Blogs from Nepal, Asia - page 432

The plan for today was to see Bhaktapur, an old city about 13kms from Kathmandu. Since we weren't really planning to go trekking, the main things to see in Nepal were temples, so we mentally prepared ourselves to be templed-out for the whole day. Bhaktapur had the most ridiculously expensive entry fee - 750 rupees - which is huge compared to the standard 100 rupees at other places. So we were expecting something fairly extraordinary. What we got was some fairly old buildings and a lot of temples. There was one gross one which had two elephants doing stuff that elephants shouldn't be doing in public. There was also another one with lions. Unfortunately, apart from a lot of photos that looked very much like the temples in the Durbar Square in Kathmandu, we left with ... read more

After 12 days in India, we were ready for a new country. Today it was time for Nepal, and in particular, the capital Kathmandu. We had seen a movie staring Kathmandu airport once before, and it had cows running around the airport, so we were sorely disappointed to find a rather modern looking bland airport awaiting us. The taxi ride to the hotel was interesting, giving a brief glimpse of various parts of Kathmandu. The most notable thing was that it was a lot cleaner than most of India. Considering that it's a much poorer country, this was rather surprising. You could still see signs of poverty around, but there definately weren't as many beggars and rundown hovels, and definately not as many cows standing in the middle of the road mooing at the cars going ... read more

Chitwan National Park is in the far south of Nepal boardering with India. It is a large Jungle area which has been protected in order to maintain its diverse variety of animal and plant life. We chose to spend a couple of days just outside the park and pay for an organised programe of activities. This included visiting the local elephant breeding centre, an elephant ride into the jungle, a canoe trip and elephant bathing! It was a good couple of days, with the highlights being seeing the wild rhinos in the park and going in the lake with the elephants and their trainers to take their daily bath (I got soaked in the process). For our last few days in the country we were kindly invited, along with Marinka and Jasper (our friends from the ... read more

When I left you last time I was heading out for a traditional Nepalese dinner. I almost missed it! When Micheal, Jamie and Me had gotten out of our Taxi earlier we'd headed off in our seperate ways and Micheal had specifically said, (though he now denies it), that everyone was meeting up to go at 7.30. (Turns out it was 7)! So there I am ambling back to the hotel, MP3 Player blasting away in my ears when suddenly two taxis swerve to a halt in front of me and I'm confronted by everyone shouting at me to get in. Two streets further down Jamie had an almost identical experience when we fortuitously ran into him also. Our taxi was delayed on route cos of a flat tyre! This is now my 3rd flat tyre, ... read more

Ok before I start, just finished dinner and had lots to drink, (so please keep that in mind)! Tuesday Afternoon Joan, Glen, Micheal, Jamie and me headed off in Tuk Tuk's to Saranath, (which is where supposedly Buddah gave his first surmon)! It's a quiet peacefull location, (and a good escape from the furore of Varanasi)! NOTE…The great Buddha enhanced the sanctity of Varanasi by choosing the environs of the city to preach his first sermon at Sarnath, (only 10 kms away) after attaining enlightenment.Later, Ashoka, the great Mauryan Emperor erected magnificent stupas and other buildings alongwith his mighty stone pillar, Dharmarajika Stupa. The 110 ft. tall Damekh Stupa marks the place where Buddha preached first sermon.Sarnath has been a premier centre for Buddhism.It is a rich collection of ancient Buddhist relics and antiques comprising numerous ... read more