my friend!" I exclaimed, pointing at Shazz.
"Ah, but you need guide?" the tout retorted.
"Nope. HE'S my guide, too!" I said, again pointing at Shazz.
"And his dance instructor, he paid me 300 rupees" added Shazz, as he did a vague Bangra dance. This brought the tout's curious friend over to watch.
"Yes, he knows Bangra, and he can rap, too!" I exclaimed as I launched into a funky backbeat. The two young touts looked on in bewildered amazement as Shazz then rattled off a couple of spontaneous rhymes to my beats.
We were sitting on the second floor of an intricate outdoor temple in Patan's Dharbar Square. The concentration of beautiful architecture and monuments was such that one had to sit to contemplate the views. In an attempt to one-up their neighbor to the north (Kathmandu), the residents of Patan had erected a royal palace, a bunch of statues of elephants, lions, and dieties, and at least 10 temples, all within a square that was about the length of a football field. It was somewhat overwhelming to the first-time viewer, but the Nepalese treated it casually as people lounged around on the temples, chatting, laughing, smoking, or loitering.
We spent a few hours exploring Patan's sites. We walked through a hindu temple where lambs and goats casually passed away their day beside what we believed was part of a wedding ceremony. Men and women were dressed in their best saris and suits, sitting around a burning ghat, smiling and laughing. The bride and groom were nowhere to be seen though. We then visited The Golden Temple, a small buddhist temple that is guarded by sacred tortoises. We spotted one of them, but he didn't bother to acknowledge our presence. I guess the sacredness had gone to his head. All in all, we spent most of our time in Dharbar Square, people watching.
Tonight we went to a local bar to listen to cover bands. We were treated to some of the worst singers Nepal has to offer. Howver, it seems that Shazz found inspiration, since he has vowed to start a band (that I christened Electric Mariachi) on his return to Istanbul. He wants to be the lead singer. I have five rupees that say he doesn't follow through on this promise.
The pollution here is killing me, so tomorrow we are going to get out of the city and visit a traditional Nepalese town at the edge of the Kathmandu valley.
Tomorrow, I will attempt to upload some pictures, but the connection is quite slow, so it may not work.
"Of course I do! I have many friends! HE'S my friend!" I exclaimed, pointing at Shazz.
"Ah, but you need guide?" the tout retorted.
"Nope. HE'S my guide, too!" I said, again pointing at Shazz.
"And his dance instructor, he paid me 300 rupees" added Shazz, as he did a vague Bangra dance. This brought the tout's curious friend over to watch.
"Yes, he knows Bangra, and he can rap, too!" I exclaimed as I launched into a funky backbeat. The two young touts looked on in bewildered amazement as Shazz then rattled off a couple of spontaneous rhymes to my beats.
We were sitting on the second floor of an intricate outdoor temple in Patan's Dharbar Square. The concentration of beautiful architecture and monuments was such that one had to sit to contemplate the views. In an attempt to one-up their neighbor to the north (Kathmandu), the residents of Patan had erected a royal palace, a bunch of statues of elephants, lions, and dieties, and at least 10 temples, all within a square that was about the length of a football field. It was somewhat overwhelming to the first-time viewer, but the Nepalese treated it casually as people lounged around on the temples, chatting, laughing, smoking, or loitering.
We spent a few hours exploring Patan's sites. We walked through a hindu temple where lambs and goats casually passed away their day beside what we believed was part of a wedding ceremony. Men and women were dressed in their best saris and suits, sitting around a burning ghat, smiling and laughing. The bride and groom were nowhere to be seen though. We then visited The Golden Temple, a small buddhist temple that is guarded by sacred tortoises. We spotted one of them, but he didn't bother to acknowledge our presence. I guess the sacredness had gone to his head. All in all, we spent most of our time in Dharbar Square, people watching.
Tonight we went to a local bar to listen to cover bands. We were treated to some of the worst singers Nepal has to offer. Howver, it seems that Shazz found inspiration, since he has vowed to start a band (that I christened Electric Mariachi) on his return to Istanbul. He wants to be the lead singer. I have five rupees that say he doesn't follow through on this promise.
The pollution here is killing me, so tomorrow we are going to get out of the city and visit a traditional Nepalese town at the edge of the Kathmandu valley.
Tomorrow, I will attempt to upload some pictures, but the connection is quite slow, so it may not work.
posted by Ace at 10:24 AM
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