A Brief Tour of Kathmandu

December 9, 2009
While the house was eerily quiet in the exhaustion following the anniversary, Simon (a brother visiting for a few days from the UK who is chairing Feet Ministries of UK), Uncle and I got up early and tiptoed out to drive up to Nagarkot to watch the sunrise. We drove for about an hour, through and around the city, and then up this mountain (for those from Kansas, it was a mountain. the Nepali’s call it a hill!) to the top where there’s this resort and a beautiful view of the valley below. Or, there would be a beautiful view of the valley and the Himalayas surrounding it, but, to my amusement, it was cloudy and overcast. The day we get up early it would be overcast!

We were still able to see some beautiful scenery though, and it was probably the most relaxing place that I’ve been since I’ve been in Nepal. It was totally quiet, with a bird singing here and there, the absence of the constant car horns and shouting allowing the cares and worries of the day to melt away like butter on pancakes. Which is what we had for breakfast! We went to this restaurant in the resort, which had an “American” style breakfast, which was very good! And there was soft instrumental music in the background, relaxing you into the true quietness of the mountain! So, we ate and talked and sat for awhile, and finally we headed out.

Our next stop was to Changu Narayan Village, which has this Hindu Temple on the top of another “mountain.” Simon and I had to pay 100 rupees since we weren’t Nepali in order to go into the village, which I found humorous. But it was so worth it. Basically, this is a group of Nepali people with their own language and very traditional houses and way of life. We walked through the village, snapping photos here and there, admiring the beauty and quietness of this sleepy town only 30 minutes up the mountain from the hectic world of Kathmandu.

This was my first trip into a Hindu temple, and it was, well, not what I expected. I expected this overwhelming sense of darkness, but Satan has cleverly disguised his presence in the sleepy quietness of the idols. As I walked around and saw the idols everywhere, different gods for different people, my heart broke, and I began to pray for the chains that Satan holds over this place of “worship.” I saw rats scurrying about (I had to remind myself not to stop breathing!) and people offering worship to which ever idol they preferred. There was a “holy” place designated for Hindu’s only, and it made me think of how Christ has torn the curtain of the temple, allowing ALL to enter into God’s holiness now. I have a much better picture of what the temple of the Jews must have been like in the Old Testament, with the exception that they only served the One God, and everything they did was for Him.

We finished our day with a trip out to the new land where Uncle’s planning on building another children’s home. He wants to separate the girls into one home and the boys into another (which is a great idea; Nepali girls are just way to pretty to live with other teenage boys!). The land was beautiful, a testament to the glory of God in this dark nation, and we prayed over it before leaving. It’s outside the city, with the quietness of village life, and still the proximity of the city. I wondered if his car would make it on some of the roads though! We’ll see where God leads with this... Hopefully it will be started before I leave :). One day I imagine I’ll come back to visit, and have to travel all over the city to visit my kids!