Temples and mountains
Today started with our first Nepali breakfast (fairly plain, not plentiful and with jam that was more like jelly babies...) before our driver coming to pick us up. First stop, Bodhnath Stupa, to the north east of the city, by the airport. Not really knowing what to expect, we paid the ticket fee (1000Rps) and entered. Immediately we were swept up in the clockwise rotation of pedestrian traffic, pulsing its way around the huge white stupa. This ritual circumnavigation is apparently called a kora.
The stupa itself wasn't so different to that of the Monkey Temple, but was huge, Asia's largest in fact. It was surrounded by temples, stalls and monasteries, frequented by maroon-robed Tibetan monks.
From Bodhnath we drive a kilometre or so to Pashupatinath (a name I can never remember to recall!). Admittedly this could have been walked, but whilst being a holy river, the Bagmati is also a grey, petrid dumping ground, whose banks are used for a number of purposes of which a lovely stroll is not one. Pashupatinath sits on the banks and is Nepal's most important Hindu temple - a powerhouse of spiritual energy key to their cremation rituals. Indeed we witnessed the blessing and cremation rituals as we watched from a bridge, admiring the effort put in by devoted relatives to ensure their loved ones are properly and respectfully sent-off.
As non-Hindus we could not enter the main temple complex (common) but wandered the surrounding shrines and ghats. I also came across a monkey eating a banana, which I found particularly pleasing.
Next on our route was the town of Bhaktpur, which sits to the east of Kathmandu. This is one of the three medieval city states, and boasts many traditional buildings, temples and shrines. Unfortunately it was hit rather hard by the 2015 earthquake, and I noticed a number of these had been declared uninhabitable (if they had stayed upright at all). Some of the side streets also had us picking our way through rubble and bricks, in a much more prominent way than elsewhere.
The town still has some amazing examples of intricate architecture and carvings, although I was trying not to think about the fact that the most expert carvers would sacrifice the lower half of their arm upon completion of these masterpieces. Durbar square featured pagodas, statues, and of course, the Erotica Elephants temple. In Taumadhi Tole, another square, we paused for lunch, discovering that a pappad is in fact a poppadom (ok maybe that should have been obvious...) whilst looking at the tallest (30m) temple in Nepal. Tachupal Toll completed our tour of the three squares, and we then made our way back to our driver.
The final stage of today's journey took us along a very long, twisty and uphill road to Nagorkot. Although only 15 km, the rough road surface meant this journey took nearly an hour, and probably a fair bit of metal from the underside of the car! To be fair, the road is undergoing what must be a lengthy widening process, but I was certainly glad it wasn't Ben or Penny going up there. Our uncomfortable journey was rewarded at the top with stunning views of the Himalayas (including Everest, once we had worked out which it was) and a quirky pebbly room at a place called Peaceful Cottage.
Today started with our first Nepali breakfast (fairly plain, not plentiful and with jam that was more like jelly babies...) before our driver coming to pick us up. First stop, Bodhnath Stupa, to the north east of the city, by the airport. Not really knowing what to expect, we paid the ticket fee (1000Rps) and entered. Immediately we were swept up in the clockwise rotation of pedestrian traffic, pulsing its way around the huge white stupa. This ritual circumnavigation is apparently called a kora.
The stupa itself wasn't so different to that of the Monkey Temple, but was huge, Asia's largest in fact. It was surrounded by temples, stalls and monasteries, frequented by maroon-robed Tibetan monks.
From Bodhnath we drive a kilometre or so to Pashupatinath (a name I can never remember to recall!). Admittedly this could have been walked, but whilst being a holy river, the Bagmati is also a grey, petrid dumping ground, whose banks are used for a number of purposes of which a lovely stroll is not one. Pashupatinath sits on the banks and is Nepal's most important Hindu temple - a powerhouse of spiritual energy key to their cremation rituals. Indeed we witnessed the blessing and cremation rituals as we watched from a bridge, admiring the effort put in by devoted relatives to ensure their loved ones are properly and respectfully sent-off.
As non-Hindus we could not enter the main temple complex (common) but wandered the surrounding shrines and ghats. I also came across a monkey eating a banana, which I found particularly pleasing.
Next on our route was the town of Bhaktpur, which sits to the east of Kathmandu. This is one of the three medieval city states, and boasts many traditional buildings, temples and shrines. Unfortunately it was hit rather hard by the 2015 earthquake, and I noticed a number of these had been declared uninhabitable (if they had stayed upright at all). Some of the side streets also had us picking our way through rubble and bricks, in a much more prominent way than elsewhere.
The town still has some amazing examples of intricate architecture and carvings, although I was trying not to think about the fact that the most expert carvers would sacrifice the lower half of their arm upon completion of these masterpieces. Durbar square featured pagodas, statues, and of course, the Erotica Elephants temple. In Taumadhi Tole, another square, we paused for lunch, discovering that a pappad is in fact a poppadom (ok maybe that should have been obvious...) whilst looking at the tallest (30m) temple in Nepal. Tachupal Toll completed our tour of the three squares, and we then made our way back to our driver.
The final stage of today's journey took us along a very long, twisty and uphill road to Nagorkot. Although only 15 km, the rough road surface meant this journey took nearly an hour, and probably a fair bit of metal from the underside of the car! To be fair, the road is undergoing what must be a lengthy widening process, but I was certainly glad it wasn't Ben or Penny going up there. Our uncomfortable journey was rewarded at the top with stunning views of the Himalayas (including Everest, once we had worked out which it was) and a quirky pebbly room at a place called Peaceful Cottage.
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