Some may think we are on holiday. But “traveling” is no such thing. We were awake at 4 am with what sounded like garbage trucks. Nepal is a very poor country, has little infrastructure, and little organization. Consequently, there is little “waste management”. There are garbage trucks though, which we have watched being loaded. It is a hit and miss affair whether or not the garbage lands in the truck. We are told the garbage is dumped outside of town. Garbage management, though, is not high level as much of it litters the towns, countryside, and rivers. After waking every 12/ hour after that, we finally got up around 6:30 am and after breakfast were ready for our “city” tour at 8:30 am. This was another fascinating day in this beautiful and charming part of the world which is so rich in history and culture, but so poor in management and sustainability. Today we visited 4 UNESCO historical sites.
First, Swayambu Stupa, also known as the Monkey Temple. The monkeys were amazing. The little ones were diving and swimming in the “Monkey Swimming Pool”. They were having such fun doing cannon balls into the water on top of each other, sliding down the shute into the water, swimming under water, and swimming lengths just like human beings. We wandered around the various temples, spun all the prayer bells, and thoroughly seeped ourselves in the Buddhist culture.
We drove further south to Patan to visit the Darber Square full of ancient monuments, temples, and shrines which are renowned for their craftsmanship and architectural beauty. We also went in the Golden Temple built in the 12the Century and dedicated to business and marveled at the incredible carvings. We saw a traditional wooden chariot in the streets, and one that had collapsed and was being rebuilt.
Our next stop was the Pashupatinath site. This is a Hindu and Buddhist religious site rich in temples, idols, shrines, and seems to date back to 459 AD. It is also the “national” burning ghat site where bodies of all religions are cremated within 2 or 3 hours of death, and the ashes sprinkled in the Bakmati River running along the side of the Ghats. I read today in the paper that there is a 5-year project being planning to clean up this river. It will be in three stages, and involves prohibiting rubbish to be dumped in the river, and changing the sewage system to prevent fresh sewage going directly into the water.
Our final stop was in Bouddhanath to see one of the world’s largest stupas. This is a highly religious site for Tibetan Buddhist exiles. It is thought this stupa was built around 600AD but there are several legends as to who built it. We wandered around the compound around the stupa and ended up seeing a Thanka art school and some of the beautiful art work that the artists had completed. One piece, sold for $US 25,000 to the Mercy Corps in Portland, Oregon, was absolutely fabulous. It took 3 years to complete and I reckon they have got a really good price on this magnificent piece. We also went into another Buddhist monastery and generally tried to keep dry and out of the rain.
The intricate details of all that we saw today are beyond the scope of this blog. Suffice it to say we learned a ton about Buddhist and Hindu culture, saw much ancient art and architecture, heard monks chanting, and meditative music playing, and felt the reverence of prayer bells, ghats, stupas, and prayer flags.
We returned to Kathmandu around 5:30. We saw Anthony off to the plane for Hong Kong and Beijing, ate pizza for dinner with JP, Caroline and Sarah, and turned into bed around 9:30 p.m. As I lay writing my diary, a huge big cockroach rolled across the floor from under Ray’s bed. It’s only about the second or third one I’ve seen on our trip and never one as big. Yikes! It gave me quite a scare. I spoke to the front desk the next day and asked them to fumigate the room. They said they would. We’ll see!!
First, Swayambu Stupa, also known as the Monkey Temple. The monkeys were amazing. The little ones were diving and swimming in the “Monkey Swimming Pool”. They were having such fun doing cannon balls into the water on top of each other, sliding down the shute into the water, swimming under water, and swimming lengths just like human beings. We wandered around the various temples, spun all the prayer bells, and thoroughly seeped ourselves in the Buddhist culture.
We drove further south to Patan to visit the Darber Square full of ancient monuments, temples, and shrines which are renowned for their craftsmanship and architectural beauty. We also went in the Golden Temple built in the 12the Century and dedicated to business and marveled at the incredible carvings. We saw a traditional wooden chariot in the streets, and one that had collapsed and was being rebuilt.
Our next stop was the Pashupatinath site. This is a Hindu and Buddhist religious site rich in temples, idols, shrines, and seems to date back to 459 AD. It is also the “national” burning ghat site where bodies of all religions are cremated within 2 or 3 hours of death, and the ashes sprinkled in the Bakmati River running along the side of the Ghats. I read today in the paper that there is a 5-year project being planning to clean up this river. It will be in three stages, and involves prohibiting rubbish to be dumped in the river, and changing the sewage system to prevent fresh sewage going directly into the water.
Our final stop was in Bouddhanath to see one of the world’s largest stupas. This is a highly religious site for Tibetan Buddhist exiles. It is thought this stupa was built around 600AD but there are several legends as to who built it. We wandered around the compound around the stupa and ended up seeing a Thanka art school and some of the beautiful art work that the artists had completed. One piece, sold for $US 25,000 to the Mercy Corps in Portland, Oregon, was absolutely fabulous. It took 3 years to complete and I reckon they have got a really good price on this magnificent piece. We also went into another Buddhist monastery and generally tried to keep dry and out of the rain.
The intricate details of all that we saw today are beyond the scope of this blog. Suffice it to say we learned a ton about Buddhist and Hindu culture, saw much ancient art and architecture, heard monks chanting, and meditative music playing, and felt the reverence of prayer bells, ghats, stupas, and prayer flags.
We returned to Kathmandu around 5:30. We saw Anthony off to the plane for Hong Kong and Beijing, ate pizza for dinner with JP, Caroline and Sarah, and turned into bed around 9:30 p.m. As I lay writing my diary, a huge big cockroach rolled across the floor from under Ray’s bed. It’s only about the second or third one I’ve seen on our trip and never one as big. Yikes! It gave me quite a scare. I spoke to the front desk the next day and asked them to fumigate the room. They said they would. We’ll see!!
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