Today I hired a guide and a driver to take me to the nearby cities of Patan and Bhaktapur. The cities are not far by distance (10km and 12km from Kathmandu) but the traffic made each trip about one hour long. The significance of these cities (together with Kathmandu) comes from the Malla dynasty that ruled the Kathmandu valley from about 1200 to 1768 (when, despite the British interference, the Shah Kings were able to unify Nepal). Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur were independent kingdoms and the competition between them created a golden age for the area.
The primary focus of my visit was the Durbar Square of each city. Durbar translate roughly as "Royal" and I already described the Kathmandu Durbar Square in a previous blog.
Patan
The Patan Durbar Square is the religious heart of the city and contains a number of monuments, temples, and shrines. A very prominent temple, Krishna Mandir, is dedicated to Lord Krishna and it's a peregrination point for followers of Krishna.
Not far from the square, there is the Golden Temple (Hiranya Varna Mahavihar) with a three story pagoda built in the 12th centry. One of the most striking features there are the bronzes of monkeys with a life-like, almost human, gaze.
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From the golden temple, we went to Kumbheshwor temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It's traditional to offer in sacrifice lambs to Shiva, and a few lambs are just calmly awaiting their destiny. Fortunately, most Hindus also have Buddhist believe and they don't want to be responsible for the death of an animal. As a result, most workshipers offer a coconut instead which is cracked open by a priestess and offered to Shiva.
After visiting Kumbheshwor, we went back to Durbar Square and the Patan Museum. This museum was the best museum I visited in Nepal. It normally costs 250 Ruppes ($3) but it was museum day so I got for free (with the added bonus of a teeka and a nice postcard). Most of the exhibits are cast bonzes and gilt copper which are traditional of Patan.
A full gallery was dedicated to explaining how the Patan bronzes are produced. It shows step by step how a Buddha head is carved on wax and eventually casted by using the "lost wax" technique. In my opinion, this museum is a must visit attraction in a trip to Nepal.
A final walk in Durbar Square took me to a nice temple with the most amazing wood carvings on the doors, windows, and columns (including some very explicit images... you have been warned).
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Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur, the city of culture, was our last destination. For foreigners, it costs a very steep 750 rupees ($10) just to enter the city; but its Durbar Square and other attractions seem to be better preserved than Kathmandu and Patan, so the city may be using the money wisely. People in the city are more "commercial" and you'll be asked for some small change (20 rupees, $0.25) if you take a picture of them. The city was fortified in the 15th century so it's surrounded by a wall, with a few entrances guarded by zealous guards that check that you paid your $10.
The whole city of Bhaktapur is outstanding and you find artistic gems in every corner. The wood carvings are amazing and many of them are gilded. I visited a woodcarving workshop where I saw the artisans working their magic.
One of those masterpieces is in a common house (now a souvenir shop) and it's known as the "Miracle of the Peacock Window", an exquisite carving of a peacock. Note the parabolic effect of the feathers and the details on the bird.
The Royal Palace Museum
The Royal Palace (rename The Narayanhiti Palace Museum) is the new attraction in Kathmandu. It opened just a few months ago (March 2009) to the public and it's extremely popular with Nepalese, so lines can be long. Absolutely no pictures are allowed and anything you carry must be placed in a locker. They are serious about this, I was challenged by a package of tissues and a supervisor had to give his Ok for me to bring it in.
I wouldn't particularly recommend visiting the palace for itself, but looking the awe of the Nepalese on how their kings live is worth it. The decor in the museum is 60s style. It's luxurious, but having a red leather sofa next to a green one, in a room with 3 walls covered with wood and another with rocks, it's a bit quaint. Said that, the throne room is imposing, design to portray the king as a superhuman above everybody else. The palace area was built by the Ranas dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in 2008.
One can see the remains of the Tibhuvan Sadan where the royal massacre of 2001 took place. Although the building was demolished after the massacre, the foundations remain and CSI-style markers indicate the place where each person was assassinated. The royal massacre resulted in the assassination of King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, and 8 other members of the royal family. Crown Prince Dipendra, the perpetrator, attempted to commit suicide afterwards. He only survived for two days, long enough to become King, until he died and was succeeded by his brother which nowadays live in India.
At the end of this busy day, I finally got my 3-hour laundry (it took 30 hours) and I went out for some last minute shopping. The day finished with being treated to a nice farewell dinner of Tikka Massala at the New Orleans Cafe by Sharon and Paula.
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