My first impression on arriving in Kathmandu in February 1970, was that I was stepping back several centuries - even though I had arrived by air, & had been transported to my hotel by bus. But in the centre of Kathmandu there was little in the way of modern transport to indicate that it was the second half of the 20th century, At first nervously, then with more confidence, I wandered around the city, rubbing shoulders with Newaris, Gurungs, Tibetans, Indians. I was fascinated with this polyglot mixture of races and religions. It was here that I first came upon Hinduism & Buddhism, although I couldn't then differentiate between the two. I was approached by beggars, hashish salesmen and a flute saleman. Money changers offered good rates for foreign cash - even travellers cheques. In those days there were still officially sanctioned hashish shops, especially in hippy haven of Freak Street. The sights, sounds and smells were all alien to me and I loved it. Even then I knew that I would be back.
On my first afternoon, as I walked around the bustling streets of Thamel
with some fellow travellers, a porter carrying a bundle of half-cured hides
pushed passed us.
In 1970 Rickshaws were the main form of transport around town.
Street vendors fascinated me. This man, along with his daughter, was
selling skeins of brightly-coloured wool.
The uninhibitedness of life in the streets amazed me. I had not
experienced this before. Here passers-by nonchalantly walk by
women washing their hair, & cooking utensils. Children play while
pi-dogs & their puppies scavenge for tidbits,
In a back street I came across this husband and wife, she wielding a
large sledge-hammer while he, presumably the technical brain,
slowly turned a red-hot piece of iron on an anvil.
In a quiet town square a man shuffled past with two water containers
hooked up to a yoke across his shoulders.
Naked & semi-naked children play in the dust by some large clay
water jars.
My perambulations took me to iconic Durbar Square in the centre
of Kathmandu. Unfortunately many of these temples were badly
damaged in the powerful earthquake of April 2015.
Text & photography © Neil Rawlins
Full accounts of my travels can be found in my two Kindle ebooks:
see my books: One Foot in Front of the Other: First Steps
'First Steps' tells the story of my early travels on the Overland routes in Asia & Africa.
'Full Stride' recounts my experiences as a tour leader on the Asian Overland routes and elsewhere
in Rajasthan, Kashmir, Turkey & Tunisia.
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