Bhaktapur Durbar Square Tour - Day 13



 After yesterday,s full on festivities and face painting, went to the Kathmandu Hard Rock Cafe for Dinner. This was our first visit to a Hard Rock Cafe and we were pretty impressed with what we saw. A lot of music memorabilia adorns the walls such as B B King's Robe, Keith RIchards Session Guitar, and one of Princes outfits. The meal was typically American with burgers, fries and shrimps on the menu. It was a pretty good night and good meal for something different. After, we all crammed into a Nepal Taxi. These are about the size of a Suzuki Swift, so fitting 5 Adults and a drive in one of these was a pretty mean task. Back at the hotel it didn't take long to get to sleep.


So now to today's activities. The plan is to go to Bhaktapur, the oldest city in Nepal, dating back to the 12th Century. On our way we stopped at the world's largest statue of Lord Shiva and as has been the case all over Nepal, had our picture taken with and by numerous locals. After our walk around the park we made our way to Bhaktapur Durbar Square. The buildings in the square are being restored  and many are in use by local vendors to sell tourist items. We also visited an area they called Pottery Square. This is where all the pottery is made and sold. It was interesting to see they used creosote on the outside of the pottery instead of glazing. We also saw potters making bowls and urns, and loading up the massive kilns ready for firing. We did some gift shopping while we were there and got a few bargains. I think we made one vendor's day with him selling us 110,000 rs of merchandise. 



We decided to have some lunch at one of the many food shops there and after waiting 30 minutes for our drinks and 60 minutes for our meals, found we had no time left for further exploration of the area. We found our driver and then headed back to the hotel. Some of the roads on the way back brought back memories of our motorcycle ride. Finally at the hotel we took some time to freshen up before heading out to buy some last minute gifts. It certainly pays to haggle for prices here. We found starting prices vary by 100% on some items, and most of our purchases were half of the starting price we were given. With all our gifts purchased it was back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We found a local restaurant and settled in for our meal. This was going to be our last dinner together as a group and sombre occasion for Ann and me. Our Nepal holiday was drawing to a close with only one day left for us before we arrive back in Adelaide. This has been an experience  to remember with many laughs along the way, and some hard days on the road.

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