Incongruous Post

I have two unrelated stories to tell, and they are these:

Story #1 - Blogging in the evening seems a little more enjoyable with an adult beverage. But it's cold here, so I didn't want a cold drink. Gin and tonic is my favorite, but it's a malarial region drink. Maybe for our next posting in India or Ghana. Life at altitude calls for hot coffee with a kick. The natural solution is a coffee with a liqueur. But then the caffeine will keep me up, and I have visas to adjudicate in the morning. This sounded like a dilemma that only the internet could solve. So I consulted the series of tubes and found this little gem:

Hot Buttered Rum
- 2 oz Dark rum
- 1 tsp Brown sugar
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Fill w/ hot water
- Small floating pat of butter.

Sounds delicious, right?! Yeah, I thought so too. But it's not. That's 2 oz. of Captain Morgan's I'll never get back. That's the end of that story. On to...

Story #2 - I took a trip to the ancient city of Bhaktapur last Saturday. Bhaktapur was the capital city of the old Malla Kingdom until the 15th century and then became an independent city-state until Prithvi Narayan Shah unified it with Kathmandu, Patan, and the rest of the valley. Bhaktapur is apparently like Kathmandu was decades ago. It's the third largest city by population but hardly any traffic is allowed inside the city proper. Not that the narrow streets can accommodate much more than a moped. Due to the large number of temples, monuments, open squares, and palaces it is an official UNESCO World Heritage Site. The place is really amazing and certainly what you picture when you think of "Nepal." The roads are all cobblestone and buildings are made of ancient red bricks, some looking like they could crumble to dust at any moment. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened during the last big earthquake in 1934. I'm glad I've been there now, and plan to go again, because another earthquake will hit eventually and I'm not sure how many of these building will survive if it's a big one. It's also fascinating because much of the traditional lifestyle remains. I saw weavers and potters. I saw people hauling water from deep wells and winnowing grain in shallow wicker baskets. And I saw a naked baby get a massage. (That's apparently very important traditionally here, and helps explain a previous post/picture about charcoal briquettes for baby massage.) Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of pictures because our camera went home with Elyse since we have our own baby coming. But I did manage a few decent shots with my cell phone. Here they are. Otherwise, to really grasp the ancient grandeur, do an image search on Google.

Nyatapola Temple - the tallest temple in Nepal, dedicated to Siddhi Lakshmi, a bloodthirsty incarnation of the goddess Durga. The stone guards up the stairs are pairs of legendary wrestlers, elephants, griffons and two little but really mean goddesses. Each creature is said to be 10 times more fierce than the preceding.









Bhairabnath Temple, as seen from Nyatapola's steps and past the head of a fierce griffon. Bhairab is one of the incarnations of Shiva the destroyer. Devout Hindus push offerings through a tiny opening in the front to a depiction of mighty Shiva....only 15 centimeters tall.









Baghini, the tiger goddess. Or is that Singhini, the lion goddess? They're hard to tell apart.















Not a great picture, but a simple snap shot of a shop owner with big bags of beans, lentils, and grains.











I'll post more pictures of Bhaktapur, the "City of Devotees," once I get our camera and we go back for the baby's first charcoal briquette massage.

PS: The Hot Buttered Rum drink kinda grew on me. Give it a try, if you are brave enough.