Going local in Kathmandu

So they put you in a taxi from the airport and drop you off at a hotel in the tourist area. There are trendy internet cafes, shops and restaurants, all for the sole purpose of getting some of the lucrative tourist dollar that is the backbone of Nepal’s economy. There’s a man on every corner trying to sell you everything from treks to Everest Base Camp to cheap plastic beads from China. Horns honk, touts yell, and other tourists cling to laptops. You find yourself feeling like you’ve just been transported to another modern metropolis filled with backpackers and smug volunteers and NGOs, when what you really want is a taste of Kathmandu’s exotic culture and local life, a life you caught yourself. fleeting glimpse from the dirty windows of the taxis on the journey from the airport! So grab your bag, camera, and sense of adventure and let your feet lead you into the heart and soul of Kathmandu, one of the busiest cities in the Himalayas. Let me reveal some of the best places to get a taste of the local flavor of Kathmandu, a side of this bustling city that the “tour bus” crowds often miss.

Asan Tole – Asan Tole is the main market square in the center of Kathmandu. The market is the pulse of the Newar culture (Newar are and Kathmandu Valley ethnic group). The narrow cobbled alleyways leading to the tole are dotted with hidden temples and courtyards, dominated by old houses, all leaning on each other for support. Look up and you can still see the original hand-carved woodwork that has been the trademark of Newar craftsmen for centuries. The market square itself is situated around some lovely old temples and leads through several small side streets. From early morning until late afternoon, you’ll find men and women squatting around the central square selling fresh produce brought in from the fields that morning. Depending on the season, you can find everything from exotic oyster mushrooms, 10 different types of potatoes, and sweet little tomatoes to juicy fresh peaches, oodles of vibrant green spinach, and assorted herbs. Wander down any of the side streets leading off the chowk and you can find aromatic spices, the local staple rice, spicy dried fish, chillies and fresh handmade tofu, brass and copper clothing, pots and pans, incense, temple offerings and an almost infinite variety of items for the home. Asan Tole is a great place to practice your haggling skills, soak up the atmosphere of this bustling market, and come home with some amazingly fresh local produce or some authentic Nepali cookware.

Muslim Chowk – If you want to feel the atmosphere of a local community, just on the outskirts of Thamel, take a walk through this picturesque lane that is home to part of Kathmandu’s Muslim population. There is activity on this street at all hours of the day, from the halal butchers constantly selling their wares, the smiling juice and fruit whallas to the local housewives lugging huge baskets of laundry on their hips to the local water fountain. It’s almost like stepping into another area as Nepali Hindu culture blends into India’s Muslim vibe. Muslim Chowk is also an amazing place to be at night. Whole families go out; women sit on the door steps chatting, while children play and men sit in tea shops drinking hot tea. Here, you can also find some amazing restaurants serving deliciously delicious tender meat dishes, piping hot chapattis and Parthia and healthy spiced potato and chickpea dishes! A cheap and satisfying meal enjoyed among some of the friendliest people in town.

Bag Bazzaar – Looking for some local fashion? This one is strictly for women. Bag Bazaar is one of the original shopping streets of Kathmandu. Here you can find shop after shop displaying swaths of colorful fabrics waiting to be turned into Kurta Surwal or Saris, two of the most worn items of clothing by women in Nepal. If you’re looking for an affordable new outfit, head over to one of the stores you like and pick up a cushion. The shop manager will shower you with smiles and tea while her assistant brings out an endless parade of stuff for you to choose from. Once you have decided on the material, they will measure you and check your style preference. Then comes the best, haggling for the price! This can take some time and usually requires more tea! In a day or two, you’ll be back at the store, picking up your new piece of clothing, and enjoying more tea. This is one of the most fun and authentic shopping experiences in Nepal and totally different from the way you shop for clothes at home.

Tulikhel: If you are an early riser, put on your sneakers and walk the streets in the early morning. Make your way through Asan and the side streets leading to New Road. You’ll see the street sweepers, the meat boys making their morning deliveries of whole sides of buffalo, and the newspaper boys zigzagging precariously balancing a stack of newspapers on their handlebars with one hand and tossing papers onto the grounds with the other. Head towards Tulikhel, a large open park in the center of Kathmandu. This is where the locals come in the mornings to work out, socialize and do yoga! Grab a mat and join the daily yoga class held in the lower corner of the park. Learn to stretch and contort your body into angles you never thought you could, and be doubly amazed by the old lady sitting next to you with her ankles wrapped around her ears! The best part of these sessions hosted by yogis from India is the big laugh session at the end. Get yourself in the right mood for the day by placing your hands on your belly and joining the locals in a thunderous chorus of laughter that wakes up anyone who hasn’t gotten up yet.

Swayambunath – This popular tourist attraction has much more to offer than pictures of monkeys and the Kathmandu skyline. Come here in the early morning or late afternoon to join the throngs of Tibetans and Buddhists making daily circumnavigations of the stupa. Follow in their footsteps as men and women dressed in traditional clothing make three circuits at the bottom of the stupa, turning the 10,000-mani wheels as they go. Then go up the stairs to the top, head behind the main stupa, go down the stairs and into the jungle. There will barely be a sole around it. Find a spot along one of the many paths that lead into the jungle and sit in complete peace and silence. When you’re happily content strolling around the small white stupa and Newar Buddhist monastery, chat with the boy monks who will be busy sweeping the courtyard in the morning. Back on the road, head to a local tea shop for some tea and freshly cooked Mulpi (fried dough crispy on the outside and sticky in the middle) or try traditional Tibetan salted tea, spiced potatoes and fluffy flatbread . All this and you can be back in Thamel before the other tourists have gotten out of bed – even better if you got there so early you never had to pay the entrance fee!