 Kathmandu Traffic / Boudhanath Stupa 第二次到加德满都了，我没有了初来的戒备与好奇。前两天也就是有需要才上街，对所谓的购物没什么兴趣，就是出去买点水和水果而已。对除了印度和尼泊尔本地的菜之外的其他风格的菜也没兴趣，所以楼下的花园餐厅就很让我知足了，环境好，味道足，价格也合理。走在街上逍遥自在，好像走在自己家，对来往的车流和街边的小贩没有紧张或防备的感觉。 今天陪汕大的师生团去了几个景点。虽然是旅游景点，却并不拥挤，倒多是当地人在歇凉或重复着每日摆摊的营生，感觉本地人远大于游客。当然，到处都有穷得可怜的孩子或老人乞讨，还有许多流浪的狗安详地在香炉下整天睡着。这样的景象在第三世界国家的旅游地区都是常见的，然而，奇怪的是，在这样一个似乎应该很嘈杂的环境中，我却感到分外的平和。 细想想，每日在川流不息的街上行走时，从没见过人争吵或吐粗。虽常有小贩招呼，却从未被纠缠过，不用像赶苍蝇似地逃跑；即使买东西讨价还价也是静静地慢慢地。虽然加德满都是个又穷又脏又乱的地方，我却从中品味出分外的安全感。也许是因为佛教的缘故？似乎空气中的分子震荡的频率和别处不同，同样的频率传递给其间的每一个存在，本地人，游客，流浪的狗或牛。想起去年在去珠峰的路上在Khumbu Valley 中那种奇妙的心灵感应，其实就是这样一种内心的平和，让你能够听到自己的心声，敏感地响应环境中的能量震荡。原来这种震荡在Valley之外原来也是有的，虽然要弱得多。其实这种的能量的震荡和传递，是我们每一个人共同影响的。 在出加德满都的路上看到一个大广告牌，上面写的是“我们修的这条路是国际水准的，我们的举止呢？” This is my second time in Kathmandu. Without the anxiety and curiosity typical of a first-time visitor, I no longer feel like a tourist. I had no interest in shopping and would only go out when I need to buy water or fruits. Preferring local food, the Nepalese Dal Baht or Indian styled dishes from the restaurant downstairs is nice enough for me. So I barely need to walk into the crazy busy street. But when I did, I actually felt home. I found it so easy to meander through the chaotic traffic and felt no need to put on a guard against those street venders. Today, to accompany the student group from ShanTou University, I revisited a few tourists spots. I normally would have some kind of anxiety when going to tourists spots because it’s normally so crowded. As if I didn’t notice last year, I was surprised to find that it’s not so in Kathmandu, though Kathmandu is famous for being crowded. (well, maybe being in China for the past year changed my perceived or expected level of crowdedness also) It seems that there are more local people hanging out than tourists. Hanging out there for fun or selling something, it’s just part of their lives. Though, like any other third-world countries, there are a lot of poor kids or old people begging for money, I don’t find them so annoying as I would in many other places. Even homeless dogs are enjoying their peaceful lives napping under the prayer bells all day long. There’s a strange sense of peacefulness in this apparently chaotic city. When I was walking around here everyday, I never saw anyone yell at each or speak foul language. Even cars or carts don’t get into trouble with each other when they fight for a pass. Though street venders are everywhere, I never felt being bothered to the level of harassment as I would feel in many other places. Even people who are bargaining are talking in quiet voice. Add Comment  Despite not having my luggage with me when I arrived at Kathmandu, I had a face mask handy. My friends who have been here before, advised me to get one as the air in the city is very dusty and polluted. I was quite surprised - the air was not as dusty as I expected, compared to my experience with other trips. But as we drove into the city, I still felt the need to protect my lungs from the car exhaust. In Kathmandu, cars drive on the left side of the road like in Britain. Some main streets are divided in the center, but there in general, there is no concept of driving lanes. Most “roads” on the map are just as wide as the lanes in old Beijing, barely allowing one car to pass while sidewalks are crowded with street vendors. Walking on the street is an adventure by itself!! The streets are unevenly paved, and not only do you have to watch where you step - avoiding all kinds of obstacles such as junk, fallen wires, trash and stray dogs, you also have to keep an eye out for numerous cars and motor bikes that surprise you from all directions. Taking in the sights While I was in the car, travelling to the hotel, I told myself - don’t risk my climb with any sightseeing tours in the city. Traffic looked scary, and the air quality was poor. But the next morning, when I woke up early, and took a walk before the city really woke up, I found the air bearable, and with some care and courage, I even managed to walk down the streets and even cross the roads! Soon, I found it comfortable to walk across the city to visit those popular sites. Though street signs are hard to find, it’s not so hard to navigate the maze of narrow roads that appeared so daunting before. The tourist areas, such as Thamel or Durbar Square, are crowded with shops, street vendors, and pedestrians, both local or tourists. But in other areas such as Patan, I enjoyed walking down the almost empty local street where only locals live. Peacefully performing their daily routines - collecting water from a fountain, washing clothes, or just worshipping. Organized chaosReligion is an important part of life here. There are temples everywhere! What's great is that different religions coexist harmoniously. You can see people worshipping or praying everywhere throughout day, and many are waiting in line at temple with a plate of nice offerings such as banana and flowers . Nepal is also ethnically more diverse than I thought. You can see different nationalities - Indians, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese all mixing well together. Another interesting thing about Kathmandu is electricity. Almost every hotel has their own power generator because the government regulates electricity in a way that only the hotels get power during the evening/night. That’s why when you walk down the street, you often find shop owners are using head-lights during the day in their shop!                                  | CategoriesAll      |
RSS Feed
