One morning I suggested to Kumar that we visit the Changu Narayan temple, located high on a hill to the east of Kathmandu. I was fascinated with the unique Nepali style of architecture, and Changu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, was one of the oldest and most important temples in the Kathmandu valley. It was a clear, sunny late spring day, with a light breeze, and I wanted to enjoy being outdoors with the man I was increasingly becoming enchanted with. It had been a few days since we had first made love, and in the days since, we had spent hours in each other's arms, getting to know each other and what gave us pleasure.
Kumar and I took a bus to the base of the hill and we began the slow climb upwards.
"Are you sure you don't want to take a bus up?" he asked.
"It's such a gorgeous day - I want to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. I promise if you climb up with me I'll make it worth your while when we get to the top," I said, running my fingers along his arm and looking into his eyes. He smiled and kissed me softly. He had no idea that I planned on enjoying more than architectural delights on top of Changu hill.
I was glad we had decided to walk rather than ride - the trail was lined with lush vegetation, brilliantly colored flowers, and trees alive with mynah birds and crows. Villagers worked in the fields, and the air buzzed with iridescent blue dragonflies. Little yellow and white butterflies flew amidst the flowers, one landing on my arm.
"You know it's good luck, don't you?" Kumar said, smiling.
"I can't imagine being luckier than I am right now, being in this beautiful place with you." When we reached the top, we were both exhausted and hungry. Before walking a further step, we decided to eat lunch. The restaurant was the small village type where the only item on the menu was dal bhat tarkaari(rice and lentils with vegetables, the Nepali national dish) and it was so small there were only two tables. Both were empty.
When the sahuni(owner) went to get our food, I leaned close to Kumar and whispered in his ear, "You can't imagine how much I want to suck your lado right now." I ran my tongue along the inner edge of his earlobe, a move which I had discovered made him instantly hard - a glance at Kumar's reddening face and my hand on his jeans confirmed it.
"Later, mero maya," he said, as the sahuni brought our dal bhat and cold, refreshing lassi to wash it down. He had taught me to eat the Nepali way, with my right hand, mixing everything together and scooping the food up with my fingers and pushing it into my mouth with my thumb. It was awkward at first, especially since I am left handed, but eventually I learned how to get more food into my mouth than on the table.
Kumar laughed, "Ha, ahile timi mero nepali keti chhau?"(Are you my Nepali girl now?)
Refreshed and relaxed, we walked around, taking in all the sights of the temple complex. The temple was made completely of wood in the unique multi-level pagoda style which originated in the Kathmandu valley and spread to the rest of Asia. The details of the carvings depicting deities, fantastic animals and geometric patterns were so intricate, I could have spent hours looking at them.
"Let me tell you something interesting about this temple, Tara. You know that the king of Nepal is supposed to be an emanation of Vishnu, hunchani?" I nodded. "Well, since the temple contains a very powerful image of Vishnu which is considered to be the same as the god himself, the king is not allowed to enter it. It wouldn't make sense for Vishnu to see his own self, would it? Not that it matters much now, most Nepalis don't consider the current king to be very godly..." We walked around the outside of the temple, and I wondered how these wooden carvings were kept in such good condition for centuries, especially considering the heavy monsoon rains.
Kumar pointed up, grinning. I looked at the top level of the roof, and saw that the finely carved figures ornamenting it were locked in different sexual positions, enough to illustrate the entire Kama Sutra. There were even carvings of women coupling with dogs and horses and other more mythical animals.
