Sunday, April 19, 2009

Hiking to Kakani and Socio-Political Musings in Kathmandu



Yesterday, since I didn’t feel like doing a strenuous hike at Shivapuri, I went to Kakani… …Once you reach to a certain height, you wish to go higher next time…just a few days ago, even getting to Panimuhan at the foothill of Shivapuri and looking toward Kathmandu was a great experience…then reaching Nagi Gompa and watching the panoramic spread of Kathmandu Valley was another great experience…then reaching the Shivapuri Height and watching on the other side from a huge rock was a magnificent achievement…My limitation is that I have to reach a destination and get back to my room the same day…

I was visiting Kakani for the first time…Got up and put a water bottle in the bag...this time I though of taking my bag to carry water as the days are getting hotter...and yes, i bought a binocular that cost about 500…i was simply fascinated with binoculars…lately I’d begun noticing birds and butterflies as well…so took the binoculars so that I could watch them closely…

Reached the Naya Bus Park and then Machapokhari Bus Stop where you can find buses for Trishuli…I’d been up to Osho Nagarjun Meditation Retreat before, but not beyond that….so i didn’t know where you get off for Kakani…i kept reading the signs for knowing about the place names…Tinpiple, Okharpauwa…then I got off at a comparatively larger market as I read a sign say Kakani…But later found that it was not Kakani, you have hike upward to get to Kakani…

After eating Sel Tarkari at a roadside Chiyapasal, I asked a boy there if it was Kakani…no he said….you’ve to walk half an hour up for Kakani…However, it seemed to the right place to get off from the bus to Trishuli…The boy said it was called Kauli…the thing I noticed in Kauli was children selling strawberries, and another local yellow colored berry found in higher moutains in Nepal...called locally aiselu…I don’t know what it’s English name… I remember picking aiselu when I was a kid…You can see strawberries grown around Kakani in Kathmandu as well, but I’d not seen aiselu being sold anywhere in Kathmandu…even in Kakani, there were not much Aiselu...a few kids were selling it on leaves...Strawberries were introduced by the Japanese and now farmers around Kathmandu cultivate it as a cash crop…But Aiselu is still a wild berry of Nepal…

Another thing that I noticed at the Chiyapasal and at other places were the flies, and the lack of hygiene… Even so near to Kathmandu and with all basic facilities, Kakani people were not different from village people of other parts of Nepal…The area seemed to be Tamang dominated…it was really interesting to see that just ten kilometers away from Kathmandu where the Newaris dominate, you could hear a different language and kids with slightly different features than Newars…However, the most common trait that I noticed among the Tamangs and the Newars or Jyapus of Bhaktapur where I’d visited last week was that both people had pathetically poor sense of hygiene….

While I was going up…sometimes on road…and sometimes off road…I suddenly arrived at a place from where appeared the Himalayas far away…it was about 10 in the morn…and the sky was getting misty…but I was happy to see the Himalayan peak…and took out the Binoculars to get closer views…but I found that Binos are only good for watching things just away from your vision…or smaller things within your vision…about 2 hours later, even those hazy views of Himalayan peaks were not visible…due to white clouds above them…

Three things that I enjoyed most in my Kakani Visit were:

I saw an eagle from the bus soaring below me while heading toward Kakani…

Walked down to the main road from Kakani top finding my own way in the mountain shortcut trails…I so hate walking on the roads

Traveling on the roof of the bus while returning…you don’t always get the opportunity of an open travel on the bus top…it was my first travel on the bus roof in five years…and views from the roof are truly awesome!

What I hated most on the Kakani Road:

Poultry Farming…you certainly do not enjoy the awful stench that come from Poultry Farms near the road…

Fish Farming by blocking natural Waterfalls…

While retuning from Kakani, I was happy that i was from Nepal who can walk into the mountains just by getting out of his room…I was also happy that I realized the pleasures in of walking in the mountains before it was too late…before I was too old to walk…

Kakani is no different form any other place in the mountains…except that it is easily accessible, with all basic needs for travelers and picnickers, and yet isolated from Kathmandu’s hustle and bustle…

5 comments:

  1. Hello,

    I am Shirish, a reporter at the Kathmandu Post, and am doing a feature for the Saturday special on Blogging. The piece will come on 29th August, 09. I read your blog, and I was wondering if you could be so kind as to answer some of my queries. I cannot guarantee that you will be quoted, but your help will definitely let the readers know more of blogging in Nepal.

    You may answer all, or any question you feel like answering. You may provide any extra information, and your name, real or an ID, but must understand that you may be quoted by the Post. Please mail your answers to shirishp@wlink.com.np

    What is your occupation?

    What age group do you think you fall in: <16, 16-31, 31-49, 49-65, above 65?

    Why do you blog?

    When did you start blogging from? Why?

    What makes you keep blogging, without any strong incentive?

    How many bloggers do you think are there in Nepal?

    Do you regularly read other bloggers? How many, and how many are Nepali?

    Do you believe that a blog can really make a difference? If yes, How?

    I hope the questions are not too bothersome.

    Happy Writing!

    -Shirish

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