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28 The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia

  • Emiline Smith
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50 Dark Destinations
This chapter is in the book 50 Dark Destinations

Abstract

Landlocked between Tibet and India, Nepal is a South Asian multi-ethnic, multilingual, and multi-cultural country famous for its Himalayan range and its rich cultural heritage. Hinduism and Buddhism are Nepal’s primary religions, which has resulted in centuries of sacred objects and architecture, including statues of deities, shrines, temples, monasteries, and other monuments (Bangdel, 1989). So abundant is Nepal’s sacred art and architecture that celebrated art historian Lain Singh Bangdel (1989) likened it to an enormous open-air museum. Legislation to protect this cultural heritage has been in place since 1956 (Yates & and Mackenzie, 2018). Yet Nepal’s sacred cultural objects have proven irresistible to foreign buyers: consequently, they have been looted continuously since the 1950s.

Cultural heritage; Flying into Nepal’s capital is a special experience: on approach, clouds hug the Himalayas, the ‘rooftop of the world’, and when they clear a city dotted with pointed temple roofs appears, nestled amid the mountains. This impressive panorama drew in the elderly North American elite when Nepal opened up to tourism in the 1950s: wealthy, retired travellers on post-war round-the-world tours who wanted to experience the many heritage sites of the Kathmandu Valley (Liechty 2005). It also attracted young people from Europe and North America in search for enlightenment and spiritual authenticity along the pan-Asian overland ‘hippie trail’ from the 1950s to 1970s (Gemie & Ireland 2017). Nepal’s capital Kathmandu became known as the perfect escapist hideout, as captured in Bob Seger’s 1975 song ‘Katmandu’: “I’m tired of looking at the TV news / I’m tired of driving hard and paying dues / I figure, baby, I’ve got nothing to lose / I’m tired of being blue / That’s why I’m going to Kathmandu

Abstract

Landlocked between Tibet and India, Nepal is a South Asian multi-ethnic, multilingual, and multi-cultural country famous for its Himalayan range and its rich cultural heritage. Hinduism and Buddhism are Nepal’s primary religions, which has resulted in centuries of sacred objects and architecture, including statues of deities, shrines, temples, monasteries, and other monuments (Bangdel, 1989). So abundant is Nepal’s sacred art and architecture that celebrated art historian Lain Singh Bangdel (1989) likened it to an enormous open-air museum. Legislation to protect this cultural heritage has been in place since 1956 (Yates & and Mackenzie, 2018). Yet Nepal’s sacred cultural objects have proven irresistible to foreign buyers: consequently, they have been looted continuously since the 1950s.

Cultural heritage; Flying into Nepal’s capital is a special experience: on approach, clouds hug the Himalayas, the ‘rooftop of the world’, and when they clear a city dotted with pointed temple roofs appears, nestled amid the mountains. This impressive panorama drew in the elderly North American elite when Nepal opened up to tourism in the 1950s: wealthy, retired travellers on post-war round-the-world tours who wanted to experience the many heritage sites of the Kathmandu Valley (Liechty 2005). It also attracted young people from Europe and North America in search for enlightenment and spiritual authenticity along the pan-Asian overland ‘hippie trail’ from the 1950s to 1970s (Gemie & Ireland 2017). Nepal’s capital Kathmandu became known as the perfect escapist hideout, as captured in Bob Seger’s 1975 song ‘Katmandu’: “I’m tired of looking at the TV news / I’m tired of driving hard and paying dues / I figure, baby, I’ve got nothing to lose / I’m tired of being blue / That’s why I’m going to Kathmandu

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. List of figures x
  4. About the editors xi
  5. Acknowledgements xiii
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
  8. Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
  9. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
  10. From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
  11. Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
  12. The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
  13. The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
  14. The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
  15. The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
  16. The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
  17. Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
  18. Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
  19. Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
  20. Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
  21. The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
  22. The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
  23. The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
  24. Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
  25. Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
  26. Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
  27. ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
  28. Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
  29. Magaluf: Majorca 147
  30. ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
  31. Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
  32. The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
  33. Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
  34. The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
  35. The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
  36. Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
  37. The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
  38. Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
  39. The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
  40. The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
  41. The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
  42. Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
  43. The staycation: home 230
  44. The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
  45. Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
  46. Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
  47. Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
  48. The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
  49. The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
  50. Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
  51. Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
  52. Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
  53. Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
  54. One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
  55. Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
  56. Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
  57. Conclusion 322
  58. References 325
  59. Index 394
https://doi.org/10.56687/9781447362210-032

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. List of figures x
  4. About the editors xi
  5. Acknowledgements xiii
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
  8. Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
  9. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
  10. From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
  11. Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
  12. The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
  13. The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
  14. The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
  15. The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
  16. The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
  17. Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
  18. Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
  19. Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
  20. Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
  21. The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
  22. The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
  23. The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
  24. Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
  25. Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
  26. Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
  27. ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
  28. Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
  29. Magaluf: Majorca 147
  30. ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
  31. Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
  32. The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
  33. Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
  34. The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
  35. The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
  36. Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
  37. The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
  38. Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
  39. The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
  40. The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
  41. The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
  42. Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
  43. The staycation: home 230
  44. The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
  45. Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
  46. Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
  47. Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
  48. The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
  49. The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
  50. Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
  51. Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
  52. Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
  53. Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
  54. One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
  55. Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
  56. Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
  57. Conclusion 322
  58. References 325
  59. Index 394
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