A Himalayan treat!

Shiva Prasad

In our family we have an international travel a year, but this big recession thing had its impact on our little household too, so it was decided against it. But for me my travel is a must, I recuperate and rejuvenate for the entire year through my annual trip. So, I started thinking of a more economic option. Nepal struck my mind. I was also intrigued by the LGBT liberation movement in Nepal making headlines for the past few months. I discussed this with my gay cousin and we froze on the destination and convinced our families.

Moving into Nepal was my first experience of literally crossing the border. We reached Gorakhpur (the closest railway station to the India-Nepal border) by train and headed to Shonauli in an auto rickshaw. Unlike what I expected the situation at the border was quite relaxed and the military deployment was just a troop on either side and the checking was quite nominal. Indians don’t need a visa or any other permit to cross the border. Then we were shuttled by our tour agency to Kathmandu in a bus. The ride in itself was so rejoicing with the landscape changing form plain to mountains, deep valleys, lush greenery, munching dead cheap succulent and fresh green apples on our way and the locals acting as our tour guides.

We reached the capital city at around 6 o clock in the evening, but it was already dark by then and it was biting cold back then in October. We were lodged in a very comfortable boutique hotel in Thamel (the tourist district of Kathmandu). We relaxed that night and followed the tour agency’s city site seeing itinerary the next day.

First we went to the famous Pashupatinath temple, did our darshan, bought different varieties of rudraksh and other religious stuff for our extended family. Next was the Buddhist shrine of Swayambunath. Both temples we quite imposing, but the worst part was being bare foot(our soles we almost freezing) in the queue during the darshan. Your browser may not support display of this image. Your browser may not support display of this image. Your browser may not support display of this image. Your browser may not support display of this image.

After the holy places were the royal palace, the parliament and other less important government and historical structures. It was a pleasant misty foggy morning. The trafic was bad but regulated. One strange notice that i made was that I spotted more mercedes in Kathmandu than in any other Indian city. We had our lunch and were dropped at the darbar square for our shopping. The ambiance of the darbar square was quite colonial, oriental and at the same time modestly modern with a few shopping malls. The things worth buying were the antique pieces, masks, shawls, quilts and lots of smuggled branded goods. We made some best buys at the free markets. I realized soon enough that almost all people were amazingly in shape contrary to back home, beautiful with smooth light skins and lustrous silky hair and fashionably dressed.

Nepal has something for every kind of traveler, including the gay one. You may be single, going with your better half or for some food for your soul, you will not be disappointed. Forget home, soak in the colors, the wild Himalayas, picture post card sceneries and beautiful, friendly people. You would carry home memories for a life time.

We finished our shopping at around 9 (shops close very early in winters) and headed back to our hotel. Had our dinner and went for a late night walk. The roads bore a festive look, hundreds of tourists of different nationalities were heading towards different bars , pubs, street games etc. the entire district of Thamel was clustered with restaurants, discotheques and chic pubs. There were posters of scantily clad women, inviting and lewd one liners by pubs. Not able to withstand the cold we went back to our hotel. We googled and searched for the gay bars there.

The next day was the most exciting. It was our flight around the Mount Everest. It cost us 3800 INR each. Those few moments seeing the magnificient mountain in real were etched in my memorabilia for ever. One would be just so humbled my the majesty of our planet.

Leter that day we did some more shopping. In the night we dressed up in our smart clothes and went to a supposedly gay bar. And it was an amazing crowd. Fully packed with chick looking chickna Nepali boys and other foreign guys. The music was electryingfying and people danced non stop till very late in the night. We befriended a gay couple there and they said Nepal has a thriving gay community and nightlife scene. Following the introduction of laws offering its transgender, gay and lesbian citizens equality Nepal has been “moving ahead full throttle” to establish a colorful and lively environment for its gay populace. Travelers like us are usually in for a surprise when they arrive in this country to find that gay-friendly clubs now dot its capital. This may not be something that is expected from a “conservative, mostly-Hindu” nation, but the issue has been in the spotlight of late. We also discussed the gay cruising places, the NGOs etc, their political, cultural, social struggle.

Our next destination was this beautiful, fairy tale city of Pokhara. All the way along from Kathmandu to Pokhara one has this breathtaking view of the Annapurna ranges. The tourist district of Pokhara is all along the lake Phewa. The city is quaint and calm. All that you have to do there is to just relax and enjoy the bountiful nature. And because it was the last week of the year, the traffic was banned from the streets and all the restaurants were brought out onto the roads. The evening and night scene was even more vibrant than in Thamel. Each restaurant that is brought out onto the road had a bon fire, and many country street games were organized too. People were friendly, celebrating and cheerful. The next few days we went trekking and river rafting.