Dust on My Feet: Overland to London

The mid-1960s until the early 1980s was the heyday of the great Asian Overland journeys between Kathmandu in Nepal, through Asia, to London. It was a route that many young, and not-so-young, adventurers embarked on to get to Europe. It was particularly popular among Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians and British. It was a journey fraught with experiences, most pleasant, and memories that would last a lifetime.

Times have changed dramatically since those days. Borders have closed, even before Covid, due mainly to civil and political unrest. International intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq has created a suspicion of Westerners which had not existed in those earlier decades. It is an age now gone forever, an age before social media and cellphones, when to contact home base would mean long, frustrating waits to make a phone call or send a telex. We had to be, and were, resourceful.

In past blogs, I have posted summaries or cameos of favourite destinations, I will now retrace, day by day, the journeys we made with Sundowners Overland over these years. There were several different routes taken, depending on the political situation at the time and by the early '80s we were flying from Karachi to Athens, missing out Afghanistan and Iran. For the main part of this blog series, I have chosen a Pharaoh tour I led in 1980 of which I have the day book - the day to day itinerary with information of the places we would be visiting. I have illustrated the blog with photos I have taken over the years. As I also travelled through Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq in earlier years, I will also include these itineraries, in the appropriate places. This, I hope, will give readers some idea of one of the last great 'tourist' adventures of modern times.

Durbar Square, Kathmandu - the journey begins

Namaste, or Welcome to Kathmandu, the capital of the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal, the starting point of Sundowners 85 day Pharaoh tour - Kathmandu to London via the Middle East and Egypt. As the journey does not begin until Monday 26^th May, you will have free time to explore this fascinating city.

Kathmandu is rightly called the City of Temples as you will see when you set out to explore Kathmandu proper and the two neighbouring towns of Patan and Bhaktapur. The city is a fascinating mixture of both Hindu and Buddhist cultures; both co-exist peacefully side by side. You will see, besides the Newari people native to the Kathmandu Valley, Sherpas from the Everest area, Tibetan refugees from their own country across the high Himalayas, Gurkhas of military fame, Gurungs with their pierced noses weighted with gold ornaments, and a variety of other people all working side by side.

The Kathmandu Valley at one time in the geological past was a great lake known as Taodhanaahrada, the home of the Nagarajas, or serpent-kings, and as such the area is the source of many legends. Tradition has it that an early Buddha named Vipaswi, noting that around the lake were all types of flowers bar the lotus, took a lotus root and threw it into the lake, thus creating the Svayambhu Dharmadhatu, or self-created light of the ultimate element of Buddhist doctrine. Thus the lake became a place of pilgrimage and a place of enlightenment, until a later Buddha, Manjushri, smote the cliffs of the Valley with his magic sword, creating a gorge which drained all but a small area of the lake, thus creating a fertile valley in the mountains. Some of the Nagarajas were persuaded to stay and so, even today, they are regarded as the protectors of the city who are called upon in times of drought. An even later Buddha decided to cover the holy lotus and the dharmdhatu. First placing the sacred light in a hole. Built a chaitya, or small stupa, over it and thus, the present-day Swayambhunath, just outside the city, is the holiest place of Buddhist pilgrimage in Nepal.

All the above is legend, but it is interesting to note that geological evidence has confirmed that the Valley was once a lake that was drained through a cleft, probably the result of a massive earthquake, in the surrounding mountains some 15,000 years ago. Swayambhunath is easily accessible from the Blue Star Hotel and is a must to visit. It is also known as the monkey temple because of the large numbers of wild langur monkeys inhabiting the temple precincts and the surrounding hill. Also note the giant Vajra or sacred thunderbolt at the top of the stairs. This is the symbol of the Vajrayana form of Buddhism prevalent in Nepal and Tibet.

Vajra, the Sacred thunderbolt, symbol of Vajrayana Buddism - Swayambhunath

Temples in Durbar Square, Patan

Durbar Square is regarded as the centre of Kathmandu and is also an interesting and photogenic area. Nearby is Freak St., so-named for the hippies who came along in the ‘60s and ‘70s, many of whom still remain. Here you can buy all manner of souvenirs, European clothing , camping gear (sold by expeditions), dope in its varying forms. There is an open market here where hawkers will hassle you to buy kukri knives, jewellery or prayer wheels.

In Durbar Square is the famous Temple of the Living Goddess (Kumari Devi) in which a little girl is revered and worshipped as a goddess. To be selected as a Kumari, she must be pure, meaning that she has not lost any blood. Thus if she cuts or scratches herself, or at the onset of her menstruation cycle when she reaches puberty, she becomes impure and a new Kumari is selected esoterically by the priestly Brahmin caste.

Entrance to Hanuman Dhoka

The old Palace of the Kings is also sited in the Square and entry costs around 10 rupees. There are many other temples in Durbar Square, but the most important is Hanuman Dhoka, dedicated to Hanuman, the monkey general of the Hindu epic Ramayana.

Other places of interest are the towns of Bhaktapur and Patan, both of which have interesting Durbar Squares. Bodhnath Stupa is similar but larger than Swayambhunath, and although it is important to the Buddhist community, it does not have as interesting a legend attached to it. Near the Stupa is the most important Hindu temple in Nepal, Pashupatinath on the Bagnati River. As the Bagmati River is a tributary of the Ganges, it is also held as sacred and cremations on the river bank are common.

Another point of interest some distance out of town but easily accessible by bicycle (if you’re feeling fit) is Budhanilkantha where there is a stone sculpture of Vishnu asleep on the cosmic serpent. The statue is in a pond, which in turn symbolises the cosmic ocean. According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu sleeps, awaiting for his consort Lakshmi who will tickle his feet, thus arousing Vishnu to release the energy that will enable him to dream the dream of creation. There is a local legends that the 17th century King Pratap Malla had a prophetic vision that the kings of Nepal would die if they visited this temple. Since then the kings of Nepal, in fear of the prophecy, have never visited Budhanilkantha.

The Reclining Vishnu at Buddhanilkantha

As you will soon see all of these Eastern religions are fraught with symbolism and it is far more complex than being pure pagan imagery. Each action, each hand gesture (mudra), each item held by the god has a meaning or a function. I do not intend on going into the meanings as yet, but if anyone is interested, I can give further information on this subject.

Temple strut on a Temple in Durbar Square

Tours of most of these places, and a dawn trip to see the sunrise over Everest, can be arranged at the hotel. If anyone is interested, please place your name on the list I have attached to the hotel notice board.

EATING in Kathmandu and India and Pakistan in general is pretty good. All the large towns have a variety of restaurants, many of which serve excellent meals at a cheaper price than you will no doubt have been used to. Many of the hotels we stay in provide breakfast and an evening meal in the overall cost. Kathmandu, Delhi, Lahore and Karachi all have excellent European and Chinese restaurants as well as the traditional local foods. Favourites among most people are the pepper steaks and the tandoori chicken. On the road we stop in villages along the way. Most of these places have ‘transport cafés’ Indian-style. The food, perhaps looks unsavoury and the cooking premises leave much to be desired, but on the whole, the food in these places is quite palatable. Use your own discretion. I feel that if I can see the food actually being cooked, it can’t be too bad. Just keep in mind that food can be highly spiced and chilis are used a lot.

Many a hot meal!

Most villages have large supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables. It is best not to eat peeled fruit like apples, pears, tomatoes, guavas etc. without first cleaning them in sterilised water (water with a sterotab in it). Fruit like bananas and oranges are okay if peeled as long as the peel hasn’t been broken. Fluid intake is going to be important in the heat we will experience – dehydration becoming a serious reality. At most hotels we can get boiled water. It’s advisable to carry a thermos flask for this. Minerals, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Fanta, 7-Up. Thums-Up etc. are quite safe. A symptom of dehydration is a headache. This is when salt tablets will become necessary. Beer and alcohol are freely available in Nepal and India, but not in Pakistan. Some alcohol is veritable fire-water, as some of you will no doubt find out. Booze does tend to be a bit expensive, but normally quite safe to drink.

Typical Indian vegetable market, Rajasthan

Well that about covers the introduction to Kathmandu and the start of P48. The driver and I will be doing our best to give you all an ace trip but please remember that Although we try to be as helpful as possible

We are NOT infallible and sometimes come unstuck!!