Arrival in Kathmandu & Durbar Square

After the ridiculous amounts of excitement induced by the Smith's arrival in Nepal had subsided enough for proper cognitive function to continue, one of the first places we visited was Durbar Square. Kathmandu Durbar Square is the plaza in front of what was once the royal Palace of the Kathmandu Kingdom which is reflected in the ornate and antiquated architecture that is around to feast your eyes on.

Once inside the square we headed to the Kumari Ghar, or house of the living Goddess. According to tradition, a young unmarried girl who fulfils certain requirements is chosen to live in the Kumari Ghar (there are two more of these residences in Nepal). They must stay at the house where they also receive an education, until they reach puberty when they are no longer deemed pure. You are not allowed to take pictures of the Kumari but many tourists go to try and catch a glimpse at one of her daily appearances as it is considered lucky. Despite being an interesting point of cultural difference, I found sighting the Kumari and visiting the house quite difficult - it was harrowing to see the perfectly made-up, yet emotionless face briefly rest at the court-yard window for the benefit of foreign and native onlookers, before disappearing once more from view.

We also just enjoyed spending some time just moseying around the town - it felt like stepping back in time, the motorbikes and cars almost becoming invisible in comparison to the grandeur of the old buildings and the hectic smaller shops and stalls weaved in between, with crowds of people effortlessly gracing the space between the two.

After a shave at the dodgiest looking barbers for my Dad (one of the more bizarre Smith family travelling traditions), we gratefully took some shade in a roof top café before slowly heading back, taking our time to appreciate the friendliness of the locals and the precarious and chaotic telephone wire arrangements.

INDIA #1 [Kochi]



So here it is: I have finally got round to uploading some of my India photos! I shall try and keep it as concise as possible - but there is just so much I want to share with you all from this amazing trip I was lucky enough to go on!

The first place we visited was a colonial port town called Kochi (formerly Cochin), in the state of Kerala. It had been colonised by the Portuguese first, then the Dutch and the British and is the most densely populated city in the state. After leaving the UK in the snow the wall of heat that hit us as we disembarked from the plane was most welcome! Our first port of call was a lovely home stay just out of town right next to the back waters (as you can see from the photos below). All tired and slightly bewildered from jet lag we thought we had found paradise (we pretty much had) and all raced to be the first to try out the hammock overlooking the view in the back yard of the spacious, colonial style outhouse. I probably would not have been able to drag myself from said spot if it wasn't for our hosts delicious home cooked feast which us tired travellers devoured. After that meal even my brother was a chickpea convert!

1. Where we stayed! 2. The hammock. 3. Loving the no-roof shower - hear the birds and palm trees as you wash! 4. Colonial style interior. 5. Location making the A level Geography revision just a tad sweeter...

A perfect place to watch a perfect sunset.

On a trip round the main town we visited a women's cooperative - such a lovely place full of smiling and grateful ladies, all very helpful and eager to kit me and my brother out in traditional saris and turbans!

Last ice cream stop in the world?!

We wandered blissfully around the slightly calmer old town on the sea front and visited the Dutch Palace - a gift from the Portuguese to the Keralans, most likely to sweeten trade agreements and controversially named following its Dutch renovation.

One of my personal highlights of our brief stay in Kochi was our private sunset boat ride along the backwaters that were right on our doorstep! I am full of gratitude for our wonderful host Jos who organised this for us, saving us the terrors of a midday scramble to share a boat trip with hoards of other tourists - no thanks! I don't think I really need to attempt how magnificent the sights and sunset were, I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Traditional Chinese fishing nets are still a very popular method of fishing for the Keralans.

Our fisherman friend Nikson - everyone is just so friendly and happy to talk!

Cows, cows everywhere...

As we arrived on Easter Sunday in a primarily Christian settlement, the whole town was adorned in festive decorations and music, singing and partying could be heard at all hours! A chaotic and colourful celebration, yet somehow undoubtedly peaceful. It's amazing how so many religions live happily side by side in one area.

One of the favoured ways to get around!

We ended our stay at Kochi by seeing some traditional dancing and Kathakali. An intriguing performance with wonderfully intricate and ornate costumes!

So that's the first few days of the trip! Sorry that turned into quite a lengthy post, more to come shortly...

All comments welcome - would love to hear your thoughts!

GIF Wednesday is here!..To stay?

This Wednesday I have prepared for you a little GIF inspired by my exploration in Barcelona in the spring of 2012. Here I have attempted to simulate the view of walking down one of the narrow alleys found in the winding maze of lanes making up a large part of the city. Barcelona is a wonderful place to take a weekend city break if you want to a short and sweet blast of Spanish culture. Make sure to taste the delicious food as well as see all the sights such as Gaudi's gardens and the Sagrada Familia. I hope to write a full post on Barcelona when I have more time for those of you who are interested!

Please keep the feedback coming, I am eager to know which styles of posts you do and don't like. All suggestions welcome! And let me know if you think "GIF Wednesday" should be a permanent feature for Big World Small Girl!

Much love,