Mesmerized in Kathmandu
Violet St.Clair | Article and Photographs
I always thought that Paris was my favourite city; the jewel in
my crown of travel adventures. Then, I landed in Kathmandu.
Prayer fl ags and the eyes of the Buddha at the Monkey Temple
My visit, a whirlwind four-day add-on to India,
showed me a city of palpable chaos, colour, and
clamour; visually shambolic and surrounded by
the Himalayas. From the moment I left Tribhuvan
Airport, I didn’t know where to look fi rst. The
mass of jungled cords and wires above the streets
refl ected the tangle of motorbikes, vehicles, cows,
dogs, and people — throngs of people — on the
ground below. It was vibrant; humanity on the
move helter-skelter, joined by the occasional
macaque scampering and swinging across the
cables. The honking was unrelenting, and lanes
were loosely, creatively, terrifyingly interpreted.
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