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Published: June 17th 2010
Sadhus
PashupatinathAirport “transfer”(on foot) across Pashupatinath and its sadhus, cremation & monkeys!
Morning arrival in Kathmandu, and on foot we went. Truly starting to get used to it and somehow felt like it is a fantastic way to get to enter Kathmandu city, discovering it at a slow pace and enjoying the sight of simple daily life moments.
Heading to the Tibetan part of the city known as Boudhanath (or simply Bodha), located about 10km east from the very touristy Tamel. Great news for us it is clearly closer from the airport and it means crossing the
sacred area of Pashupatinath where cremations take place. A great way to get introduced to the city:
morning light, barely any tourists and the whole ritual unfolding in front of our eyes. Ok…got really lucky to visit this place with Anne Catherine as she used
A balet of Tuc Tuc
Durbar square from above to work in Kathmandu and is quite familiar with the whole ritual so she made a fantastic guide! From the family member who will light up the buchet (usually the oldest son) dressed in white after going through the purification ritual, to the funeral pyre in itself being prepared with grass at the base and then wooden log on the stone promontory along the river and finally to the surrounding temples, prayer halls, Shiva status here and there, monkeys wherever you look, the whole experience was absolutely fascinating.
Hard to describe this special something floating around you in each of the sacred place you visit when in Nepal but there is definitely something peaceful & humble, that make you enjoy the moment as it is.
Guesthouse finally…Welcome to Boudhanath, did we cross the Tibetan border ??!
Still carrying our backpack, we finally reached our guest house located in the
heart of Boudhath with a breathtaking view over the stupa literally standing next to the guest house.
The Valley guest house is definitely a great place to stay with affordable rooms, nice local style breakfast and a roof top terrace where you can enjoy the sunset over the
stupa. It is actually owned by a couple, she is dutch and he is a Nepalese Sherpa both in love with mountaineering which make the place even more special (aka the great pictures here and there)
Staying in Boudhanath is already an experience in itself,
somehow felt more like Tibet than Nepal with the monks and most of the ladies wearing the traditional Tibetan outfit without mentioning the Tibetan food widely available here and there & the art and craft you can find in the shops.
Exploring the outskirts of Kathmandu
Downtown Kathmandu was still very agitated with large demonstrations taking place including a peace rally supposed to attract as many as 40’000 people so definitely the last place we want to be right now. Following the great advices of Pierre, Anne Catherine’s friend and somehow our guardian angel each time we stop by Kathmandu, we decided to head on foot toward the North East part of the city and visit
Kopan monastery. This one hour walk (up to Kopan - one way) takes you through the Tibetan area and then down in the valley where you already feel like in the countryside, and up
Monks praying by the stupa
Picture taken by Anne Catherine Roussel hills to a series of monasteries overlooking the terraced fields and the city of Kathmandu.
The main Buddhist monastery and the only one you can visit as a tourist is the Kopan monastery which hosts
over 360 monks from Nepal and Tibet as well as western students.
The garden surrounding the monastery and the large print out of quotes from the Dalai Lama were definitely the highlights of our visit. No rush here as you go around the main prayer hall and explore the garden or simply take a few moments to think about what you just read…
One of my favorite quote: “Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents and then later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other’s kindness, how can it be that in the middle we neglect kindness toward others? “His holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
On the way back, we decided to head toward the next monastery following a
very tiny path perched on top of the hill (as you exit the Kopan monastery keep walking straight and then take the path on the right side of the nunnery). The view from there made us (well..especially me…) slightly dizzy but the
sound of the Buddhist call to prayer & the prayer flags hanging between the trees were the perfect background for this walk. At the end of this path we reached a wider one going on the left through a pine forest and leading to an other monastery. Ok, guess that’s when we decided to go for the
“off road” version of this walk as we were running kind of late and didn’t feel like coming back the same way as the one we came from…
So, back to the beginning of the forest where a road goes down overlooking an other monastery where young monks study, through the monastery (the road didn’t seem to lead toward the right direction so went for a “short cut”) & warm welcome of the
young monks who simply couldn’t stop laughing and smiling when we decided to go down across the field in front of the monastery… Well, it was
Early morning
Pashupatinath indeed quite
steep, muddy and clearly NOT a path but anyhow although it might have looked more like “mud boarding” (without the board) we had great fun! (and so did they).
Back in the valley, still not on anything that looks like a path but instead walking on the tiny hillock separating the paddy fields, saying hello here and there to local who are clearly wondering how we ended up there, & overall enjoying more and more the “off road” version! The way back took us around an hour an half but we finally managed to get back to the guest house for a chill out end of afternoon.
Bandh’ is over!!
As I was slowly waking up enjoying some coffee, Anne Catherine brought the breaking news, the Bandh is over!! This was the last day before the departure on Sunday evening & guess the first thing that crossed my mind was RAFTING! Well…not that simple as things were still chaotic and unfortunately the only excursions available on those two days were the family style/ introduction to white water rafting…Guess it would be for next time!
Still this was quite a relief, especially thinking about
the local population & the country in general which had been paralyzed for an entire week. Time to head to the centre & visit some of the jewels that Kathmandu has to offer!
Durbar square, welcome to the heart of Kathmandu!
Taxi to Ratnapark (the first in a week…) and on foot we went again! The area between the park and the Durbar square is definitely a must see and experience. Much less touristic than Thamel, it is a real
labyrinth of tiny alleys, houses with wooden carved facades and shops selling pretty much everything you can think of. Feels a little bit like walking within an open air bazaar except that you stop pretty much every minute to look up and admire the architecture or one of the numerous temples spread here and there.
First day without bandh’ meant as well that there was
absolutely no tourist! Felt like we had the place for ourselves which must not happen very often in this part of the town…
A few twist and short cuts later, and here was Durbar square with its temples with their pyramid shaped bases & the
Kumari Palace which is the home of "the Kumari" (living goddess).
Chill out time on the top of the stairs of one of the main temples in the middle of the square, a few locals around enjoying the view and the quiet square… guess the experience might be slightly different the next time I will be back in Kathmandu!
Thamel, a very brief stop followed by a fantastic afternoon with friends…
Short stop in Thamel after this magical early morning & well, didn’t expect too much out of it and somehow glad it was just that: a quick stop! Tourists shops are lined up one after the other, and yes there is lots of choice when it comes to painting & art and craft but the prices come with it…For sure, with a little bit of exploration & time, Kathmandu can offer a lot more…
Kathmandu meant as well to catch up with one of my ICRC colleague based there & finally meet his lovely family! Great afternoon with old and new friend, chilling out and chatting, really nice to be able to stay in touch even though Nepal is definitely not next door from North Korea!
Thanks again
Morning sight
Durbar square WITH a few local and WITHOUT the tourists ! Pete for this fantastic afternoon :-)
The last day in town, somehow guess we had really getting addicted to the walking part as we headed again to the outskirt of the city mostly on foot…(ok…shared minibus followed by walking). The place is known for one of the national forest and an absolutely breathtaking golf course, really wished I had had planned this in, as it would have been a nice upgrade from the Pyongyang’s golf courses. One more thing to add to my to do list for next trip!
Afternoon spent shopping, hadn’t done much of that the past week and time to head back to North Korea via China…What a trip,
the unexpected really turned up into a great experience & the best “excuse” ever to come again! Nepalese hospitality is truly heartwarming & the view of the Himalaya is something I will never forget. Namaste!
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Pauline
non-member comment
les photos sont magnifiques bises à toi :)