Where the heck are we now?: February 2018

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Kathmandu, Part 2

By the time we got to Kathmandu there was need for a haircut, both of us got one for a little less than 10 dollars which included oil on Don’s head and a head massage to get his hair to grow...think it will need more than that!

After a few days in Kathmandu on our own we joined a small group of travelers in an Intrepid tour. Intrepid is an Australian company that runs “ close to the ground” tours and we have travelled with them before so thought it was time to talk to someone else besides ourselves!

There are 7 in the group ranging in ages from 18 to 76 with our guide, Sanjeev from India.

Don, Joe and Anne checking out the street food...

We had one day in Kathmandu together where we had a local guide take us to some of the most famous temples...

Our guide who was very knowledgeable about the places we visited as well as the religions of Nepal.

I thought that Nepal was mainly Buddhist but in fact it is 80% Hindu so we visited both types of temples that day.

The first temple was called Swayambhunath or the Monkey Temple and in order to access it the devotees climbed 365 steps one for each day of the year where they could reflect on their lives.

It is located on a hillside just outside the city and gives a great viewpoint, notice the smog...

And of course there were monkeys everywhere...

And chanting monks...

Serious ones as well...

The temple was very busy with worshippers, some were lighting candles...

Praying....

Buddhist texts teach us that the practice of the prayer wheel has many spiritual, "magical," and practical benefits.Use of the prayer wheel is one of the easiest ways to purify past negative karma, nonvirtuous actions, defilements, and obstacles that prevent us from realizing our true self and becoming enlightened.

Turning the prayer wheels...

I thought I could use some of those benefits as well...

There were lots of families there...

Some holy men....

At all Buddhist shrines there are the watchful eyes of Buddha...

We also visited Bodhnath Stupa – the largest stupa in Nepal and the holiest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet. It's the centre of Tibetan culture in Kathmandu and rich in Buddhist symbolism. It was quite large and well kept. We were told it suffered significant damage in the earthquake of 2015 but had been rebuilt.

Even though it was crowded it felt very peaceful there with the prayer flags fluttering in the wind...

We went across the street to a temple to get a good view and a wedding procession passed by which seemed very much like the ones in India, only grander.

With a great band and much dancing...

There were lots of school children visiting as well...

We also learned about some of Buddha’s teachings through the Wheel of Life which is one of the most important paintings in Tibetan Buddhism. The initial drawing was design by Buddha himself. Buddha really encourage this painting to be painted outside every Buddhist temples and monastery.

The Bhavachakra, the Wheel of Life is a mandala - a complex picture representing the Buddhist view of the universe. To Buddhists, existence is a cycle of life, death, rebirth and suffering that they seek to escape altogether. These mandalas are also an art form that is painted all over Nepal which we learned about when we stopped at a local Thankga art school...

Our final stop was at an Hindu temple site which had a large cremation site. Hindus cremate their dead and then deposit them in the rivers that lead to the mighty Ganges.

On the way in people meditating

It is not too clean here

It was disrespectful to take closeup pictures so this is the faraway shot.

The process is to burn the body on the platforms and then deposit the ashes into the river.

There were also lots of Holy Men here, men that supposedly renounce their worldly possessions to spend a religious life. I think some of them were pretending in order to get money from having their pictures taken which I didn’t pay...

There was also a lot of other activity around the temple....

Washing...

Buying flowers for the offerings...

The temple was quite large with lots of buildings...

Only Hindus were allowed in these temples but there was lots to see otherwise, a very interesting day!

Now we are on the way to the countryside to spend a few days in the National Park hoping to get closer to some better air!

Kathmandu, Nepal....Part 1

We flew from Jodphur to Kathmandu with a long layover in Dehli so didn’t arrive until almost midnight. We got our 15 day Visa and then found our driver who dropped us off at our hotel right in the middle of the tourist district. It was only 18 dollars with breakfast included so we weren’t expecting much and as we got there we both looked at each other and said, “ We can’t stay here!”

There were prostitites on the corner, police trying to pick up a drunk and it was dark and dirty!

But as the morning broke and we went for breakfast on the roof our mood lifted and we stayed put...

Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal with approximately 1.5 million people. It suffered severe earthquake damage in 2015 which is still evident. The city is located in a valley surrounded by hills and it is probably the dirtiest city we have ever visited and I was expecting a green city.

Typical street in centre of city, lots of reconstruction...

In the tourist section it is a bit cleaner and pedestrian only streets...

Kathmandu is one of the most polluted cities in the world and the air quality while we were there was off the chart, many people wear masks as I did on a few occasions...

The air quality index when we were there, we are still coughing up dust!

As in most cities we visited we took to walking and explored the tourist center called Thamel which was nearby. It is full of tourists and shops...

Lots of trekking shops as Kathmandu is a jumping off point for trekkers to the Himalayas. We hoped to do a day trek but couldn’t find one as the mountains were too far away...

Luckily there were lovely, quiet spots for coffee and a beer, many of them are old houses converted to boutique hotels...

Even a candlelight supper in a beautiful courtyard, one of the positives about Kathmandu was the delicious food available everywhere...

One day we walked to Dunbar Square which is one of the central points in the old city and where as we walked we could experience the local neighbourhoods...

The red temples are everywhere.

The fruit sellars all have their wares on bikes that they wheel around...

Try to fiqure out which wire goes where?

Lots of these everywhere as well...

Blankets for sale....

Some evidence of the earthquake damage...

Durbar Square is the generic name used to describe plazas and areas opposite the old royal palaces in Nepal. It consists of temples, idols, open courts and more. Before the Unification of Nepal, the country consisted of small kingdoms and everyone had a Durbar Square. They all all Unesco World Heritage Sites and this one in Kathmandu sadly has sustained a lot of earthquake damage.

Here are some images from the square...