Nepal - F.T. Burke

I’ve arrived in hippy heaven! The sounds of rock music are playing in many restaurants and clubs sprinkled amongst the squares and temples of Kathmandu. The smell of hashish often tickles the nose. (Wanderer, Page 368)

Kathmandu must be the ultimate Hippy High Guy mecca of all the stops on the Hippy Trail. What a wondrous gentle comfortable place to hang out! (Wanderer, page 377)

Rock music and the smell of hashish waft through the air. I feel as if I am at the end of the world and I’ve found my Shangri La, a haven for a hippy! (Wanderer, page 369)

So, I wander off by myself around the area to check out the wonders of Kathmandu. I follow the winding streets until I’m led right up to a Buddhist / Hindu Temple. (Wanderer, page 368)

Lo and behold―I’ve found the international hippy side of town. I see more and more of young, Western, long-haired freaks like me. (Wanderer, page 369)

I backtrack and follow the winding roads once again, only to end up at another temple. I do this several more times before I finally hit a main thoroughfare. (Wanderer, page 369)

There are many groovy establishments to checkout: the Hangout Café, The Rolling to Rock Bar, The Tea Room restaurant, Café Rock, and the American Home Cooking restaurant. (Wanderer, page 369)

Stroll down Freak Street

Then a man walks up to me. Not just any man, but a swami. “Excuse me, sir.” Before I have a chance for that first bite and sip, I turn around in my chair to face this swami man. He wears blue-ringed, studded, super intense eyes. He is captivating to look at upon first glance. (Wanderer, page 370)

I pause a bit, as I look deep into the man’s dark eyes, behind all that makeup. I’ve got to admit he does have the look of an Indian sage, very exotic and esoteric. (Wanderer, page 372)

The ancient pagoda temples that line the streets and dot the Kathmandu Valley give this land a very unique setting. There is such beauty to this place. It softly rains here each day because it is technically still the monsoon season. But it is mostly sunny and bright. (Wanderer, page 380)

We spend the rest of the day roaming around together from place to place. Much hashish is sold in small stores and varied places with people in the streets. The hippy freaks are puffing down wherever we go. (Wanderer, page 375)

I’m out walking the winding streets of Kathmandu by myself once again today. The pockets of hippy freak scenes around here just blows my mind. I can’t get used to it. It’s too much! Surreal! I suppose if I lived here all the time I’d get used to it. But, as a visitor it is hard to grasp the reality of this place. (Wanderer, page 376)

Richard and I continue pedaling on till we leave the city, go through some country and arrive at a little town called, Patan. We grab a bite to eat, walk to the small market area, then pedal back to Kathmandu just before night fall. (Wanderer, page 385)

Many small local stores openly advertise selling of a cornucopia of drugs―hashish, opium, coke and marijuana, with all sorts of pharmaceutical drugs sold without the need for a doctor’s prescription. It’s absolutely crazy! Blows my mind! (Wanderer, page 369)

Good friends, good food, great buzz, wonderful music, far out people―native and travelers alike―and great living. Nepal has it all. But I’m too stoned, always stoned, never not stoned. I need to pull back the reins and go with my natural flow. (Wanderer, page 375)

Monkeys are everywhere around here, especially as I get further from the populated areas and into the hillsides. In fact, there is a Monkey Temple called ‘Swayambu.’ I’ve heard so much about it from others that I’m excited to finally checkout the monkey temple for myself. (Wanderer, page 376)

Swayambu is located high on a hill just outside of town. As I trek closer to the grounds, monkeys appear everywhere. Near the top of the hill I take a seat and watch, literally hundreds of monkeys swinging through trees and playing around. What a rousing racket of noise they collectively create. (Wanderer, page 376)

I make my way back through the winding maze of the dirt streets of Kathmandu. I wander a bit, somewhat dazed and confused, near sleepwalking mode, but I eventually find my way back to my hotel in a semi-conscious state. (Wanderer, page 370)

Kathmandu, Nepal