Apparently Amsterdam isn't the only place for hippies to enjoy their favourite plant legally. I discovered this when I went to the holiest shrine in Kathmandu to check out a big festival celebrating Shiva - a god who was pretty keen on the hashish. It is the one day of a year that marijuana is completely legal, so naturally everyone comes to celebrate. There were loads of people, roads were closed and I stuck out as a westerner badly. As soon as I hit the general commotion I was sought out by a "holy man" who put red paste on my forehead before asking for a donation to make my life one of eternal happiness. Much like all other festivals across the world, everyone seemed keen to make a profit, so you could buy anything from fairy floss to fake watches as you pushed through the crowds.
Before I went, I had been warned by AmaDablam not to take anything valuable, not even a camera, as I would probably be mugged. I thought this might have been a real precautionary thing to do but even Vincent told me not to (he is the local guy that sits around my hotel and tries to sell me anything from trekking to marijuana).
As I wasn't a religous fanantic I couldnt enter the temples, so I set out to cross the river and get a good view from the hill at Deer park. The only problem was there are two very narrow bridges and a lot of people. Trying to reach one, I got stuck in a que right next to a cremation ghat. There was a body on the ground, barely covered, waiting to be placed on the fire. Glad it wasnt burning, I stood on my toes to see what was the hold up only to get a faceful of smoke from the ghat in front. Stuff this, im trying the other bridge.
Eventually I managed my way through and perched on the hillside. All the merchants were rolling joints, yelling out to me if I wanted one. I was getting high enough from all the second-hand smoking so I passed on the opportunity. The smoke from the ghats didnt't make it any more tempting. Cows were on the paths, so everything was dirty - shit everywhere.
The whole event was pretty much a combination of the Royal Easter Show, Temples and Woodstock (but with hindu music) placed in a poor area of a third world country. Crazy stuff. There were hundreds of monkeys as well, going nuts because of all the people. I saw a guy smoking a joint with a monkey on his shoulder - he then gave the monkey a few puffs! I regretted not bringing the camera and decided to come back another day without all the hippies and fanatics.
At the top of the hill there was a huge tent, with a political party inside campaigning for the spot of prime minister (elections 10th april). Pretty damn funny when you think about it - Imagine Kevin Rudd rolling a joint mid-debate.
