hristmas break and while Caitie was here. Our dear friend, Thaman Thapa, who studied at Fanshawe a
few years ago and lived at our house for a while, and I have been talking about our going to visit him in Nepal for a few years now. When we asked Cait what she would like to do when she came to visit, going to see Thaman was the choice! We had a ridiculously short time in Nepal ... 4 full days ... but thanks to Thaman, we made the most of it. Thaman had suggested we go on a short trek, but I wasn’t sure how we would accomplish that with such a short amount of time and when we heard about mountain flights to see the Himalayas, that sort of put the kibosh on trekking.Thaman met us at the airport and then again at the hotel. We stayed at the Kathmandu Guest House, a landmark hotel in Thamel (the tourist district). The first day Thaman and his cousin, Lalit, took us to three major temples – Swayambhunath, Bodnath, and Pashupatinath. We walked to Swayambhunath, the great Buddhist temple, and that was really interesting ... it is at the top of a big hill and we had to climb many steps (365) to get there. The shrine, also called Monkey Tem
ple due to the large number of rhesus macaques that inhabit the grounds, was really incredible; I had never been to a place where the monkeys just roamed at will. Swayambhunath has a beautiful stupa ... the large dome with Budd
ha’s Eyes dominated the top of the hill. As you enter, there are prayer wheels and people spin them clockwise and say om mani padme hum. There are prayer flags and statuary and various other shrines throughout the site. Although clearly Buddhist, there are a lot of Hindu elements as well - several shrines and temples to Hindu gods and goddesses there as well.
ple due to the large number of rhesus macaques that inhabit the grounds, was really incredible; I had never been to a place where the monkeys just roamed at will. Swayambhunath has a beautiful stupa ... the large dome with Budd
ha’s Eyes dominated the top of the hill. As you enter, there are prayer wheels and people spin them clockwise and say om mani padme hum. There are prayer flags and statuary and various other shrines throughout the site. Although clearly Buddhist, there are a lot of Hindu elements as well - several shrines and temples to Hindu gods and goddesses there as well. After leaving Swayambhunath, we caught a taxi to Bodhnath, a large village/district and UN Heritage S
ite near the airport in Kathmandu. It is a spiritual home to many Tibetan refugees and Buddhist Nepalis. It also has a beautiful stupa with a large dome an
d Buddha's Eyes, and thousands of prayer flags blowing in the wind. Around the stupa was a little village with shops and small shrines and schools and apartments and houses. It was so interesting! I was struck by the intermingling of business, day-to-day activities, tourism, and religious pilgrimage... all going on at the same time. This is also where we saw quite a few Buddhist monks and also several groups of nuns, whom Thaman called anis. Around the perimeter of almost every horizontal surface of the stupa were small glasses with orange marigolds. I was so taken with those and remembering the calendulas in Mexico ... especially on el dia de los muertos. Just as we were leaving Bodnath, we saw a large group of people circumambulating the stupa; I guess this is a tradition that has been ongoing since the 5th century.
ite near the airport in Kathmandu. It is a spiritual home to many Tibetan refugees and Buddhist Nepalis. It also has a beautiful stupa with a large dome an
d Buddha's Eyes, and thousands of prayer flags blowing in the wind. Around the stupa was a little village with shops and small shrines and schools and apartments and houses. It was so interesting! I was struck by the intermingling of business, day-to-day activities, tourism, and religious pilgrimage... all going on at the same time. This is also where we saw quite a few Buddhist monks and also several groups of nuns, whom Thaman called anis. Around the perimeter of almost every horizontal surface of the stupa were small glasses with orange marigolds. I was so taken with those and remembering the calendulas in Mexico ... especially on el dia de los muertos. Just as we were leaving Bodnath, we saw a large group of people circumambulating the stupa; I guess this is a tradition that has been ongoing since the 5th century. After visiting Bodnath, we went to Pashupatinath, which is one of the holiest sites in Hinduism. As we approached Pashupatinath, we saw lots of vendors selling marigolds, flo
wers, and other offerings. Just before you enter, you see a large building for elderly people to live. The site itself is huge with many buildings, temples, and residences. The main temple is dedicated to Shiva and foreigners are not allowed to enter. The site is on the Bagmati River, which is a holy river, and many Nepali people come to Pashupatinath to die or to be cremated. Along the river is arya ghat, where the funeral pyres are constructed and lit. Several were burning as we were there and we saw another site being prepared. In this area are also many monkeys and a small zoo with monkeys, deer, and some yaks. The sun was going down as we left Pashupatinath, an
d it seemed appropriately sombre, considering this earthly existence was ending for several people, whose pyres would continue to burn for another few hours before their ashes would be thrown into the river, when they believe they will go straight to heaven. The river is a sacred one, but it is in bad shape ... very polluted. We saw raw sewage being dumped directly into the river further down its course ... very sad. Since we have returned to Qatar, we have learned in the local press that there is a lot of controversy in Kathmandu right now, having to do with the priests, who have historically come from southern India, being fired by the Maoist government and that certain prayers at Pashupatinath have been interrupted for the first time in 260 years.
wers, and other offerings. Just before you enter, you see a large building for elderly people to live. The site itself is huge with many buildings, temples, and residences. The main temple is dedicated to Shiva and foreigners are not allowed to enter. The site is on the Bagmati River, which is a holy river, and many Nepali people come to Pashupatinath to die or to be cremated. Along the river is arya ghat, where the funeral pyres are constructed and lit. Several were burning as we were there and we saw another site being prepared. In this area are also many monkeys and a small zoo with monkeys, deer, and some yaks. The sun was going down as we left Pashupatinath, an
d it seemed appropriately sombre, considering this earthly existence was ending for several people, whose pyres would continue to burn for another few hours before their ashes would be thrown into the river, when they believe they will go straight to heaven. The river is a sacred one, but it is in bad shape ... very polluted. We saw raw sewage being dumped directly into the river further down its course ... very sad. Since we have returned to Qatar, we have learned in the local press that there is a lot of controversy in Kathmandu right now, having to do with the priests, who have historically come from southern India, being fired by the Maoist government and that certain prayers at Pashupatinath have been interrupted for the first time in 260 years. From Pashupatinath, we took a taxi to Sonrisa, the orphanage Thaman and his friend, Bishnu Rai, started a couple of years ago. We met Bishnu, the president of Sonrisa and Jason and Donna, a couple of volunteers from Canada. It was Jason’s last day, as he was heading off to Pokhara and a chiropractic mission for children in that part of Nepal, before volunteering in another orphanage. The children were delightful (and very shy) and were singing folk tunes and dancing one by one in a circle, which was illuminated by a lantern. Nepal has been having significant power outages, and is now without electricity for 12 hours a day. Shanti, a staff member who works with the children, played the drum for a while, and Subit, another staff member, brought us all Nepali tea, which I have developed a true fondness for:-). It was an incredibly endearing experience, and a lovely way to end our first full day in Nepal! Dhanyabad, Thaman!!
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