Blogs from Bhaktapur, Nepal, Asia - page 7

29 Jan - great bus journey from Pokhara to Kathmandu, comfy and on time. Sitting at the front on the best side to see spectacular views of hills, river rapids and gorges as well as village life. Arrive in Bhaktapur - the city of devotees. The whole town is a UNESCO site so you pay to enter and enjoy the (virtually) traffic-free streets. Check-in to the Shiva Guesthouse, which has an amazing location right on historic Durbar Square. I'm staying in a cute, wee room in this ancient wooden building on the third floor. I feel like the Kumari looking down on everyone from my wooden trellis window frames on to the square with fantastic views of the various temples, statues and the Taleju Grand Bell which is rung at sunrise and sunset. I wander up ... read more

Day 50 - November 29, 2008 Closer glimpse of Mt. Everest Woke up early and drove for an hour and a half to the airport. The airport was freezing. It was very modern and yet no heating whatsoever. We left Lhasa at 10:30 AM and reached Kathmandu at 10:30 AM! Tibet follows Beijing time, that’s why. On the plane, we got a closer glimpse of Mt. Everest, which was awesome. Ammar met us again at the airport. We went back to Moonlight Hotel and then went hiking to the Swayambhunath Temple (640 AD). Also called “Monkey Temple” by the locals because of its many resident monkeys, it sits on top of a hill west of Kathmandu. We climbed a long stairway to the top of the hill until we reached the stupa. We didn’t mind neither ... read more

Our group is getting sicker. Raymond has had stomach trouble for a couple of days, Charis (from London) could not even go to the farmhouse because of health issues and later this day Emily (Melbourne Australia) would be very sick also. But anyway after a nice breakfast as an exercise we walked to the outskirts Bhaktapur to visit a very ancient and important Vishnu temple nearby. It took us two and a half hours to get there. First descending the mountain and then through the rice fields to go up another mountain again using a lot of steps. And it was hot! Emily turned ill here and she took a bus to Bhaktapur because she couldn’t walk any further. We walked the rest of the way and it got even hotter with a lot of descending ... read more

This is a shrine of Ganesh, the elephant-headed God, situated in the beautiful surroundings of Bhadgaon, placed in a sylvan setting to catch the first rays of the rising sun. The view of the city of Bhaktapur is seen from here with snow-capped peaks in the background. Nestled in a thick forest, it is a good picnic spot flanked by many attractive landscapes. For an easy stroll, go down to the highway past the trolley-bus and then head up hill. From here you can photograph an unbelievable view of the city backed by the movie-like sets of gigantic Himalayan peaks. Past this about twenty minutes lies the Surya Vinayak Ganesh temple. This is an auspicious place to start your exploring around Bhaktapur, because Ganesh is worshipped before starting any new endeavor. Here the elephant headed good ... read more

Walk around Bhaktapur........ A two-minute walk south of Durbar Square brings you to Bolachhen, also known as Potter’s Square because of the many potters seen here moulding wet clay into different kinds of earthen ware. It has a display of fresh pottery left out to dry in the open square. This place can be approached from Taumadhi Square. The elephant-headed Lord Ganesh is the patron of potters, thus the Jeth Ganesh temple in the square.... read more