Nepal Is Delightfully Out of Step With the World

Usually when you cross from one time zone into another you adjust your watch by an hour. But flying from New Delhi to Katmandu aboard Royal Nepal Airlines you are advised that the difference in time between the two cities is 10 minutes.

Nepal is that kind of place, slightly and delightfully out of step with most of the world.

You see it on the national flag fluttering at the airport. Democracies and dictatorships, capitalists and communists all get by with rectangular banners; Nepal uses a pair of triangles. Tough Gurkhas, whom the British used as soldiers in their wars, stroll through the streets holding hands. Executives go about in tight white leggings over which they wear the jacket of a business suit. Thus East meets West.

A Buddhist stupa, or shrine, dominates the skyline of Katmandu, capital of the only Hindu kingdom. The Himalayas, jagged, snowcapped, edge the horizon. Beyond are the no-longer-forbidden cities of Tibet.

Nepal itself was off-limits to tourists for centuries. It opened up in 1952, and even then there was no very good way to get there. Roads made as big an impact on travel to Nepal as did the jet age. In London many ads tout bus trips to Katmandu. Old hands say they are not as much fun as they once were, things in Iran and Afghanistan (through which the road passes) being what they are.

Aboard a Rickshaw

Just being in Nepal is a trip.

Take a rickshaw to Durbar Square. Many of the rickshaws are scooter cabs these days, although pedal cabs are also readily available for short runs. The square is all pagodas and temples. There’s a royal palace on the square, guarded by an image of the monkey god. Nearby is the abode of a little girl revered as a living goddess. This diety is always a little girl. When she reaches puberty, she is replaced.

Although the Nepalese strike one as being virtuous and chaste, Katmandu is filled with sexual imagery. You can stock up on post cards that would make Hugh Hefner blush, or buy X-rated artful brass figures. Actually they are copies of carvings at what locals call the erotic temple--not that love or lust is worshiped within. The explanation I was given is that centuries ago the Buddhists were winning many converts and concerned Hindu priests wanted to demonstrate that their religion could be more fun.

The big Hindu temple by the river reminds one that life is short in this vale of tears. The interior is closed to non-Hindus, but the exterior fascinates. On platforms by the riverbank the dead are cremated atop open pyres. The sons of the deceased tend the fire, an all-day chore. The ashes are dumped into waters that flow into the Ganges. Meanwhile, women do family washing upstream.

Prayer flags flutter above Buddhist homes. Prayer wheels rim the doors of hotels and restaurants. Goats and chickens are sacrificed at special altars twice each week.

Most people have seen replicas of Shiva and other Hindu holy figures. In Nepal those are revered.

Breaking the Fast

The festivals are fascinating. This is a macho country. One account defines Teej as a time when “Women eat their fill and then fast for a day. The fast is broken when the women drink the water they have used to wash their husband’s feet.”

The thing to do in Nepal is go trekking. Hiking through the Himalayas may sound to some like a hard way to spend a holiday. Apparently people love it, although the hazards are many.

Nepal, for example, has never worried much about sanitation and one is cautioned to have a gamma globulin shot before leaving home to provide some protection against hepatitis. A typhoid shot and malaria suppressant also are advised for those heading into the Himalayas. “A particular danger,” a guidebook says, “is acute mountain sickness . . . which can cause death within a few hours. The cure is to descend to a lower elevation.”

Travelers sticking to the good hotels and viewing the countryside from an aircraft window need not worry too much about health hazards.

A nice out-of-town trip is to Pokhara, about 125 miles east of Katmandu. Pokhara has a lake and splendid peaks in the distance. The people, who stoutly ignore the 20th Century, are fascinating. There is no television. Travelers from the outside world are regarded with but a vague interest.

Adventure is what Nepal is all about. This is about as close to “The Lost Horizon” or “The Razor’s Edge” as most people will want to get. One can spend a week in Katmandu and wish it were a month, but the moment always arrives when a plane out must be boarded and watches adjusted by 10 minutes.

Most Americans fly into Katmandu from New Delhi, either aboard Indian Airlines or Royal Nepal. Thai Airways flies in from Bangkok. It also is possible to arrive by bus from India. Charter motor coaches depart frequently from London and other European cities.

A seven-day visa, which may be extended, is available on arrival at Katmandu. One-month visas may be obtained from the Royal Nepal Embassy, 2131 Leroy Place, Washington, D.C. 20008; the fee is $10. Special permits required for trekking are issued in Katmandu.

Best time to visit is October through March (summers are quite rainy). Katmandu is at the same latitude as New Orleans, but at an altitude of some 3,500 feet. Weather tends to get chilly at night during December and January.

Good hotels include the Everest Sheraton, Soaltee Oberoi, and the Yak & Yeti, all charging about $60 for a double room. Best bet is to have a travel agent arrange the trip.