July 28 – TANTRIC SEX!

No, I’m not kidding. That was today’s theme. Chris and I had been planning on biking down to Bhaktapur, a town 13km from Kathmandu valley for the past week. Alas, it rained today, so no bike. Nevertheless, we took a cab and did just fine. The appeal of Bhaktapur is that the city looks virtually the way it did pre-modernization. The town, already considered holy, was restored in the 1970s by a German development organization—on the condition that it remain largely untouched. As such, automated transportation (buses, cars, motorbikes) are not allowed within town limits, except for teachers, certain key businesses, and law-enforcement.

As the guidebook explained, the majority of the temples were constructed between the 14^th and 17^th centuries by the Newari people. The Newari are known for their eccentric sense of humor, and it definitely shows in their carvings. At first glance, all you see is gorgeously-intricate woodwork. A closer look, however, reveals a peculiarly literal interpretation of kama sutra. Their Pashupatinath temple, dedicated to Shiva, bears “the most obscene depictions of tantric sex found in Kathmandu valley.” Sure enough, the building’s struts had all sorts of… peculiar erotic artwork. Men and women are in all sorts of different positions (I won’t go into detail, check out my photos when I upload them), but the highlight was described in the guidebook as the beam where you “shouldn’t even ask what the midget with the bowl is doing.”

That being said, the next attraction, a Buddhist temple, had a sobering reminder of the result of such sexual excesses: depictions of Hell. The woodcarvings on this side of Shiva’s town had some pretty-painful looking images of divine wrath, including constriction by snake and tooth-pulling with a wrench.

Bhaktapur was still gorgeous, and we had the chance to see woodworkers making the city’s famous carvings (many of which had some more urbane images of kama sutra), as well as Nepal’s tallest shrine. We were also joined by an art student named Lama, who gave me a crash-course in Buddhism and showed me some incredible Tibetian paintings (some made entirely from 24-carat gold paint). The lack of vehicles and modern technology in the village make it feel as if time has stopped, and despite the massive amounts of rain we got, we enjoyed the trip immensely.

As all good things have to end, though, we needed to make an appointment. On our way out, however, we had one last chance to observe Newari creativity. One of the temples at the exit of Bhaktapur has all kinds of animals engaging in procreative acts on it. The most memorable of all, however, was “two elephants in the missionary position, their trunks entwined in ecstasy.”

“That's some kinky shi*,” said Chris.

I couldn’t agree more.