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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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DURBAR SQUARE, KATHMANDU, NEPAL
Durbar Square was just a 15 minute walk from the International Guest House. It is one of three durbar (royal palace) squares in Kathmandu Valley.
The 5-acre palace complex is divided into two main chowks (courtyards). The square isn’t a square, but instead a collection of structures, alleys, and stalls. Until several centuries ago, Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur were all rival cities, often in a state of war. Because of their self-imposed isolation from each other, each city had its own royal family, palace, and therefore, its own Durbar Square. I asked the owner of my guest house about the architecture and he said that 500 years ago, architects from Nepal went to Japan to help rebuild after a series of earthquakes. Then the Japanese picked up and refined the pagoda style into their own architecture. Don't know if that is true but it sounded good to me! The touts in the square of pretty aggressive. I got away by telling them I didn't speak English but I saw other tourists that weren't so lucky and couldn't shake them. The shops around the square sold everything from household goods to spices to souveniers.
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In Durbar Square you will find Kumari Chowk - the courtyard of the Living Goddess Kumari. Kumari is believed to be the incarnation of the Hindu mother goddess, Durga, until, at menstruation, the spirit leaves her. A new goddess is then chosen from a shortlist of children from a certain Buddhist clan. Kumari only leaves her home a few times a year, when she is carried around the city on a throne during certain festivals. Freak Street (local name is Jhochen Tol) is another district in Kathmandu. It was a hippie haven for flower children and pot heads in the 60s. Most of the hippies are gone now and the silver shops have replaced the hash houses. It's just a 15 minute walk from Thamel District on the southside of Durban Square area.
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It is the site of the Hanuman Dhoka Palace Complex, which was the royal Nepalese residence until the 19th century and where important ceremonies, such as the coronation of the Nepalese monarch, still take place today. 
Now, I haven't been to Japan yet but it felt like I was while walking among the pagodas. 
