Kathmandu, Nepal

Our third day began today at 9.30am.... a much more respectable hour.  We gathered in the hotel lobby and departed for a tour of the medieval capital of Bhaktapur.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage site where beautiful temples, palaces and squares have remained virtually unchanged through the centuries.  We walked around Durbar Square to see the Palace of 55 windows and Nyatapola temple.  There is a lot of restoration work going on at some of the historic temples and monuments that suffered damage from the earthquake.  It is still incredible to me just how much damage there is.

 Roads are potholed and would most probably be the last thing to be repaired.  The most importance has been placed on housing and restoration of the historic buildings.
The traffic in Kathmandu is as bad as it is anywhere we have travelled.  There is no such thing as laned traffic.  It’s simply a case of drive where you can.  Crossing a street is a nightmare and we had to do it many times in Kathmandu.  We were fortunate that we had Ram, Anoop and a “traffic”guard to help us negotiate the traffic.  Ram would call for us to be “sticky rice” as we crossed the road (no pedestrian crossings) and surprisingly the traffic would either go around us or wait for us to cross. It was however quite daunting.

Our lunch today was at Chez Caroline and we were once again served a three course meal.  I think westerners have the reputation of being big eaters!  I could not get all the way through a single meal while we were in Nepal. We had time to ourselves back in our hotel after lunch as we were not going to meet again until later in the afternoon. A quick nanny nap for me!

At 4.00pm we departed for Bodhnath Stupa, one of the largest Tibetan communities in Nepal and the place that I was most looking forward to visiting.  I had seen many photos over the years of the round Stupa where hoards of worshippers chant their mantras as they walk around the Stupa, spinning the wheels that run around the circumference of the Stupa.  It is an incredible site to see and no photo could ever do it justice.

After free time at the Stupa we were then taken to a Tibetan monastery where we were given a private meditation with one of the Buddhist Masters.  I’m lost for words as to how much this gentle man moved me. We were encouraged to ask as many questions as we liked and he answered them all in his perfect English.  My question is always “how to quieten the mind” for meditation and I was surprised to hear him say that even he at times struggles with this.

After this unforgettable time with the Master we once again boarded the bus and headed to Pashupatinath temple.  It is another World Heritage Site and one of the holiest of Hindu temples that attracts scores of pilgrims from all over.  We witnessed two cremations followed by the Aarti Ceremony (Evening Prayer Ritual).  It really was a moving sight.

By this stage we were all quiet tired so we were grateful when Ram asked if we were ready to return to the hotel.  This was our last night in Nepal and I knew that if I ever had the opportunity to return I would in a heart beat.  It truly is a beautiful country filled with smiling generous people.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Continuing on from yesterday's post, after our flight to Everest we were delivered back to our accommodation at the beautiful Dwarika Hotel.  It’s olde world charm is stunning and we had time to walk around the hotel and take in the beauty before we were once again back in our little bus for a full days touring of Kathmandu.  Our local guide’s name is Ram and he is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about Nepal.  His family are a mixture of Hindu and Buddhist but he told us he leans towards Buddhism.

Our first place to visit was the quaint little Toran Restaurant for lunch.  We were served three courses of western style food that was really quite delicious.  It was washed down with a GLASS BOTTLE of Fanta!  I can’t remember the last time I have seen bottled Fanta.

After lunch we wandered around the medieval township and World Heritage listed Patan. There is an incredible amount of restoration work going on all over Kathmandu after the earthquake in April 2015 that killed almost 9,000 people.  It was a magnitude 8 earthquake that lasted one whole minute. I remember very well the images that came out of Nepal at the time.  It left 3.5 million homeless.
We continued our wandering through Durbar Square with its ancient temples and we visited the Patan Museum that the Austrian Government has restored to it’s former beauty.  The museum is home to a stunning bronze collection that I would have liked more time to study.

After the museum we were taken to a local Newari family for a cup of tea.  It was a welcome relief to sit down for a little time and talk to the lady of the house about her life.  The home was four stories high but quite small.  The kitchen for some reason was on the top floor and I marvelled at how she negotiated the small staircase with a tray of tea and biscuits!

The next place we visited was home to the Living Goddess.  I’m not sure how I feel about the little Goddess and I am reading a book about it to try and understand. But basically astronomers get together to find the perfect goddess using their astological charts. Once she is chosen she is a goddess until she bleeds. She is not allowed to go outside because if she stumbled and cut herself and bled she would no longer be a goddess. We all took turns at kneeling in front of the goddess so that she could bless us with the red chalk dot. She doesn’t speak to us but if she did, only then could you speak to her.

We again assembled and it was time for a singing bowl demonstration that was very interesting and then on to Thangka painting school we I purchased one of the Mandala’s.  I have tried to draw a Mandala but I gave up as it is a very precise process.  The masters draw the Mandala  and then the artists come to the workshop to paint them.  The three dimensional paintings are beautiful pieces of artwork.

Time to get back on the bus for the short journey to Thamel that is a world address for international trekkers, mountaineers and shoppers looking for a bargain.  We walked the streets for sometime before the bus once again picked us up to take us to Sam's One Tree Cafe for dinner and drinks.  It was another delicious three course meal.  The spicy potato wedges that we had for starters were just what my taste buds needed as I have found that my lingering cold has taken away all of my appetite.
Back in our hotel room it was a welcome relief to fall into bed.  Ram assured us it would be a less hectic schedule tomorrow!

Kathmandu, Nepal

We have just spent the most incredible time in Nepal with memories that we will have for a lifetime.  It is a place that touched my soul like nothing else I have ever experienced.  Seeing the Himalayas and then finally Mt. Everest brought tears to my eyes.  I never thought that I would ever get the opportunity to see this wonder of the World and I had to pinch myself several times. 

Our morning started at 5am for our early morning flight over the Himalayas.  There is eight in our group and our tour leaders name is Anoop.  Anoop met us off the ship in Cochin and helped us through Cochin, Mumbai and Kathmandu airports.  He organised boarding passes and always made sure that we were in the right place at the right time for imigration and customs.  He was a life saver.

Our flight to the Himalayas was due to leave at 8am and was right on time.  As we boarded the plane there was an air of excitement. This was really happening!

We were all given window seats (thank you Regent!) that gave us an excellent view of Kathmandu from the air.  With a population of  almost 1.4 million you can well imagine how vast the city is.  We flew over valleys where most of the crops were grown to support the city and gradually we saw fewer and fewer villages from the air.  

In no time at all we could see the soaring snow capped mountains of the Himalayas to our left.  We still hadn’t sighted Mt Everest but the air hostess came and tapped me on the shoulder (I was in the first seat behind the cockpit) and asked if I wanted to enter the cockpit to see Mt. Everest.  Of course! As I stood in the cockpit the captain pointed in front and there it was.  Mt Everest, rising 8,848 metres above sea level.  It was awesome and took my breath away.  As I made my way back to my seat to allow the rest of the passengers the same view I started thinking about Sir Edmund Hillary and his Nepalese sherpa making that journey to the top in 1953.  What an amazing feat that was.  Of course many have conquered Everest since then but Hillary was the one that I learnt about when I was in primary school and was always in awe of.

The plane made a U-turn so that everyone on the right hand side could view the Himalayas and we were all given a glass of champagne to celebrate what we had just witnessed.  One of  the most incredible moments of my life.