Stairs going up to monkey temple
turning wheels (can someone tell me the name of these)
locals reading the newspaper posted on the wall
Kathmandu Durbar Square
Eye to eye with Buddha
Bhaktapur
Must have been the harvest time for a certain type of grain, the city was full of these
Happy to be out of school :)
Himalayas!!!
Police barricade in the back
Maoist protestersI wasn't sure about whether to come to Nepal or not, but just the gorgeous scenery I enjoyed during the car ride coming into Kathmandu was a good enough reason itself. I reached Kathmandu after a tiring 30 hour long train and car ride from Varanasi. The lush green mountains welcome you about an hour of drive into Nepal and accompany you all along the way. It was a pleasant ride despite taking much longer than it was supposed to, due to waiting for a customer who forgot his bag at the terminal, car having a minor breakdown, waiting at numerous army and police checkpoints and getting the luggage searched (they don't bother with tourists' luggage, just the locals!). I went hotel hunting after arriving in Kathmandu, and had to settle at a hotel which I thought was expensive at 4 dollars a night since I hadn't done any research and didn't have any guidebooks or maps with me(later found out it was an average price and Nepal was little more expensive than India). This has been my first hotel room with it's own bathroom and hot water since starting my journey. The attitudes and helpful manners of the hotel employees I came across while looking for a hotel gave the first hints of Nepali being more polite than Indians. This impression was confirmed the next day walking around in the city. We sat down with the receptionist that night and created an itinerary for my travels in Nepal. He lent a lonely planet guidebook and maps to me, which saved me at least ten bucks.
Next day I started sightseeing from the so called Monkey Temple. Its original name is different, but came to be known by this name among tourists due to the large groups of monkeys living around the temple. It's possible to get a view of the whole city from this temple that sits on top of a high hill. Unfortunately Kathmandu, a much larger city than I had thought, is having the same serious air pollution problems as the other big cities I have visited on my journey. Many Nepalese wear masks on the streets to be protected from the pollution and constant dust that fills the air. It's unavoidable for people living in cities like Tahran, Delhi, and Kathmandu to have respiratory problems I guess. Streets are much cleaner in Nepal compared to India, and people politer. My dense body hair must be very unusual and interesting for Nepalese, because I keep noticing people staring at my arms (only uncovered part) and laughing. There's nothing I can do but laugh with them. A guy sitting next to me in the bus was showing his two year old daughter the fur on her coat and my arms, and telling her something, I think he was telling her not to be afraid, that I wasn't a werewolf or something :)
After visiting Kathmandu's Durbar Square, which is filled with antique structures featuring magnificent architecture, I went to Boudhanath, a holy place for buddhists. I came across familiar scenes here as I had in many other temples. Buddhists circling around the stupa, monks singing prayers, piles of food consisting of packages of chips, cookies and other food donated by people as an offering to Buddha, and people praying and donating money to nothing but a pile of rocks. It's sad to see Buddhism, which doesn't have a god or prophet and is only supposed to be a philosophical teaching of how one should lead his life to become a better person, turned into a paganistic practice as all other religions are.
On my second day in Kathmandu valley I went out of the city to a small mountain-top village called Nagarkot. It's a popular spot as it's possible to watch the sun rising and setting over Himalayas from this location. It was all cloudy and rainy when I got there, so had to start looking for a hotel without enjoying the view. Electricity was out in the village so there was nothing for me to do but reading my book at candlelight at the restaurant of the hotel.
I woke up the next morning at sunrise to blue skies and a spectacular view of the Himalayas. Giant mountains rising above green valleys and white clouds were mesmerising. After enjoying the view for a while I hit the road before the sun rose any higher. A 20 km (13 miles) downhill hike was waiting for me from this mountain top village, where I had taken a bus coming up to. I had the chance to pass through many Nepali villages along the way of this long but pleasant hike (more of a walk). The villagers, not being to used to tourists, were much more sincere and naive. All the towns were surrounded by fields, and it was mostly Nepali women working in these fields. Since Nepal is all mountainous and doesn't have many plains, people cultivate the hills by forming steps and steps of green fields, that look like gardens of Babylon. These steps covering the hills from top to bottom present a nice wave-like feel.
The interest Nepalese have been showing to the hair on my arms, although not bothering at the beginning, has become little disturbing. Unmistakably every single person I walk by on the streets lock their eyes on my arms and we pass each other smiling. I think they would be shocked and pass if they were to see the hair on my chest and legs too :) I now have a better understanding of how women must feel getting stares on their bodies all the time instead of their faces.
I found myself in the middle of protests by Maoists (communists), that had been taking place for the last two days, when I was trying to reach my hotel back in the city. Although crowded, it was quiet and calm. People were walking in a single file through a barricade with a large number of police presence in the direction I was headed to. Trusting the high security measures taken and the calmness of the crowd, I got in the line to pass through the barricade. It had only been a minute or two when all of a sudden people turned around and started running and yelling. Naturally, I turned around and started running as well, and climbed on top of a wall to get out of the crowd. After relieving the first shock of the event on the wall I noticed people smiling while running away. I think Nepalese were used to this kind o attraction and found it amusing. After things calmed down I went up to the police barricade again, thinking they would let me pass by being a tourist, but was turned down. So I ended up taking a detour to reach my hotel. My visit to Kathmandu was concluded with this exciting day, and I got on a bus to Pokhara in western Nepal the next morning.
Next day I started sightseeing from the so called Monkey Temple. Its original name is different, but came to be known by this name among tourists due to the large groups of monkeys living around the temple. It's possible to get a view of the whole city from this temple that sits on top of a high hill. Unfortunately Kathmandu, a much larger city than I had thought, is having the same serious air pollution problems as the other big cities I have visited on my journey. Many Nepalese wear masks on the streets to be protected from the pollution and constant dust that fills the air. It's unavoidable for people living in cities like Tahran, Delhi, and Kathmandu to have respiratory problems I guess. Streets are much cleaner in Nepal compared to India, and people politer. My dense body hair must be very unusual and interesting for Nepalese, because I keep noticing people staring at my arms (only uncovered part) and laughing. There's nothing I can do but laugh with them. A guy sitting next to me in the bus was showing his two year old daughter the fur on her coat and my arms, and telling her something, I think he was telling her not to be afraid, that I wasn't a werewolf or something :)
After visiting Kathmandu's Durbar Square, which is filled with antique structures featuring magnificent architecture, I went to Boudhanath, a holy place for buddhists. I came across familiar scenes here as I had in many other temples. Buddhists circling around the stupa, monks singing prayers, piles of food consisting of packages of chips, cookies and other food donated by people as an offering to Buddha, and people praying and donating money to nothing but a pile of rocks. It's sad to see Buddhism, which doesn't have a god or prophet and is only supposed to be a philosophical teaching of how one should lead his life to become a better person, turned into a paganistic practice as all other religions are.
On my second day in Kathmandu valley I went out of the city to a small mountain-top village called Nagarkot. It's a popular spot as it's possible to watch the sun rising and setting over Himalayas from this location. It was all cloudy and rainy when I got there, so had to start looking for a hotel without enjoying the view. Electricity was out in the village so there was nothing for me to do but reading my book at candlelight at the restaurant of the hotel.
I woke up the next morning at sunrise to blue skies and a spectacular view of the Himalayas. Giant mountains rising above green valleys and white clouds were mesmerising. After enjoying the view for a while I hit the road before the sun rose any higher. A 20 km (13 miles) downhill hike was waiting for me from this mountain top village, where I had taken a bus coming up to. I had the chance to pass through many Nepali villages along the way of this long but pleasant hike (more of a walk). The villagers, not being to used to tourists, were much more sincere and naive. All the towns were surrounded by fields, and it was mostly Nepali women working in these fields. Since Nepal is all mountainous and doesn't have many plains, people cultivate the hills by forming steps and steps of green fields, that look like gardens of Babylon. These steps covering the hills from top to bottom present a nice wave-like feel.
The interest Nepalese have been showing to the hair on my arms, although not bothering at the beginning, has become little disturbing. Unmistakably every single person I walk by on the streets lock their eyes on my arms and we pass each other smiling. I think they would be shocked and pass if they were to see the hair on my chest and legs too :) I now have a better understanding of how women must feel getting stares on their bodies all the time instead of their faces.
I found myself in the middle of protests by Maoists (communists), that had been taking place for the last two days, when I was trying to reach my hotel back in the city. Although crowded, it was quiet and calm. People were walking in a single file through a barricade with a large number of police presence in the direction I was headed to. Trusting the high security measures taken and the calmness of the crowd, I got in the line to pass through the barricade. It had only been a minute or two when all of a sudden people turned around and started running and yelling. Naturally, I turned around and started running as well, and climbed on top of a wall to get out of the crowd. After relieving the first shock of the event on the wall I noticed people smiling while running away. I think Nepalese were used to this kind o attraction and found it amusing. After things calmed down I went up to the police barricade again, thinking they would let me pass by being a tourist, but was turned down. So I ended up taking a detour to reach my hotel. My visit to Kathmandu was concluded with this exciting day, and I got on a bus to Pokhara in western Nepal the next morning.
Hi Ugur!
ReplyDeleteThose prayer wheels are called Mani wheels. It's a Tibetan Buddhism culture. They should be spinned clockwise. The most common mantra or sacred text on or inside Mani wheels is Om Mani Padme Om.
~W