Where Maybe Later Doesn't Mean Quite the Same Thing

Today, we took a day trip to Bhaktapur, a small medieval village, about 45 miles outside of Kathmandu that is surrounded by small farms. We hired a driver with a slightly nicer car than we are used to here and air conditioning to make the drive more comfortable. The town is known for Durbar Square where many of the oldest Hindu temples and Buddhist Stupas are located – some dating back to the 15 century.

When we arrived, we were swarmed by vendors selling Nepali goods. I was overwhelmed and said “maybe later.” The women followed us for a while and eventually gave up.

We walked down the narrow cobblestone streets and saw beautiful architecture including statues of Hindu Gods and the tallest temple that exists in the area. We hired a local guide who walked us around and told us stories about the Gods.

My favorite spot was the local school that trains artists to paint Thankas, Tibetan Buddhist paintings that depict the life of deities and the Buddha. The schools train monks and other Nepalis to paint these intricate pieces of art that tell a story. I was mesmerized by the stories of the Buddha. We walked around the gallery where we learned that the price of the art was dependent on the experience of the artist (master vs. student) and how long the piece took him to create. We sat down with one man who pulled out various Thankas and showed us how unique each was.

My mom really liked one so I bought it for her as a gift for being here with me.. especially now as it isn’t really what she thought she was getting in to!

We left the Thanka school and continued walking through the cobblestone streets. The air is much cleaner in Bhaktapur, and you do get a slight glimpse of the lower lying Himalayas.

We walked through a long court yard up to a Hindu temple entrance. I noticed there was a red pathway of what seemed to be drops of blood. He confirmed that there was most likely an animal sacrifice taking place. I wasn’t looking forward to what might be around the corner. We never found out as we were not allowed to enter the Hindu temple because we were not Hindu.

A few hours later we decided to head back to KTM. On the way to the car, many of the same women who were trying to sell us goods came out. One of the women caught us off guard and said “you told me maybe later.” I thought wow..I really meant the maybe part of “maybe later”. She said “I’ve been waiting for you.” I ended up buying a necklace. I learned my lesson not to say “maybe later” again.