Kathmandu

After arriving in Nepal late yesterday evening we had supper in the hotel restaurant before bed. Now after a post-breakfast trek briefing in the hotel we had the day to explore Kathmandu. Once again we were with our friends Sue and Clive and we wanted to see Durbar Square, which, for various reasons, we had missed on our last visit to Nepal. Lakpa would be our leader for the Gokyo Trek and met us off the plane. At the briefing he had introduced his sherpas and said they would guide us to Durbar Square, after which we could look around by ourselves and meet later for a meal. Kathmandu was as bustling, chaotic and exciting as I remembered it.

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Market Stall

Kathmandu Street

Kids in Durbar Square

Durbar Square

Shortly after we arrived in Durbar Square I noticed a cheerful band carrying musical instruments walking towards me and took their photograph, not realising that this was to be the vanguard of a big Maoist parade that we would see later in the afternoon. Maoists had just been promised parliamentary representation in Nepal and thousands had been bussed into the capital to demonstrate their power and to celebrate what they had achieved. We got caught up in the parade several times in the narrow streets but it remained good humoured and later in the day we saw them leaving the city in convoys of old vehicles, still cheering and waving flags. Lakpa told us later that he had been worried about us and hadn’t realised the demonstration was taking place until it was too late to get us back to the hotel. We didn’t feel threatened or at risk at all, either then or any other time in Nepal.

Maoist Band

In Thamel

Maoists

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