visiting a medieval town of Baktapur with mountains beyond

medieval brick town of Baktapur, Nepal set in Kathmandu Valley

Travel Tales: Waking Up in a Medieval Town

I was awakened at dawn by live accordion music. Whhaaat the..? Before I could make any sense of it, a loud bell rang out three clear notes. The accordion continued its melodic song. Despite my weariness this was just too bizarre to sleep through. I rolled out of bed groggily, stumbled to the door, unlocked it and stepped out onto my third floor balcony to investigate.

Out in the crisp dawn air the music amplified, sounds diversified. I made out low chant-like singing accompanying the accordion. Bells rang out randomly from time to time. Roosters called to each other across the brick city. Dogs barked. A low din of human activity buzzed around the hilly streets below.

I couldn’t help but wonder if this music was being played intentionally, purely for the sake of tourists like myself, sleeping in nearby guest houses. Did the residents here in Baktapur, Nepal really, truly start their days by chanting to accordion music and ringing bells? Was that possible in the year 2013?

small temple near my guest house - Baktapur

small brick temple near my guest house in Baktapur, seen from my balcony

I scoped out the vicinity, searching for the source of this medieval-sounding music. Ah. A small temple sat just across the brick road. The chanting & accordion seemed to emanate from there. After watching a few minutes, I realized that passing local residents were stopping in at the temple briefly to pray. As part of their ritual they rang a bell two to three times.

Yes, it was real.

But as an American in central Nepal, I felt like I had awakened inside a film set. Perhaps ‘Robin Hood’ set in medieval England?

Suddenly a super fake-sounding collective laugh filled the air. “Ha ha ha ha,” the young voices said. That strange laughter wafted out from a long building decorated with large cartoon characters. A kindergarten perhaps? Did I really just hear that, or was I imagining things? It certainly added to the surreal morning wake-up call.

narrow brick street of Baktapur

Looking around below me I noticed local women, dressed in colorful Indian clothing and carrying various bundled loads, making their way slowly up or down the hilly brick streets. Men were making their way up and down the roads too, though wearing western-style clothes and unburdened by any loads.

Turning my gaze higher, I was greeted by beautiful sweeping views of green mountains surrounding the city and, closer by, tall boxy brick buildings packed in close together.

Not far from my guest house I saw the silhouettes of Baktapur’s tallest Newari temples, rising against the cloudy sky, soaring way above the tallest brick houses and shops.

I stood there on my balcony a while watching the early morning unfold and absorbing the strange atmosphere created primarily by the temple chanting, accordion music & bells.

view from my balcony of mountains surrounding Baktapur

Eventually convinced that I was not dreaming or living inside a film set, I got dressed and set out for a local Indian-style breakfast of chapatis, daal, milk tea and Baktapur’s famous fresh yogurt. Luckily, I knew just the place. I’d stumbled upon the shop yesterday.

I set out up the steep brick road. I hadn’t walked more than 30 M when I came upon a throng of goats tied up along a wall. The goat market.

goats for sale in Baktapur

One of Baktapur’s most important annual festivals, Dussein, was just around the corner. Quite unfortunately for those goats, a main feature of the festival is animal slaughter. I had visited Bhaktapur 12 years earlier, quite accidentally during Dussein, and had been completely startled and horrified to stumble upon streets literally running in bright red goat blood, their body parts hacked up for sale along the roads.

Today I looked at the poor unsuspecting goats with pity and sadness. I liked goats. But there was nothing I could do to thwart their impending bloody doom.

So after pausing to chuckle at their silly goat-ness, I continued up the brick street through a small morning market and turned the corner into stone-tiled Taumadhi Tole Square, one of Bhaktapur’s main temple plazas. On the corner a fresh buffalo carcass was laid out for sale. In front of the temples and lining the square, women had set out their vegetables and flowers for sale. It made for a very photogenic morning.

market at temple – Baktapur

I continued on through narrow brick streets to the chapati shop. Once there, within minutes I was chomping on warm chapati bread, a deep fried potato samosa and cold yogurt. The renowned Bhaktapur yogurt, called jujudhau, is absolutely delicious. It has a slightly sweet lemony flavor and a creamy smooth texture. I ate my breakfast in complete bliss.

Belly full, I set out to explore more plazas, temples and narrow winding brick streets in one of Nepal’s most famous towns and UNESCO World Heritage City.

QUESTIONS:

Have you ever visited a town that seemed to be in a different century?

If you’ve visited Baktapur, what were your impressions? Did you feel like you were in a real medieval town?

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My First Impressions of Kathmandu

Photo Gallery: Kathmandu

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