Advertisement
Published: April 2nd 2011
Edit Blog Post
I. Heaven 1
In theory, Kathmandu has one of the most dramatic backdrops in the world - the mountainous shield of the Himalayas. But being set in a valley and being as congested a city as it is, the air quality can be, to put it mildly, poor. There was a general haze most days I was in Nepal, obscuring the horizon. You know the mountains are out there, somewhere, but much of the time they are hidden from view or ghostly outlines above the more immediate hills. It's tantalizing and frustrating all at once.
Since I had such limited time in Nepal - meaning I wasn't going to have the opportunity to properly trek (just getting to Everest Base Camp takes about two weeks) - I decided to take a shortcut to those hidden mountains. I took a Buddha Air "mountain flight".
Mountains flights are a way for tourists to get up close and personal with the Himalayas without having to undertake a major expedition. You just have to go to the domestic terminal at Kathmandu's airport, board the plane (when it is ready - the schedule is merely a suggestion, it seems), fly for an hour
or so, and return. All it takes is one morning or afternoon; it sort of feels like cheating.
However, I am so glad I did it. As the plane lifted off the runway, and zoomed over Kathmandu, the haze began to thin. Soon we were above the bad air trapped in the valley, and the sky turned brilliant blue. The Himalayas became visible with crystal clarity.
The plane flew along the southern flank, heading directly to the tallest, and most famous, peak: Mt. Everest. Everyone got a chance to go into the cockpit to see the mountain head-on. I know it's unlikely I will ever scale this mountain*, so getting eye level with its summit was beyond amazing. In some ways, though, I was even more impressed with the other peaks. Everest gets all the attention, being the tallest and all; but it is actually not the prettiest. Some of its sisters are actually more dramatic in appearance - more defined, more stately. Everest is sort of squat! But it has nothing to prove.
I didn't want to leave this mountain heaven. But Buddha Air had another set of mountain-worshippers to collect....
II. Heaven 2
It's hard not to get a little creeped out when a thick cloud of dark smoke engulfs you, especially when it is coming from a row of cremation ghats. All that smoke - it once was a person. A person that is now ash. And I was breathing that ash in.
***
Set along the rank shores of the Bagmati River, Pashupatinath is the most important Hindu temple in Nepal - so important non-Hindus are not allowed into the main building. But the grounds around the temple, a rambling complex of smaller temples and countless Shiva shrines, were more than enough to keep me occupied for hours.
Since Pashupatinah is so sacred, it is perhaps the most "popular" place in Kathmandu for Nepali Hindus to get cremated and enter the next cycle of life. Funerals occur daily - indeed several were going on while I was visiting - the bodies wrapped tightly in shrouds and draped in heavy garlands of marigolds, placed on wooden pyres, and then set aflame. Apparently, only members of the Nepali royal family are allowed to be cremated directly in front of the main temple; ten received this honor after the horrible royal massacre
that occurred in 2001**. I spent a long while sitting on the river bank opposite the cremation ghats, watching the ceremonies unfold and thinking about what a powerful symbol of mortality cremation is. From dust to dust.... (I also tried not to think too much about breathing in the ash...).
Away from the ghats, the temple complex was less somber - actually, almost festive. Large crowds streamed into the temple, past the golden rear-end of Nandi, Shiva's bull "vehicle" (the only thing I could glimpse from outside!). Others performed puja at the other shrines. A few seemed to be having religious experiences induced by suspect substances. Into this wild mix, a number of outlandishly decked out (or near naked) sadhus were hanging out in various corners of the site, looking otherworldly and sometimes clearly posing for the awestruck tourists (hoping for a little cash for having their photos taken). While the sadhus were obviously a colorful addition to the already colorful scenery, I didn't want to participate in the tourists' zoo-like gawking and photo-snapping.
After immersing myself in the hubbub for a number of hours, I decided to climb to the top of the wooded hill rising above
Pashupatinath, up to the nearly deserted clutch of Shiva shrines crowning the hill. I settled into the small cafe next to the shrines and ordered a chai.
It was so quiet, so removed from the hustle below. The air was (relatively) fresh, free of the ash and smoke billowing from the ghats. There were no sadhus, no pilgrims, no tourists.
It was a little bit of heaven.
*Although I do hope to make the trek to base camp some day!
**On June 1, 2001, Prince Dipendra gunned down ten members of his family, including the king and queen, during a dinner, and then shot himself. While the initial theory behind the killing was that the prince was distraught over his parents' disapproval of the woman he wanted to marry, others believe it was a set-up, that the new king, Gyanendra (who just happened to be out of town when the massacre occurred), had planned it to put himself on the throne. Probably no one will really now what happened, but it was a shocking, shocking event. If it was indeed a plot by King Gyanendra, he was not going to hold his position for too
long - in 2006, the king was reduced to a figurehead and in 2008 the monarchy was abolished. Nepal became a federal republic.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.116s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 13; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0474s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb