- 1 December 2022
- This afternoon I am going for a short ride on the bike to see how I cope with driving and he apparent carnage of it all.
- But first a brief guided tour of the city and some historic temples. The guide for the tour was from a higher cast in Nepal, he explained how he had married someone from a lower cast and these “mixed marriages” were now acceptable. Imagine that in our part of the world!
- The tour was very interesting, we visited 2 Buddhist and 1 Hindu temple, and walked the streets for 3 hours. A whistle stop tour, that thanks to the guide was very interesting and informative.
Part of the tour took us to the river and the cremation of the dead. Several funeral fires made of logs and rice straw were burning on the raised platforms above the steps at the side of the river. After the fires have burnt out the remaining ashes are pushed into the river. Any unburnt wood is then collected, dried and reused for the cremation of people who don’t have enough money for fresh wood. I don’t consider myself squirm ish, but my Western eyes didn’t like this, too public, and seeing the remains of the bodies exposed as the cloth coverings burn away
After all this, a trip on the bike I was going to be riding for the next week of so. I came back from a 5 kilometre reconnaissance trip with a big smile on my face, I had battle the mayhem of Kathmandu and come through it unscathed. Role on tomorr
