Hidden Courtyards of Patan, Nepal

Patan is one of the three independent kingdoms that once flourished in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal (the others being Kathmandu and Bhaktapur). Urban sprawl now encompasses much of the valley, but Patan still feels distinct and features unique architecture and cultural institutions. The historic name is "Lalitpur," or City of Beauty. According to The Rough Guide's Nepal, legend credits Patan's founding to King Arideva in 299 AD. By the seventh century, Patan had emerged as the artistic and cultural center of Nepal and a large expanse of the Himalaya. It remained a sovereign state until 1769, when Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the valley and chose Kathmandu as his unified capital. In many ways, the historic core is frozen in time as it was in 1769. Therefore, Patan is an architectural gem well worth a visit.

The tourist map shows Patan's location south of Kathmandu City. It is a short taxi ride there, but, depending on traffic, it may be rather time-consuming. Walking would be unpleasant with the constant cacophony of horns and stench of exhaust. Odd note: the tuk-tuks, that formerly belched terrible 2-stroke exhaust fumes, are now electric!! The electric motors and batteries were installed as a simple upgrade via a program funded by US Aid and the Asian Development Bank. The tuk-tuks retained their original transmissions, and the motors were connected to 2nd. gear. The photograph shows the normal status of a tuk-tuk: packed with customers.

Most tour groups alight from their taxis or buses in front of the historic Durbar Square, where the palace and many of the temples are located. This is a UNESCO Heritage Site. We tourists have to pay an admission fee, and there is another admission into the Palace.

In this article, I want to concentrate on streets and alleys that tourists might overlook.

Patan, like the rest of Kathmandu, is a full of tiny shops selling all sorts of goods. You can buy fabrics, pots and pans, clothing, incense, magazines, food, singing bowls, religious goods, brassware, cosmetics, and more.

Remember the Ladies of Nepal? This must be where they buy their underwear.

Once you get off the main thoroughfares, the narrow alleys are shaded and private, often only wide enough for motorbikes.

But wait, there is a hidden side to Patan: many of the houses and apartments were built around a courtyard that is accessible via narrow arched passageways. The courtyards feature a well that provided drinking water for hundreds of years, and many are still in use. I was amazed that the residents aren't using piped municipal water.

There is another world in these courtyards. Some are dingy, others joyful and full of life.

In some, individuals sit and watch the scene. In others, children play ball. The people I met were very friendly and probably wondered, "What is this odd tourist doing here? Did he lose his way to the palace or the toilet?"

Some of the houses are really old, mid-1800s I guess. Often they are intermixed with 20th century flats. The next serious earthquake will be real trouble here. Some of the old bricks had the swastika symbol baked into the surface. According to Wikipedia, the symbol was widely used in Indian religions, specifically in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, as a tantric symbol to evoke 'shakti' or the sacred symbol of good luck.

The sunnier courtyards often had piles of grain with ladies carefully tending it. No mice and rats? Maybe the cat or snake population takes care of the vermin. Regardless, it's a fascinating place to explore. Highly recommended.

I took these photographs with a Panasonic G1 micro four-thirds (µ4/3) digital camera with 9-18 mm Olympus or 14-45 mm Lumix lenses, 22 October 2011.

Hoben's Country Store, Old Hwy. 27 and Warriors Trail, Vicksburg, MS

This traditional wood-frame country store is at the junction of Old Highway 27 and Warriors Trail, southeast of Vicksburg. A decade or two ago, it was still open for business, but I am not sure when it closed. Possibly a reader can provide some information. Somewhere in my files, I may have a Kodachrome slide of this store in operation.

At one time, small locally-owned stores like this were found along rural roads throughout the south because rural farm workers did not have cars and had to walk or ride a wagon to get supplies. Needless to say, they are a dying institution, and the remaining examples are falling down, burning, or being torn down.

The roof on the main building is still intact, and it looks like the owners have been storing miscellaneous junk for awhile. Notice the wood boards forming the interior walls. Ultimate fate: unknown.

(Photographs taken with a Panasonic G1 digital camera with 14-45 mm Lumix G Vario lens, ISO 100, December 17, 2011.)

Abandoned Machine Shop, Levee Street, Vicksburg, Mississippi

From the late 1800s to mid-20th century, Levee Street, running parallel to the floodwall and the Yazoo Canal, was lined with warehouses, cotton compresses, railroad shops, grain elevators, and oil storage farms. Most are now gone, and Vicksburg is no longer an industrial city. The postcard above, from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, shows the waterfront view from the roof of the First National Bank Building. Levee street is in the distance. In the 1980s and 1990s, this steel building (across the street from the Kansas City Southern railroad yard) contained a machine shop. I am not sure who it served, but it was a going concern, and I recall hearing metal noises and seeing pickup trucks coming and going. Now it is closed and used for junk storage. I wish I had kept a 1980s telephone book to use as a data source to identify old companies like this. The south side of the property is a dumping ground for all sorts of metal debris and parts from the railroad. This is a housing for a track-switch lever and mechanism. I like railroad equipment - heavy duty, built to last.

(Photographs taken with a Fuji F31fd digital camera at ISO100, 24 Nov. 2011)

Update: Here are some black and white film views of the workshop from December, 2020.

Come to the Supermarket (in Old Kathmandu)

Well, maybe Cole Porter did not write exactly these words in Aladdin (see the full lyrics below), but he was probably thinking of a place like the Asan Chowk market in Kathmandu. According to Wikipedia, "a chowk (Urdu: چوک) is a Town square, an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings, market square, or simply traffic intersection."
The Asan is a short walk from the Thamel tourist area of town, but it can be an adventure getting there and back. The first thing that struck me was the crowds. Late afternoon, the streets were mobbed! Where are all these people going? It's such a contrast to many American cities, which often are deserted downtown after 5 pm. In the second photograph, you can see the fabrics hanging along the buildings. This is one of the fabric areas that I mentioned in the previous Nepal article.
Once you reach the Chowk, it's as crowded as the surrounding streets. Watch your feet or you'll step in a vendor's merchandise or in a hole in the sidewalk.
This is the famous salt from northern Nepal and Tibet. For hundreds of years, workers mined the salt in Tibet and traders/merchants carried it south to India (sometimes on goat back). In return, traders brought rice and other products north through the Himalaya. Towns like Lo Manthang and Kagbeni became prosperous salt centers. This commerce finally diminished in the mid-20th century when factory-manufactured salt containing iodine became readily available in India. But the traditional salt is said to bestow medicinal properties. Who knows about that, but it tastes good in cooking. The black salt has a strong H₂S aroma when you grind it up, the pink much less so.
Do you want spices? Here you can find them, anything your cuisine needs.
Nuts and beans? Anything you want.

Roots, garlic, ginger, and ginseng? This is the place.
Fruits? Yes, indeed.
Many of the vendors bring their wares to the Chowk on sturdy bicycles. I think most of them are from India and have only one gear. They also have rod-operated brakes rather than cable, like most modern western bikes.
Do you need some incense, bells, or other religious supplies? Come to the Asan Chowk.
These leaves are woven into little boats. Hindu pilgrims place food offerings in the leaves and float them down the Basmati River, which runs through town some distance from here.
These vivid powders are also used in Hindu activities.
Need a chicken or a mallard to go with those vegetables and spices? Plenty from which to choose.
And plenty of paper goods on which to serve your feast.
How about a kite or kite string? This fellow will help you.
Finally, how about some elegant flip-flops for your party? Cole Porter never anticipated these....

COME TO THE SUPERMARKET (IN OLD PEKIN)

From Aladdin, music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Aladdin was originally broadcast by CBS as the "Du Pont Show Of The Month" on February 21, 1958. First LP release: February 10, 1958.

If you want a fancy fan
Or a turkey born in Turkey-stan
Or a slave that's awf'lly African
Or a Teapot early Ming,
Come to the supermarket in old Peking.

If you want to buy a kite
Or a pup to keep you up at night
Or a dwarf who used to know Snow White
Or a frog who loves to sing,
Come to the supermarket in old Peking.

They have: sunflow'r cakes, moonbeam cakes,
Gizzard cakes, lizard cakes,
Pickled eels, pickle snakes,
Fit for any king,

If you want a bust of jade
Or an egg that's more or less decayed
Or in case you care to meet a maid
For a nice but naughty fling,

Come to the supermarket,
If you come on an ostrich, you can park it,
So come to the supermarket
And see Pe-
King.

If you want a gong to beat
Or a rickshaw with a sassy seat
Or a painting slightly indiscreet
That is simply riveting,
Come to the supermarket and see Peking.

Well, If you want some calico
Or a gentle water buffalo
Glow worm guaranteed to glow
Or a cloak inclined to cling,
Come to the supermarket in old Peking.

They have bird's-nest soup, seaweed soup,
Noodle soup, poodle soup,
Talking crows with the croup,
Almost anything.

If you want to buy a saw
Or a fish delicious when it's raw
Or a pill to kill your moth'r-in-law
Or a bee without a sting,

Come to the supermarket,
If you come on a turtle, you can park it,
So come to the supermarket
If you come on a goose, you can park it,
So come to the supermarket
And see
Pe-
King!

(I have a 1960 recording on LP from the London Coliseum performance - brilliant.)

Ladies of Kathmandu, Nepal

As I walked around Kathmandu, I kept encountering these lovely ladies who looked vaguely familiar. They had that funny hair like European women from the 1960s. Well, sure enough, a local friend told me they WERE European ladies from the 1960s! They have aged quite gracefully (unlike me). Local clothing vendors bought second-hand European mannequins and still use them to show their wares. Why change a good thing?

In the photograph above, notice the gent in the background digging out some debris from his proboscis. The fabrics that the Nepalis create are terrific.

This one was a bit worse for wear, possibly not one to encounter in a dark alley.


Cloth and fabrics are sold in clustered areas, like many consumer goods in Kathmandu (the vegetable area, the cloth area, the metalwork area, the electronics area, etc). These vendors and mannequins were near the Asan Chowk market, a short walk from the Thamel tourist area.

The street vendors set up at an open spot and pack up at night. It is a lot of work, but everyone seems to work hard in Nepal.

Some of the fabrics are a bit strange. I'm not sure of the symbolism of these examples.

Photographs hand-held, taken with Fuji, Olympus, and Panasonic digital cameras.

Levee Street Railroad Warehouse Demolition, Vicksburg, Mississippi

The 1870s warehouse/office, built by the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Railway, has been demolished. The photograph above shows the site at the Kansas City Southern railroad yard on Levee Street, Vicksburg. Please see the August entry for photographs of the standing building. I was out of town when it was torn down and do not know what happened to the bricks.

Update Sep. 3, 2017: I added this 1990 photograph of the warehouse to remind viewers of its once handsome appearance. This is a scan of a 4×5-inch Fujichrome 50 transparency, taken on a B&J camera.
The rail yard is much quieter now than before the spring 2011 Mississippi River flood. Ten and twenty years ago, the yard was always packed with rail cars, but now the tracks are mostly empty.
Here is a photograph from 1990 taken from the ramp that leads to a gate in the flood wall. The cars belong to workers who are offshore. As you can see, the rail yard is well-filled with rail cars. (Scanned from a Polaroid Type 54 4×5-inch print, taken with a Tachihara 4×5" camera with 90mm f/6.8 Wollensak Raptar l

ens).