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Blogs from Bhaktapur, Nepal, Asia
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Pretty difficult not to feel all romantic in charming Bhaktapur... ;)
Published: May 21st 2013Asia » Nepal » Bhaktapur » Durbar Square
April 30th 2013
Having heard so many good things about Bhaktapur, I just knew I had to make it there one day, only had to fit it in my busy schedule somehow... ;) But finally a wonderful opportunity came up to share this experience with my dear friend (that would be you Grant! :)). We thought about taking a local bus there first, which could’ve been an interesting experience on its own, but since it was well over 30C degrees outside, we just decided to spoil ourselves a bit and took a driver instead – and what a treat it was, a sports car with airco! It just doesn’t happen in Nepal… Once we got to Bhaktapur we were offered guide services straight away, the guy seemed very nice and his price was very good also, but having him ... read more
Bhaktapur - Even better with a guide
Published: April 6th 2013Asia » Nepal » Bhaktapur » Durbar Square
March 25th 2013
After a fairly interesting bus ride to Bhaktapur (1100 NRs), we got off the bus less than a block from one of the entrances to the old city. Dru walked with me around the old city, pointing out the significant sights, temples, landmarks and telling me about each one, but not in too much detail. I really appreciated that. I had been here last year, but didn't get an actual tour, so it was great to come back and get more information. There are over 1000 temples in Bhaktapur. This time it was much more lively than it was before. Lots of shops were open, several tourists were roaming around but nothing was crowded. I'd like to say I remember all of what Dru told me about Bhaktapur, but I don't. It is a great place ... read more
March 11th 2013
After 2 days both spent in bed due to food poisoning, we had to alter our plans to go hiking for 2 days in the outskirt of the Kathmandu Valley and make our way to Nagarkot then Bhaktapur by Taxi. A heafty taxi fare in local terms but the thought of being able to lure Mt Everest in the distance at Sunrise was too tempting. Although we were able to see part of the Himalayas we were not quite fortunate to see the big one this time round. On our way back from Ngarkot we visited the beatiful city of Bhaktapur; hopefully the city can remained preserved as it has been so far, both me and Carmen very much enjoyed walking down the streets and squares that still remain intact with time. This was our final ... read more
December 11th 2012
The wedding-festivities are over, half of the family left already to Australia (Surendra, Laxmi & Seelvia + mom and dad). So after saying goodbye yesterday, we have some rest in Bhaktapur. Tomorrow we’ll be leaving for a one week trekking to Langtang. The wedding was great. We had three important days: Day 1: Janta. A big parade through the city to pick up the bride. This happens because bride and groom are not living together before the wedding, but after the Janta, the bride will come to live with the family of the groom. So it was a big parade, lots of music,... When we arrived at Kanchana’s place, there was a lot of puja. Kanchana also had to say goodbye to her family, because she would be leaving at the same moment. That is a ... read more
December 5th 2012
Last Saturday we went with the whole family to Gyanendra’s sister in Panauti to enjoy a lazy Saturday-afternoon. We were sitting in the sun, playing cards, football,... We also had very tasty food before everybody went back home. Nowadays, we are busy in the wedding-preparations for Dharmendra (Gyanendra’s youngest brother) and Kanchana (starting from tomorrow). The invitation-cards are being distributed by all brothers. Different than in Belgium: just a few days before the wedding and all brought personally, not via post. Monday was also a very important day: we went to the house of Kanchana, with lots of gifts (mostly food / sweets), to ask permission for the wedding. But first we had samya baji (the traditional newari dish) at home, to bring us good luck. Zoe and the others sisters (in law) were dressed in ... read more
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December 3rd 2012
On November 29th and 30thwe celebrated the Bel Bibaha of Seelvia (the daughter of Surendra, Gyanendra’s brother), a ceremony for young girls who are growing up. It’s the first of the three weddings in their life: they marry a Bel (kind of fruit, symbol of god Indra), later on they will marry with the sun and then will follow the real wedding: the one with a man. The ceremony was held for many girls, all dressed up very nicely. The first day, we went there early, but we had to wait for a while till they started. All the girls were sitting in front of their mother, waiting very patiently. Then there was a ‘puja’ (worshipping), and again they have to wait a long time. It’s unbelievable how quiet they keep on waiting...I don’t think young ... read more
December 2nd 2012
Back in Nepal. Finally, we could see eachother again... Gyanendra was already in Nepal since October 18th, Zoe arrived last Sunday (November 25th). Gyanendra came in the airport, together with almost the whole family, and gave Zoe a warm welcome. Zoe was the last one who arrived and made the family complete (after 5 years): from Australia, USA and Europe, all brothers travelled back home for the wedding of Dharmendra (the youngest brother) and the Bel Bibaha of Seelvia (the youngest kid in the family). For a few days, we were hanging around, preparing for the festivities,... For example: going to the jewellery-shop with the jewels Zoe used for the wedding 2 years ago, and changing them for more shiny and new jewels (that fit for the coming festivities). Nepal seems very chaotic, but nothing is ... read more
October 13th 2012
13th Bhaktapur We were up and out early today and just a few steps from our hotel’s alley is a square with a shrine in the middle and taxis and rickshaws hanging about. A nice Tibetan guy with a taxi gave us a really fair price to go to Bhaktapur which is about an hour’s drive away and off we went. The traffic was pretty heavy going through Kathmandu and we whipped down various alleys to try and avoid the worst of it, I bet these taxi drivers could beat the London ones for the ‘knowledge’. We came out on the ring road and did a bit of race track driving, with cars, buses, motorbikes and push bikes all jostling for the best spots. Eventually we past through the suburbs, went over the river and on ... read more
June 25th 2012
To go to Bhaktapur from Kathmandu, go to Ratna Park and take one of the buses there that goes directly to Bhaktapur. I walked there from Thamel and before I got to Ratna Park, I passed by a temple that had Buddha as one of the minor gods. Ganesha was another minor god amongst many others. I’ve never seen the Buddha as a minor god in a temple before! I got on the bus going to Bhaktapur but it was not full so we waited. An elderly Chinese couple came to the bus (I’ve seen them before at the Indian Embassy) and asked a Nepalese if this is the bus to Bhaktapur but he totally ignored them as did everyone else. They kept asking and everybody turned their heads away. I wondered why. Maybe they weren’t ... read more
June 25th 2012
I was told to go to Taumadhi Square at 5pm on Friday, April 10. I went because I had nothing else to do. I had absolutely no idea what was going on. The square was packed to the rafters. I was in the middle of the square looking at this odd-looking chariot that was carrying a temple-like structure. The chariot was huge with enormous wooden wheels. Around 5pm, a procession came out of one of the temples in the square and they were carrying an idol which was then put into the temple on the chariot. About 30 people were on the chariot. I noticed that there were a lot of foreigners with big cameras either taking pictures or videotaping the event. (This must be on youtube somewhere.) Then, two teams, one on either side of ... read more
