More Newari history and missing panoramas

December 12, 2009

Time for a bit of an adventure with the plan of using the local buses for some sightseeing around the Kathmandu Valley, taking in Bhaktapur and Nagarkot.

With the taxi driver to the bus station offering to do the tour for $30 before reducing his price to $10, I was determined to do it by bus.  The 1st leg to Bhaktapur cost 50 rupees (40p).  The local buses much better than anticipated as a little 20 seater bombed along much better roads with the driver also playing DJ.  As ever, US rock ballads always popular with a big presence of Bon Jovi, Guns'n'roses and Red Hot Chillis. 

Journey provided contrasting vistas with big investment improving the highway system with western quality tarmac roads, whilst passing the usual 3rd world views of locals scrummaging through the waste dumps looking for anything of value, discarding useless items in to the river below (I'm always perplexed why tips are always situated next to rivers that then get blocked with pollution).

Durbar Square is the generic name used to describe plazas opposite old royal palaces in Nepal. Before the Unfiacation of Nepal, Nepal consisted of small kingdoms, and Durbar Squares are most prominent remnants of those old kingdoms in Nepal. In particular, three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu valley, belonging to the three kingdoms situated there before unification, are most famous: Kathmandu Durba Square , Patan Durbar Square, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square. All three are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

 

Siddha Pokhari

This centuries old pond is situated at Dudhpati-17 the entrance of the ancient city Bhaktapur. It is considered as the most ancient pond in Bhaktapur which is known to have many myths associated to it. This 275m×92m pond was built in the early fifteenth century during the reign of King Yakshya Malla. Nowadays, the pond of both religious and archeological importance has been one of the popular hangout and dating destinations in Kathmandu valley. Pond is full of fishes and they are fat by eating all the food fed by visitors, which they buy for 5$ a bag nearby.it is known as "SIDHA POKHARI"

 

Bhaktapur (Bhadgaon)
 
Situated at an altitude of 1,401 m, Bhaktapur covers an area of four square miles. Bhaktapur or "the City of Devotees"still retains the medieval charm and visitors to this ancient town are treated with myriad wonders of cultural and artistic achievements. The past glory of the Malla rulers continue to be reflected at the Durbar Square. Pottery and weaving are its traditional industries. The city lies about 14 km east of Kathmandu.
 

Orientation and Arrival
 
Bhaktapur drapesacross an east-west fold in the valley, its southern fringe sliding down towards the sluggish Hanumante River. Owing to a long-term westward drift, the city has two centres (residents of the two halves stage a boisterous tug- of-war during the city's annual Bisket festival} and three main squares. In the west, Durbar Square and Taumadhi Tol dominate the post-fifteenth-century city, while Tachapal Tol presides over the older east end.
 
You'11 arrive by one of two routes. The handy trolley bus, departing from the National Stadium south of Kathmandu's GPO every fifteen minutes or so, drops you on the main road about ten minutes' walk south of town, as do the frequent Barhabise-bound buses from Kathmandu's City Bus Park. Arriving by minibus from the City Bus Park, you'11 be deposited near Sidha Pokhri, a five-minute walk west of Durbar Square. Local buses from Nagarkot terminate at Kamal Binayak, five minutes northeast of Tachapal; tourist buses from Nagarkot continue to the main intersection just north of Durbar Square.
 
Bhaktapur has no rikshaws and just a few resident taxis, but it's compact enough to be explored on foot One-speed bikes
 
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