Disorder, perhaps

Kathmandu might be the most disorderly city I have visited. But perhaps "disorder" is not quite the right word to describe it. Words like "disorderly," and "chaotic" carry a lot of negative connotations. I think I mean "disorderly" in a bit more appreciative sense, although with firm acknowledgment that the place could pretty quickly drive an outsider crazy. 

16th-17th century royal palace in Kathmandu 

Kathmandu sits in a basin in central Nepal ringed by the foothills of the Himalayas. I'm told that on clear days, you can see the snow-capped front range of the Himalayas from the city. In some ways, the city is geographically similar to Los Angeles, in that it sits in a basin. Like LA, smog tends to settle in the basin, leading to very bad air pollution. Many people wear masks as they are out and about the city. 

Kathmandu strikes me as a place that was at one time quite sleepy -- a crossroads in a remote mountain kingdom. It has a very haphazard feel to it, with roads running at funny angles, tall, narrow buildings sprouting toward the sky, and temples sitting at odd angles right in the middle of intersections. Imagine something kind of the opposite of L'Enfant's Washington or von Haussmann's Paris. 

Entrance to the Taleju Temple, on Durbar Square (under renovation)

A view of part of Durbar Square, Kathmandu 

In the center of the city sits the Durbar Square. Durbar is an old Persian word used throughout Central and South Asia to denote the royal court and the assembly of ministers. Durbar Square and the Hanuman-dhoka Palace (Monkey-Door Palace) that dominates it was the seat of the Nepali royal family from the mid-17th century until the late 19th when they moved to more a more "European" place uptown. Again, the ensemble is quite the opposite of European palaces like Versailles or Schönbrunn, with their symmetrical galleries and gardens. The palace (now a museum) is a gaggle of passageways and towers looking out on courtyards. The areas around the palace are filled with several dozen Hindu temples, often sitting at odd angles to one another. The whole thing is very disorderly. But also very attractive. There's a surprise around every corner. 

The area around Durbar Square is a catch-all of touristy brick-brack and everyday Nepali markets selling everything from bras to beans. Motorbikes, cars, rickshaws, pedestrians, and the occasional cow bump up against one another on their way. As you move away from the center, the likelihood of a cow-enduced traffic jam appears to grow (in the world's most Hindu nation) if my taxi experience has anything to say. 

The entrance to Durbar Square

Yet amidst all of this, new residential and office towers are rising. Multinational firms are thick just outside the historic center. Kathmandu, like most of the world is changing. Rapidly. 

A disorderly city, certainly. A city that test's one's patience, certainly. But also one of the more explorable, inviting cities I've encountered. Kind of fun to have a half day to play the tourist… 

Reading the day's news in Durbar Square

A grain stall selling all manner of pulses and other grains on the edge of Durbar Square