Election Day

It is such a nice day here in Kathmandu; the sun is shining, the company is good and we don't have to do anything today. The federal elections are on today and due to uncertainty over safety, we have been told to stay either in the hotel or not to venture too far from it. This gives me an opportunity to reflect on the happenings of the last few days.

Saturday was a day off and due to a change of plans (thanks to the election) we had to stay in Kathmandu. All of us decided to visit the Monkey Temple (officially known as Harati Devi Temple). This temple is a world heritage listed site and we can easily see it atop a large hill from the roof of our hotel. To get there was only a 20 minute taxi trip and we asked to be dropped at the bottom of the hill so we could climb the stairs to the top. Apparently there are something like 360 steps all lined with people selling their wares and many beggars along with the occasionally water bottle stealing monkeys.

The sights at the Monkey Temple

This little excursion was a real eye opener to me for many reasons both good and bad. When arriving at the base of the steps, we were immediately confronted with various levels of poverty; for example, one child we saw would have been only two or three years old and he was naked from the waist down lying face down on the cement in his own urine while his mother sat nearby without much of a care (although, she may have simply felt powerless to do anything; i don't know). It is hard to see this knowing that you cannot really do much to help. Even if you give them money or food, there is no guarantee that a) they will spend the money on food or, b) that they will even eat the food (chances are they will sell the food for money to buy drugs).

When climbing the stairs, we very quickly learnt that you have to hide your water bottles in your bag otherwise the monkeys come up to try and steal them. It was a bit funny to see this happening to one of the girls in our group (the joke was on me though being the only one with a backpack; guess who ended up being the 'pack horse'?). The last part of the climb was quite steep but once at the top, the view of Kathmandu, although quite smoggy, was rather spectacular the temple though was a different story. Don't get me wrong, the buildings and temples at the top were quite simply, amazing and the importance of them in the Buddhist culture cannot be ignored (it is a world heritage listed site). What got me though was how very filthy and uncared for the entire site seemed. There were multitudes of people selling anything from water to buddhist statues to mandalas in any available space. There were people squatting in some of the buildings, rubbish strewn through all the beautiful gardens surrounding the site, lots of stray dogs and cats and some of the most unhealthy looking monkeys I have seen. What upset me about this place was that it was completely over-commercialised (which took away from the spiritual importance of the place) and that considering every tourist (and there was lots of us) pays an admission fee yet it seems no money is spent on upkeep of the site. It was the first time I was truly disappointed with Kathmandu; I found it really hard to see a positive side to it.

The view of Kathmandu from the Monkey Temple

On the way back down I was unfortunate to witness a child being beaten by their mother. It was a young girl who appeared to only be about 6 or 7 years old and she was screaming while her mother kicked her in the back and hit her. I didn't know what to do; all instinct told me that I should be stopping it but by doing so I would have found myself in trouble (no doubt a Nepali man, or numerous men) would have beat me for not minding my own business. It was really sad but beatings of children are apparently common here and it is just something I have to learn to accept. I guess the positive to this is that with the increase of education among the younger generations it may gradually phase out and become socially unacceptable, much the same as it has become in Australia.

To end that little trip, we got to the bottom and discovered a growing group of men congregating. We had been told to avoid any large gatherings of people due to the likelihood of protests (again in the lead up to the election). So on that note, we got the first cab we saw and headed back to the hotel.

That night, some of the girls from the Hostel took four of us to see a very highly anticipated Bollywood movie ( I have no idea what it was called but it was a Bollywood version of Romeo and Juliet). It was a really cool experience and the girls were quite funny. One of them couldn't understand why I was laughing at one point; she said "Do you understand" to which I replied "no", she looked at me with a kind of cross face and said "then why are you laughing?". It was quite a funny little conversation and I will admit that I think I was only laughing because they were.

Sunday was the first day of our Mitrataa Masterchef competition and our group was the first to cook. Each group had to do a take on the Nepali staple Dal Bhat Thakari. It was so much fun but very hectic with 4 team members and 5 kids all in the kitchen (the Mitrataa kids weren't allowed to touch anything, the rules were that they had to tell the Aussies how to do things). We cooked Yellow Dal Bhat, Cauliflower Takhari, Tomato Pickles, Potato Pickles, Boiled Rice with Dry Food (dried fruits and nuts), Gudrhuk (a Nepali root vegetable) and Banana Splits with crushed cashews, honey and ice cream for dessert. The meal turned out really good and we all got to learn how to eat everything with our hands Nepali style (not as easy as you might think).

Our Mitrataa Masterchef day

I don't have a great deal to report on for Monday as I was unfortunate enough to experience Delhi Belly (or what we have nicknamed the Kathmandu Poos here), so the day was pretty much spent in bed and the bathroom. So, rather than oversharing (even further than I already have) I will sign off. Hopefully all goes well with these elections today and I have nothing too scary to report on.