Bhaktapur's Durbar Square isn't really up to much. It's of course host to the royal palace, that wall of buildings in the photo, which is now the National Art Gallery. The Golden Gate, pictured but ignored in the previous post, is part of the palace compound, and one of Nepal's most famous artworks. The rest of the square contains the usual assortment of shrines and temples, but overall it lacks the architechtural fireworks of its competitors. It also isn't much used by locals, as it sits at one end of the city rather than the traditional center.

Another plus for Patan vs Kathmandu is the presence of a number of (touristy) rooftop cafes surrounding Durbar Square. In addition to providing decent food, we got a great vantage point over the square, which is sometimes difficult to fully appreciate at ground level. We had a proper continental breakfast at Cafe Pagode and lingered there for quite a while taking in the scene. The cafe directly overlooks the Manga Hiti, which is a big public bathing tank pictured here. It's been running since the sixth century, so I'm assuming the pipes are a bit rusty, but it still works.

Sometimes when I'm traveling I see a place that's so amazing I spend hours just walking around stunned. I had been looking forward to Durbar Square in Kathmandu since the beer commercial, so when I finally finished sightseeing there, I made a mental note and checked it off my list of places to see before I die. On most trips, I then come down a little off my travel high, as a feeling of "what's next?" replaces my original amazement. Well, the great thing about Nepal, is you can just repeat the whole discovery process again. Each of the old capitals has a Durbar Square, and each one, though following a similar pattern, is still a fascinating experience. Patan's is smaller than Kathmandu's, but also in many ways more elaborate and definitely less hectic. As in Kathmandu, it meanders around the Royal Palace, and these photos try to capture the central part of the square.

OK, so this post is a layup, as the material is so easy it practically writes itself. The only complicated part is getting you to identify the Kumari Chowk, the building I'm talking about here. The large white building is some weird extension of the palace, then there's a gap and a smallish red brick building lies to the right, with some people gathered underneath. Unfortunately it's the only photo I have of the Kumari chowk because the building doesn't really stand out among the others, but the story does. Inside resides the Kumari, who is a living goddess. There are actually eleven kumaris from different cities, but the Kathmandu Kumari is the most famous. The Kumari is the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess, who inhabits a long succession of specially selected Kumaris in a process going back many centuries. Confusingly, the Kumari is chosen from the Shakya clan, which is Buddhist. Only girls three to five years old are eligible, and all such girls from the Shakya clan are inspected and interviewed by a panel of elders. Any girl who has all 32 auspicious signs, such as eyelashes like a cow, a body like a banyan tree, a neck like a conch shell, is shortlisted. (Think of the selection process as an American Idol competition if it helps understand, and don't focus too much on what a three year old with a conch shell neck and banyan tree body would look like). Then the lucky girls are put in a dark room filled with severed buffalo heads, while men in scary masks jump around screaming. Any girl who remains calm during this then has to identify certain items belonging to the previous Kumari, and the winner gets to live in relative luxury as the next Kumari in her house on Durban Square, the Kumari Chowk. There she stays indoors except on a few festival days a year, the most famous of which when she bestows a special blessing on the king's forehead. You're never supposed to see her, but if you bribe the guards downstairs she may pop out of the upstairs window for a quick view. Her feet are never allowed to touch the ground, so she is carried everywhere, and she's always caked with makeup that makes JonBenet Ramsay look like an amateur. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and when she gets her period, she's tossed out and given a pension by the government and a new Kumari is chosen. It's not easy getting on with life as an ex-Kumari either, since anyone who marries her will die an early and horrible death.

By far the biggest building in the square is the old Royal Palace, and by far the most interesting story is about the Kumari Chowk, so we'll leave those for subsequent posts, and just add a few more photos of the dozens of temples and monuments filling the square. Nepal is mostly Hindu, though with a significant Buddhist minority. As Hindus, they worship an unbelievably complicated series of gods, which gives rise to an enormous number of religious buildings, each dedicated to a different god in the pantheon. And there are religious services, offerings and other ceremonies going on in most of the buildings all the time.

Durbar Square is the main Kathmandu attraction, and quite unlike anywhere else in the world. Actually it's quite similar to the main squares in other Nepalese towns as you'll see, so I'll have to modify my first claim a bit. It's a gigantic open space, where over the centuries, palaces, temples various monuments have been built haphazardly around the square, each competing to outshine the others with their otherworldly architecture. Then the remaining free space is crowded with markets, pedestrians, cows, beggars, picture snapping tourists and, unbelievably, cars. It's incredibly chaotic, and you'll want to spend all day here just soaking in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, that's not that easy, as the minute you stand still you'll be surrounded by beggars and touts, but it's all part of the scene.