Himalayas Magazine – June 2019

shrines and hundreds of idols. (6) & (7) Freak

Street also hosted many small, low-ceilinged

cafés and eateries, where hippies, self-

appointed philosophers, would-be writers and

travellers gathered over buff steak and chips

or chocolate cake. Rumours abounded that

Cat Stevens (of Buddha and the Chocolate

Box fame) or Bob Dylan were just around the

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pigs and nonchalant holy cows. Off New Road,

the only modern thoroughfare, Aunt Jane’s

was another travellers’ institution, renowned

for its delicious American-style chocolate

cakes.

Many of the temples in Durbar Square

precariously stood sentinel over the throng

of local sellers by day, while in the evenings

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accordions. A bell would ring out from a

shrine housing an elephant-style image

(Ganesh) near a myriad of devotees,

paying homage to the array of strange and

mysterious idols. Hippies colonised the

temple steps, oblivious to the religious

fervour all around. Deep in the dark,

narrow alleys of Asan bazaar, mysterious

temple images kept a watchful eye – the

most intriguing being the strange-eyed

White Machhendranath, the rain god. In

the maze of traditional courtyards (bahals)

that made up the old city, women washed

pots as children scurried about, eager to

meet a strange foreigner. The men smoked

their beedies and discussed the latest twist

to the political intrigues of the day.

Around the valley, narrow dusty lanes led

to Patan, which then consisted of hardly

more than a couple of streets around the

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Durbar Square, and to Bhaktapur, the

smaller of the three royal cities of the

valley. Pashupatinath enjoyed a quiet spot

below the forest beside the Bagmati river,

where ascetics and holy men (sadhus)

VALLEY OF THE GREEN-EYED YELLOW IDOL

48 | TRAVEL HIMALAYA SPRING 2019 http://www.himalayamagazine.com