Meet my home in Kathmandu
It requires a bit of practice to be able to gracefully enter the building; the heavy wooden door combined with a high step up often result in first-time visitors tumbling their way into the ground floor with a sheepish grin.
A hundred meters from Patan's Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the palace of the Malla Kings still stands, there is a small, unassuming alleyway hidden between two stupas. Follow it and you will find yourself in a small courtyard half-filled with motorbikes and surrounded on three sides by old Newari-style buildings. The Newars, a caste of Nepal, heavily populate Patan and their very distinct architectural style, red brick walls adorned with wooden awnings and carved pillars, can be found all over the area in varying states of decay or renovation. As you walk towards my building, don’t be afraid of the two large dogs who have awoken from a lazy slumber in the sun and now playfully bark out your arrival; they will soon be licking your hand and expecting a nice pat or two in return.
It requires a bit of practice to be able to gracefully enter the building; the heavy wooden door combined with a high step up often result in first-time visitors tumbling their way into the ground floor with a sheepish grin.
But any embarrassment from a clumsy entrance quickly fades into wonderment as you gaze around the sanctuary in which you now find yourself. Looking up, you see the sky, for the building is set up similar to a Moroccan riad, with a wooden staircase zigzagging from floor to floor past intricately carved lattice work windows that peek into hidden courtyards and gardens down below in a different world. When you reach the third floor, the only option to continue climbing is an wrought iron spiral staircase. Winding up one and a half spins, you are now in the open air on a rooftop terrace complete with potted plants, flocks of pigeons, and, across the gardened courtyards below, your Nepali neighbors.
Up here, nestled in a corner to the left, is my attic hideaway. I am renting the room from Camille Hanesse, a French woman who has been living in Nepal with her boyfriend for the past three years. She and her Nepali business partner, Jiten, are a constant presence, making sure everything is working well and in order.
For authenticity's sake, I did not attempt to clean up before taking photos. In my defense, it is laundry day.
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