January 3rd
Patan
Our
last full day in Nepal dawns warm and lovely, and far too soon. The air is clear after so many days of
strike, although we learn over breakfast that the bandh is over and traffic has
returned to the streets. This
allows us to complete our itinerary with a visit to the last of the three
cities of the valley, Patan. While
not quite the preserved jewel that is Bhaktapur, Patan has a similarly
beautiful central square and a large market area featuring many crafts. We wander through streets dedicated to
pottery, bronzeworking, papier-mache, stone statuary, and other local specialties. As during our visit to Bhaktapur, the
craftsmen work in the courtyards or in open-air rooms next to the street,
allowing a view into their methods and tools. The procedures are timeless – kilns are made of heaps of
straw, fired with charcoal. Wood
is worked by hand with simple tools, modern only in the stampings on the metal
heads.
As
we are at the end of our journey, many of us pick up souvenirs to bring
home. While the large papier-mache
masks seem unlikely to survive, the statues and prayer wheels are
irresistible. While we were able
to avoid carrying much with us, we did order some woodwork to be shipped to us
at home. By late January a huge
crate arrived at the Lufthansa docks at Logan, necessitating the loan of a
minivan to bring home. Opening it
required the purchase of a crowbar, which for some reason we had not yet
acquired. Many minutes of pounding
and praying later, we finally opened it to reveal four very neatly packed
artworks ready for hanging. The
Kathmandu newspapers used as padding provided a welcome reminder of our trip,
and an update on the Hrithik Roshan scandal.
Over
dinner we recall our last days in Kathmandu, which now seem ages ago. Riots, elephant polo, the Royal Nepal
Army Band – it’s been less than two weeks, but seems an eternity. We have another 10 days to enjoy in
Cambodia and Thailand, but as much as we look forward to them it is hard to
leave this beautiful place.
There
is no journal for the next ten days, which somehow seemed anticlimactic, though
fascinating and wonderful. Angkor
Wat is a fantastic place, now open to tourism and quite safe. It is a must for anyone with an
interest in archeology or in Asian history. For decades closed to any but the most intrepid (or the
Vietnamese army), it is wonderful to have the opportunity to wander through
these amazing sites and see a legend come alive. Cambodia has a hard road to travel, but the new kingdom
(complete with new flag showing Angkor Wat) seems committed to doing their
best. The photos of the many
temples speak for themselves, particularly the haunting Ta Prohm and the
exquisite Banteay Srei. While the
last few years have brought many improvements to the sites – the UN has cleared
the landmines, repaired the depredations of war as much as they can, and
restarted restoration – it is not yet complete. Bullet holes walk across murals, there are several
terrifying climbs up crumbling steps, and the effort to create a
tourist-friendly infrastructure is only just beginning. The improvements since 1998 are
amazing, so surely within a few years these remaining challenges will be
managed.
From
there we returned to Thailand for a week of relaxation and shopping in Chiang
Mai and Bangkok. Chiang Mai is a
lovely small city, with gorgeous teak-wood wats around every corner. The splendid Doi Suthep on a hill above
town is the pinnacle of temple architecture, in that combination of wood, gilt,
and glitter so beloved of the Thais.
Bangkok is sprawling and modern, but traveling down the Chao Praya to
the old capital of Ayutthaya is a step backwards to a calmer era. The Jim Thompson house is a collection
of old teak houses around a courtyard, an oasis of the old Thailand in the
heart of the city. The palace
complex with the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is one of the masterpieces of
more recent art and architecture, indescribable and pristine. Clean, modern hotels featuring reliable
power and constant hot water, taxicabs, A&W rootbeer, pharmacies with cough
medicine, friendly people everywhere, orchids and fruit, afternoon tea and
cakes, shops with silks and jades and wonderful things of every description –
Thailand is a wonderful place, and the perfect rest stop on our way back to the
States.