Just two days after the big bhoj we had a chance to take a journey out of the Kathmandu Valley. The town of Dolkha is north east of Kathmandu, and is a gateway to the mountain regions that lie beyond it. Ben’s nephew Dipen has been living and working there as the manager of the local hospital which serves the rural population in that area. Dipen’s mother is Ben’s first cousin yet both she and her husband are of the older generation. Neither of them ever have an opportunity to take a trip, lacking both the financial resources as well as [View Full Entry]

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The Big Feast People in Nepal love to have feasts. Newars have probably developed the art of the feast to the highest level of any group in Nepal. While their old culture is centered around many rituals, each ritual goes hand in hand with a feast. The most important of all the feasts in the lifetime of an individual are probably the wedding feast and the feast after death. When a person dies in the Newar tradition, the paternal family must “sit in” for 7 to 14 days, depending upon the cast. The paternal family consists of the mother, father, sons, [View Full Entry]

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On this blog I frequently mention favorite places. Boudhanath Stupa may be my truly favorite place. It is the largest stupa in Nepal and the pilgrimage site for Tibetan Buddhists from all over the country. While Tibetan Buddhist ethnic groups are the majority there, people of all ethnicities and religious traditions come to Boudhanath to enjoy the beautiful architecture, and receive spiritual upliftment through the open and peaceful atmosphere that surrounds the area. When I was a student, the area around the stupa was relatively undeveloped. It was possible to walk around the top and enjoy [View Full Entry]

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One of my favorite places in Nepal is the town of Bhaktapur. The Kathmandu Valley is home to three ancient cities, Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. At one time each of these cities was its own Newar kingdom with its own king. The kings would vie with each other in an effort to build the most beautiful and magnificent temples. Because of that, each city has a fabulous Royal Palace area adjoining the main city temple square. Of the three, Kathmandu has suffered because it is the seat of the Nepalese government, and so all of the government facilities, main foreign aid [View Full Entry]

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A few days after the big festival at Pashpatinath we headed there again in the morning with Lilia’s aunty Ami. On a normal weekday morning, life at Pashupatinath is lively but not overwhelming. Ascetics in orange robes, many of them from India, make Pashupati their place of residence. People from all over the country come there for various rituals, some for good luck, some in honor of departed people, some to mark special life occasions. Pashupati is an extremely ancient holy site, consisting of acres of land. It covers a large sprawling area, with hidden nooks and crannies containing h [View Full Entry]

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Saturday was a special holiday in Nepal. Nepal has many holidays, and the Newars have even more. This holiday is for families who have had someone pass away within the last year. Because Ben's mother had passed away, our family needed to participate this year. Rather than a holiday in the festive sense of the word, this occasion is a spiritual requirement and is observed by both Hindus and Buddhists. The ritual takes place at one of Nepal's most important temple areas, known as Pashupatinath. People from all over the country came to take part in the festival, and some reports [View Full Entry]

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The day after the puja we woke up early in the morning, as Lilia is still suffering some jet lag. We decided to take a long walk so we bundled up and headed off towards the monkey temple. At first Lilia decided to do some complaining, not yet being in the habit of taking such an early walk. After we wound through the streets a bit, she became more enthusiastic. Early morning Kathmandu is still wonderful, and we were able to walk unimpeded by cars, motorcycles, buses, and other sundry vehicles that fight their way through the streets later in the [View Full Entry]

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On Thursday Ben's entire family came to the house in Jhocchen for a special puja in honor of his mother, who died 3 months ago. Ben has 7 sisters, and 2 brothers so just the immediate family makes a substantial crowd. Add to that the various cousins who also made an appearance and there were close to 60 people that day. From early morning, Lilia's ninis (aunties) were busy preparing the items necessary for the rituals. Ben and his family are Newars. Newars are the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu valley. Because they were an urban society from the beginning, they [View Full Entry]

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The trip from the airport to our house was quite a shock for Lilia. Law abiding as she is, she was at once dismayed by the lack of car seat in the jeep which drove us home. Of course, there was no seatbelt either, so she spent the ride home clutching on to me in the back of the jeep. Worse than that, was the shock of the traffic situation. With no semblance of order as she knows it, she was gasping and crying out every time a swerving vehicle moved in our direction. At last, with a look of utter [View Full Entry]

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Travelling to Nepal is quite a feat. The first plane ride from Los Angeles to Bangkok was 18 hours in complete darkness. Lilia slept the first half of the flight, and spent the remainder of the time watching cartoons on her tv screen and working on her school homework. We had 5 hours in the new Bangkok airport during which time we had plenty of opportunity to dislike it. The interior design is a sort of futuristic industrial gray with cavernous ceilings, and concrete walls. Every now and then the cold decor is broken up by some enormous Thai wood carving, [View Full Entry]

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