From the Hyatt to the Hill-top Monastery

Rachel and I started the day at the Hyatt. Which sounds kindof random (and it is) but is has a great view of Bouddha, and very fancy architecture. It comes complete with a western pool and western prices. From there we walked over to Bouddha, which I had already visited once, but it is definitely a must-see for any tourist coming to Kathmandu, so I was happy to go again with Rachel. From there we headed to Kopan Monastery. Kopan Monastery is one of only hundreds of monasteries laying about, but I think we picked a good one because it is particularly big with beautiful architecture and artwork, and offers many meditation courses and the like.

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View of Bouddha and Kathmandu from the Hyatt...note the huge fancy pool.


Rachel and I are posing on the roof I discovered the first time I went to Bouddha. This time there was actually a big scary monkey with two different colored eyes that almost attacked my camera. Which is why Rachel and I are exhiled to the corner of the roof.


On our walk to Kopan Monastery (which was a bit longer than we expected) we hung out with these two Nuns who showed us the way to the Monastery, our conversations included a lot of pantomiming.


I liked the sidewalk sign at the Monastery which says, 'Welcome Home'.


That is one big buddha.


I guess a monastery is as good a place as any for Rachel to meditate... Ooooooooohm...


The only other tourists around are checking out the beautiful statues/relics.


My favorite Monk... don't forget, NO KILLING ALLOWED!

Bhaktapur and back again

Today Rachel and I went to Bhaktapur, which, along with Patan, was one of the cities right next to Kathmandu that was also historically powerful but eventually was completely outgrown by Kathmandu. It was nice how quiet and empty the streets were compared to Kathmandu. It still had a lot of amazing old architecture, and their 'Durbar Square' is definitely at least as nice as the one in Kathmandu. Bhaktapur is especially known for their ceramics and woodworking. We spent most of the day just wandering through the city.


Rachel in Bhaktapur's Durbar Square.


We found 'Pottery Square' but apparently there are also some pretty cool ash kilns and pottery wheels that we missed somehow


Not all the wood-carving is as devilish as this...


Rachel is a pro at bargaining.


Me at a shrine.


One of these things is not like the others...


This gazebo-ish thing was in a square in a more residential part of Bhaktapur. When Rachel and I went up to see what was in it we found... goats! It looked like they might do sacrifices there.


Really tall 5-tiered pagoda at the square where Rachel and I ate lunch.


After spending the day walking through the city Rachel and I decided to be clever and not circle back to the touristy part of town to catch a taxi back to Kathmandu. Only the funny thing is that the taxis don't really go to the outer residential road where we ended up, so we hopped onto a bus to Kathmandu. It took a lot longer but we enjoyed the adventure for the first hour...

Royal pains?

It's not every day you get to visit a Royal Palace. Marc, Rachel, Matt (from Marc's work), and I went to the palace in Kathmandu today. I guess technically now it is just a museum, since the Maoists overthrew the monarchy in 2005. This was Marc's first time as well since when he was here last time that was right when the King was 'stepping down'. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to show you of the inside since the security was REALLY tight. Marc even tried sneaking in the small camera but got caught when they patted him down. Inside there were many lavish and semi-useless rooms which were labeled things like 'Room to wait in before your tea is served in the room next door if you are a diplomat's child' (only slightly exaggerated). They also tore down the whole wing of the palace where most of the royal family was massacred in 2001, so there was an empty courtyard with labels where each family member was shot.


Here we are just standing outside the palace.

Monkeys and Rachel

After Marc and I went to pick Rachel up at the airport this morning, we brought her 'home' to Chandol (the neighborhood where Marc is staying) to get cleaned up, and then headed out right away to one of Kathmandu's biggest tourist attractions. Swayambu, a gorgeous temple on top of a hill, provides a great view of Kathmandu (even though it was a bit cloudy/rainy), huge golden statues, intricately carved and painted woodwork, prayer wheels/flags, and to top it all off there just happen to be monkeys running around everywhere!


The first thing we saw after entering the gate into this rather large hill complex were these overbearing golden statues.


Look... a monkey!


The one on the right is Ben.


Prayer flags accumulating karma in the wind... this is the view on the way up to the main stupa at Swayambu.


View of Kathmandu from the top.


Marc is making movies of monks at the main stupa.


These people are burning flowers and other small fabrics used for praying.


I took a polaroid photo of this woman and gave it to her.


Rachel and me...


Marc and Rachel spinning prayer wheels.


The monkeys are everywhere!

Thangka Painting

In case you didn't notice before now... I like painting. There is a style of painting here called Thangka painting, which usually includes lots of tiny lines and details, and follows one of several themes and designs. Most people are familiar with the circular Mandala (of which there are many types). There are also many designs devoted to the hundreds of gods and goddesses, and also what might be considered 'story-telling' pieces like 'The Life of Buddha' or 'The Lineage of Rinpoche'. I am only a novice in learning about this art, but hope to take a class about it one day (next time I come to Nepal?)


These two guys sat with me and explained Thangkas for about 20-30 minutes while it was raining outside.


This Thangka shop is just off of Bouddha and has a school associated with it as well.


The pieces are done on a thin smooth canvas which is stretched out on bars while the student (or master) works on it. The brushes you use are tiny! Apparently sometimes as small as ONE rabbit hair.


Awesome detail. This person is only a student, but Marc and I looked at a painting done by a master (Lama), and the sharp clarity is amazing (and inspiring)!

Bouddha

After a slow start I headed over to Bouddha or Bouddhanath (different people say it differently). Bouddha is among the largest stupas in the world, and one of the holiest sites in Nepal. Any time you go you will see people circling around it in a clockwise direction and often spinning the thousands of prayer wheels all around the circumference. During festivals many thousands of people flock here to pray, light butter lamps and increase their Karma... or something along those lines.


Touristy photo of Bouddha... pretty empty today.


This statue of Buddha was tucked away in a monastery just off to the side of the main Stupa.


My friend the monk in front of the stupa.


People carve mantras into rocks as a form of meditation.


After spending a few hours admiring Bouddha from the ground, I went into a courtyard and noticed a monkey up on the roof. I decided to try to stalk the monkey, so found a way to get up on the roof of the building. By the time I got there it was gone, but it had led me to a whole different perspective of Bouddha! These are unlit butter lamps, on the edge of the roof in front of the stupa.

Rickshaw in the Rain

Average view of Thamel, the touristy ghetto of Kathmandu.


Closest thing you'll get to a strip club around these parts...

Chasid's Delight.

Still not Kosher.

Awesome rickshaw driver (Puru) saved me from the rain, he took me to durbar square and back again.

Kathmandu Durbar Square.

She's not happy about the rain either.

I just chanced upon this sweet stupa in the old part of town, Puru told me to check it out while he waited.

Puru and me.

After my day of touring, Marc and I met up with a bunch of the other NGO volunteers to go to the Daal Bhat Diner, which oddly enough wasn't serving Daal Bhaat for dinner (I am not in the photo because I took it). Sarah, Ari, Jessica, Josh, Matt, Walker, Marc and Greg.

Photo exhibit

So after wandering around, Marc and I went to a photo exhibit about Refugees around the world. It was in honor of World Refugee Day, and they did a great job putting the whole show together. It was in a big hall at the 'Nepal Exhibition Ground'. After the exhibit, we headed to Thamel for another great meal in a restaurant full of westerners. There was really mellow classical Nepali music being played by a small band, they had a Tavala drum and a set of glass bowls with different amounts of water in them. Nice way to spend the evening, even though I struggled to stay awake because of Jetlag.


Old entrance to the exhibition grounds.


'Real People Real Needs'...


Marc checking out the sample Refugee lodging, notice the Solar cooker.