PASHUPATI
We went to Pashupati, a huge Hindu temple complex. As non-Hindus, we had to pay a fee to enter the grounds. It wasn't really what I expected, but I was in awe. As we walked it, it was like I was dropped into the middle of a travel channel show. Actually, I think I saw this place on the travel channel once. There's a small river running through it and built up on the sides of the river are the funeral pyres where they cremate their dead. There were 2 pyres burning and one fresh pyre ready to light. Our coordinator told us that the people believe if they are cremated at this temple that they will go straight to heaven. The pyres take about 3 hours to burn. A huge number of people come to worship here, including people from India. We walked thru the complex and there were lots of little temples and they all worship the same god in different forms. There were lots of steps and monkeys running freely through the complex.
The funeral pyres are above the river. Can you see them?BOUDHANATH
After the Hindu temple, we went to the Buddist temple complex, Boudhanath. It was so lovely. All white and clean with colorful flags. There were shops all around and we went in the Buddist monestary. So amazing. Kind of like EPCOT Center at Disney, but the real thing.
BHAKTAPUR
After our temple visits early in the morning, we picked Madhavi up at the orphanage, along with one of the older girls and drove to Bhaktapur. It's a city from the 12th century. The ancient city of Bhaktapur was a city of the king. There were 4 kings in this area until one king united everything. One of them lived in Bhaktapur. We saw a huge bath for the king. Very cool.
They were ready for the World Cup!
The king's bath.
KUMARI at KATHMANDU DURBAR SQUARE
At 4pm we rushed to Kathmandu Durbar Square to see the Kumari, the living goddess. Kumari is a young girl who is chosen to be the living goddess. She lives in a palace and only appears briefly at a window. The only time she leaves the palace is during festivals. I took a photo of the window she appeared at and she was only there for less than a minute. Taking pictures of the Kumari is strictly prohibited but I bought some postcards of her. Her time as a goddess is over when she gets to be about 12 years old. At that time, a new living goddess will go thru trials and tests and will be named the new living goddess. This goddess was very young, maybe 5 or 6 years old. The square itself had some very old buildings dating back to the 8th century.
Kumari House
The goddess came to the top middle window for about 45 seconds.
THE MONKEY TEMPLE
We visited another Buddist temple high on the hill overlooking Kathmandu. This temple is commonly known as the Monkey Temple, but we only saw about 3 monkeys, so I'm a bit confused. It was beautiful and the view was amazing. I love all the colored prayer flags flying over the temple grounds. I'm so glad we drove up and parked close to the top. We looked down the stairs that others were climbing and they were unbelievably steep.
These steps were so steep!
These women were hauling rocks and sand in these baskets to help build a wall.
Patan Durbar Square
We also visited Patan Durbar Square. The buildings there date back to the 5th century. Words cannot describe these gorgeous old buildings. It's amazing how they have stood the test of time.
These steps were so steep!
These women were hauling rocks and sand in these baskets to help build a wall.
Patan Durbar Square
We also visited Patan Durbar Square. The buildings there date back to the 5th century. Words cannot describe these gorgeous old buildings. It's amazing how they have stood the test of time.
NARAYANHITI PALACE
Just down the street from our hotel is Narayanhiti Palace. The palace was built in the 60s and was the home of the royal family until the royal massacre in June 2001. Rumor has it that the crown prince murdered his family because they didn't approve of the woman he was courting.
Nepal isn't a monarchy any longer. They have a president and a Prime Minister. At least they had a Prime Minister. He resigned yesterday under pressure from the Maoists.
We really enjoyed visiting the royal palace today. The throne room was unbelievable. It is the tower you see, dominating the building. The decorations were lovely, but photos were not allowed inside, so I can't show you.
I'm posting pictures of the outside and I have to tell you, it doesn't do it justice. The marble stairs leading to the massive front doors had black statues of animals on the sides. The front doors were 2 stories high and were beautifully carved . Just amazing.
Nepal isn't a monarchy any longer. They have a president and a Prime Minister. At least they had a Prime Minister. He resigned yesterday under pressure from the Maoists.
We really enjoyed visiting the royal palace today. The throne room was unbelievable. It is the tower you see, dominating the building. The decorations were lovely, but photos were not allowed inside, so I can't show you.
I'm posting pictures of the outside and I have to tell you, it doesn't do it justice. The marble stairs leading to the massive front doors had black statues of animals on the sides. The front doors were 2 stories high and were beautifully carved . Just amazing.
THE GARDEN OF DREAMS
Just around the corner from our hotel is a place called the Garden of Dreams. This was the final attraction we wanted to see while in Kathmandu. Since we're optimistically hoping for her visa soon, we decided to see it today. Besides, it's on the way to our favorite restaurant, Fire and Ice. :)
Here's what I found online about the Garden:
The Garden of Dreams is situated within the premises of Kaiser Mahal (a palace,now the Ministry of Education) which was built in 1895 by the then Prime Minister Bir SJB Rana. The palace was later inherited by his son Chandra SJB Rana who later created the garden and presented to his son Kaiser SJB Rana as his wedding gift. Being a man of great essence, Kaiser Shumsher extensive landscape program for the garden included eastern lawn, wooded and cultivated areas, and a duck pond to name a few. It is learnt that he was an impassioned traveler especially to European Countries and the Garden of Dreams was an inspiration he received from the gardens in Europe.
Within the Garden wall Kaiser Shumsher created an exquisite ensemble of pavilions, fountains, decorative garden furniture, and European – inspired features such as verandas, pergolas, balustrades, urns, and birdhouses. He erected six impressive freestanding pavilions, each dedicated to one of the six seasons of Nepal namely- Basanta (spring), Grishma (summer), Barkha (monsoon), Sharad (early autumn), Hemanta (late autumn) and Shishir (winter).
However, after the death of Kaiser Shumsher in 1965, his family bequeathed some portion of the Kaiser Mahal including his dream garden and Kaiser library to the government after which the garden remained in dilapidated form for several decades. Once the dream garden of Kaiser now covered with overgrown weeds. So, its structural disfigurement caught the sight of some of the national and international environmentalists, and heritage conservations during the visit Nepal Year 1998, when Nepal celebrated the year as the tourism year.
We enjoyed our visit to the Garden. It really was quite beautiful with it's lotus ponds with goldfish in them. But we didn't stay long. An active 1 year old isn't that interested in gardens, no matter how pretty.
Here's what I found online about the Garden:
The Garden of Dreams is situated within the premises of Kaiser Mahal (a palace,now the Ministry of Education) which was built in 1895 by the then Prime Minister Bir SJB Rana. The palace was later inherited by his son Chandra SJB Rana who later created the garden and presented to his son Kaiser SJB Rana as his wedding gift. Being a man of great essence, Kaiser Shumsher extensive landscape program for the garden included eastern lawn, wooded and cultivated areas, and a duck pond to name a few. It is learnt that he was an impassioned traveler especially to European Countries and the Garden of Dreams was an inspiration he received from the gardens in Europe.
Within the Garden wall Kaiser Shumsher created an exquisite ensemble of pavilions, fountains, decorative garden furniture, and European – inspired features such as verandas, pergolas, balustrades, urns, and birdhouses. He erected six impressive freestanding pavilions, each dedicated to one of the six seasons of Nepal namely- Basanta (spring), Grishma (summer), Barkha (monsoon), Sharad (early autumn), Hemanta (late autumn) and Shishir (winter).
However, after the death of Kaiser Shumsher in 1965, his family bequeathed some portion of the Kaiser Mahal including his dream garden and Kaiser library to the government after which the garden remained in dilapidated form for several decades. Once the dream garden of Kaiser now covered with overgrown weeds. So, its structural disfigurement caught the sight of some of the national and international environmentalists, and heritage conservations during the visit Nepal Year 1998, when Nepal celebrated the year as the tourism year.
We enjoyed our visit to the Garden. It really was quite beautiful with it's lotus ponds with goldfish in them. But we didn't stay long. An active 1 year old isn't that interested in gardens, no matter how pretty.
THAMEL
Thamel is the touristy shopping area. We saw some Europeans here and our favorite restaurant, Fire and Ice Pizzeria was here. It was just a few blocks from our hotel, so we walked there quite a few times. The streets were pretty narrow in some places and it was amazing that the traffic could even get through.
View of the road from inside a Thamel shop
Here's Nana, barely avoiding the traffic while shopping in Thamel.
1 comment:
lots of nice memories when I saw your pictures. You saw a lots of places. We was too tired and it was too hot for moving a lot ;-)
Post a Comment