Sunday 14 September 2014

Kathmandu Photo Journal

Have had some comments that people were disappointed I didn't share many photos from Nepal. It was a long time ago now (from a birders perspective :p), but I was asked to share ten photos from Kathmandu with captions for a project at school, so I decided to show them here as well!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
***Click on the images to see bigger versions***

Mountains Beyond Mountains (Patan Durbar Square):
The Himalayan foothills surround Kathmandu creating a valley with a population of about 700 000. The Newari people are the indigenous people of Kathmandu valley and have an architectural style marked by brick work and wood carvings as seen from these buildings in Patan Durbar Square.


Dog on Road:
Although this dog seems to be mocking death by laying motionless in the street it is relatively safe despite the constant passing of vehicles. The locals are exceptionally aware of the constant risk of a pedestrian or animal on the road and are thus very observant and skilled at dodging obstacles.


Finding Order in Chaos:
Against what are seemingly all odds, the electrical grid manages to deliver energy to the residents in spite of what appears to a disorganized system. Or is it simply redundancy?


Holding Pearls:
The religions of Nepal are predominantly Hinduism and Buddhism. Here a buddhist monk circumambulates Swayambhunath (aka Monkey Temple) in a clockwise direction.


Road on Cliff:
The very existence of a road on such a steep cliff defies reason, not to mention the expertise with which drivers navigate such perilous and narrow roads at high speeds.



Hill Crops:
Every bit of available land is harnessed regardless of the steep inclines making manual labour strenuous. This plot of land in the outskirts of Kathmandu, however, has no crops this year because a man from Kathmandu has bought out the land with plans to build a hotel for tourists (or so I was told).

Chaotic Hospital Ward:
Within the apparent disorganization of this emergency room at Patan Academy of Health Sciences exists a reasonably efficient procedure of treating every patient. Our doctor asked us to take this photo of their emergency deparment to share with our colleagues in Canada.


Chest X-ray:
Virtually every patient that enters the emergency department receives a CXR due to the high prevalence of tuberculosis, pneumonia, and COPD [Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Dz]. This patient had extreme cardiomegaly, along with pleural effusion (as seen by the white lines along the oblique fissures) caused by congestive heart failure - another common condition in Nepal.

^^Can anyone say jargonnnnn. What the caption is trying to say is that this patient wasn't feeling so good.


Birds in the City:
A remarkable number of animals co-exist with the people of Kathmandu. Birds are no exception, and this Black Kite is one of thousands in the city that take advantage of human waste to forge an existence and play a role in the local ecosystem.

^^See what I did there! Somehow managed to include birds?!



Rooftop Panorama:
Four seasons simultaneously stretch across the Kathmandu valley from white clouds, to dark skies, followed by monsoon rains and sunshine.