7/14/10-7/15/10

his next post is going to begin the day after the last post, so Wednesday and Thursday. Jas, Matt, and I had been planning this trip for about a week now. We had decided to hike from Dhulikel, which is about a 10-15 minute bus ride from Banepa, to Namobuddha, one of the largest working monasteries in Nepal. It houses approximately 250 monks and monks-in-training. The hike should theoretically have taken us about 4 hours from Dhulikel, but that didn’t exactly happen.

So the plan was to get to Namobuddha the first evening, and then stay in a guesthouse at the foot of the hill (of course), upon which the monastery was built, and then wake up early in the morning to observe puja, which is the daily morning mantra reading accompanied by large drums and loud stuff like that.

So after getting a quick direction pointing from a local, we start our trek up the road towards Namobuddha. It didn’t seem to occur to me that Namobuddha is actually across the tops of like four hills and in an adjacent valley, hah. Three to four hours my ass. We took a detour up the side of the hill because I thought I saw some sort of local path stamped out in the bushes, but about halfway up, the path ended and there was no way back down, so we just started to climb the terraces that looked like they hadn’t been used for several years. It was definitely an experience to say the least. I don’t even have any pictures of this part of the trip because I was concentrating on pull tree trunks to get up 5 foot terrace steps, hahaha.

At some point we got to a sort of alpine meadow that overlooked the main road, and we could see that there was a road at the top of the hill, which turned out to be the hiking trail for the pilgrimage to Namobuddha that we had missed! It was a good thing we took the high road instead of the low road up the mountain, it definitely let us save some time and give us great views of the valley.

After hiking for another hour we reached the small village of Kavre, where we took a break from hiking and played football with some local kids. It was really fun, and a great way to get some different dynamic movement in our bodies after walking and trudging along for a couple of hours with our backpacks.

Soon after we kept going, and at this point it was starting to get a little darker, not that dark, but you could definitely tell that it was getting later in the day. We figured that we would get there by nightfall, but as we would realize the next day, that probably wasn’t possible.

After playing football, we happened upon a local Nepali guy, who after walking with us some time, invited us to stay with him overnight at his sister’s house in the village of Paskoth, which was about 30 minutes up a hill and along the path to Namobuddha. This was the first time any of us had been invited to a local’s house to stay overnight, and we weren’t exactly sure how to respond because we were in the hills, with basically no idea of where we were and mildly wary of any local propositions in fear of having to pay for services that we wouldn’t necessarily want. However, I think we ended up offending him, and his friend, so we finally accepted the third offer from a friend of the friend of the guy that we had met.

This turned out to be one of the best experiences that I had during this trip. That evening, I was able to watch a local Tamang lama (no not the 4-legged animal) perform a 3 hour ritual, eat traditional Nepali food, sleep in a house made of mud and bricks in a tiny bug infested room, and meet some amazing locals who live in the hills and somehow manage to survive in the cutthroat world that is Nepal.

The next morning, we had a great cup of milk tea, then mint and lemongrass tea to start off the day. Two of the Nepali’s that we stayed with decided to hike with us to Namobuddha, and he pointed out a lot of local medicinal plants, and that was really interesting. It amazes me how much information that I’m able to find in every nook and cranny of Nepal. I really hope that I can narrow down something really interesting to delve further into in the future.

After about 2 hours of hiking atop of the hills, we reach Namobuddha, an amazingly picturesque monastery atop this great hill overlooking the Kathmandu Valley.

On top of that, we happened upon a procession when we arrived of all the monks at the monastery. We later learned that July 15^th is the anniversary of Buddha teaching the 4 Noble Truths for the first time. Stumbling on this procession that happens once a year was definitely a good omen, and I’m so glad that we got to see it. We missed puja, which happens at about 6am in the morning, but we were able to see the mid morning tea and mantra practice at about 11am, where they invited us to sit in the main shrine with them to take tea as well. It was quite the privilege, and it was definitely a great experience as well.

After that we walked about the monastery grounds for a while just admiring the artwork and detail put into the architecture of the buildings. From the top, we could also see all the surrounding towns, including our next destination, Panauti, the second best preserved medieval town after Bhaktapur in Nepal.

The hike down from the monastery and to Panauti took about 3-4 hours total, and it got pretty hot, and we were definitely dead afterward, haha, but we finished the day with some delicious beaten rice with curd and mangos when we arrived in Panauti and then rode the roof of the bus back to Banepa afterward. I will let the pictures explain this last leg of the hike. 

7/13/10

So I had a real Nepali pre-wedding dinner tonight. I mean sure, it’s not the actual wedding dinner, but it was made with just as much love and appreciation as the real thing and that’s what counts. The food that I’ve typically been eating is known as Dal Bhaat, or basically rice with curried vegetables (takari) and lentil soup (dal) with some sort of pickle (acchar) and maybe sometimes curd. The stuff that is prepared for us at home is very good, albeit pretty plain. Dal Bhaat that is made in normal Nepali households is often full of flavor and spices and has a lot of variety, like the one about to tell you right now.

It’s a Tuesday, and I typically stay in Banepa during the week because it’s just a hassle to take the public bus from Banepa to Kathmandu for any other reason than the weekend, but Anu, one of the student physiotherapists I worked with, invited me and Veronica to her home to have dinner, and I couldn’t refuse, considering that this would be the last time that I see her for a relatively long time. That and I also missed another wedding event related activity the week before because I had to renew my stupid tourist visa.

It was also Veronica’s last night in Nepal, so it would be a nice goodbye dinner as well. The dinner consisted of several different kinds of curries with this amazing cardamom, anise, and clove infused steamed white rice with cashews thrown in as well. I’ll let the pictures do the talking along with some captions, but it was an amazing dinner, and I ate with my hands, haha. 

Chitwan

Once again, I'm sorry that this post is super late. The events in this post took place over the weekend of July 10th. I've only got one week left now, so I've been super busy. Anyway..

Last weekend I went to Chitwan National Park in the Southern part of Nepal known as the Terai. Chitwan National Park was the first national park of Nepal and is essentially a natural preserve for the endangered species that live there including white rhinos and Bengali tigers. It's located about 5 hours south by bus from Kathmandu, but as I'll tell you later, the ride can be quite atrocious.

Friday
We left Kathmandu at 630am. At this point I have been in Nepal for 4 weeks. 90% percent of the people on this trip have been in Nepal for like a week, so I was basically the vet, haha. They are definitely a little quieter than the group that has come and gone since I've been here, but they are still great fun and great people. After a relatively quick five hour bus ride, we arrived at the Rainforest Hotel in Chitwan. As soon as we got there we had lunch, then proceeded on a quick walk through the outer rim of the main jungle to visit the government owned elephants. they were quite depressing. I will leave it at that.

We finished off the walk with a river view of the sunset, it was actually pretty nice, but nothing on this day was that impressive, I was hoping for much better in the coming day.

That evening, as a group, we went to go watch a Tharu culture show. The Tharu are the local caste who apparently are immune to malaria through some sort of genetic and lifestyle aspects of the people. It's really quite interesting, and I'd love to take a closer look at this later on. The show itself was much less kitschy than I thought it'd be, so it was definitely a pleasant surprise.

After the show and a quick dinner, there was a lot of time to just sit around and get to know the other volunteers. It was really nice. After we all started to settle in for bed, however, the monsoon kicked in and there were thunderstorms all evening. I was pretty annoyed, and thought that it might mess up the plans for the next day, but in the end the rain was probably a really good thing because it killed the heat for the most part. Chitwan is known as one of the hottest parts of Nepal and it probably didn't get over like 25 degrees C all weekend.
But no mind that I didn't bring any rain gear or close toed shoes, hah.


Saturday
No one was sure what the day would be like because of the rain. The government elephants were pretty depressing the day before, but I was hopeful about this day. While it was still pouring rain, we all hopped on the backs of some jeeps and headed out to the river.

The first activity of the day was just a relaxing ride in a big canoe down the river. It was actually really nice because of the drop in temperature. 

After the canoes, we went on a pretty boring jungle walk, save for the fact that I was wading through leech infested waters in shorts and flip flops. :D

Our destination, however, was quite exciting, we arrived at the local elephant breeding center where we were able to see the first ever twin baby elephants born in Nepal. One of them even came over to the fence to interact with us! It was like a giant wrinkly gray baby with prickly hair!!!

This next part, however, was the best, and it was the elephant washing in the river. I will leave the photos to explain the story.

The last part of the day was the elephant safari which was also pretty relaxing. No tigers spotted, but definitely an experience. 

Sunday

The rain started up again on Saturday evening and caused several landslides all around Nepal with a couple along the route back home. Basically what should have been a 4-5 hour trip back to Kathmandu turned into a 12.5 hour trip from Hell (that was actually kind of entertaining). While nothing like Ms Katherine Hu's bus trip from Cambridge to Edinburgh, it was definitely kind of annoying. 

We left at 930am and arrived in Kathmandu at 10pm. Needless to say I missed the last bus to Banepa and I ended up staying overnight in Kathmandu and watched the World Cup Final. Boo Spain.

Late Late Late I'm Sorry! (Phora Durbar)

So, Phora Durbar is basically an extension of the US Embassy located about a block away from Thamel, which is the tourist part of Kathmandu.

Basically only Americans are let in and it's an exclusive complex for Green Card and US Citizen use.
It has a full size baseball diamond and accompanying field, a swimming pool, basketball court, very nice landscaping, two tennis courts, a cafe, and spa.

What the eff.

No other embassy in the country has something like this.

Pictures to come, I'm sorry! I just got back from Chitwan National Park and I'm super busy so I haven't been able to post as much. I've only got 14 more days in Nepal.


:[

Part of the set up for the 4th of July stuff, the fence is part of the baseball diamond

The baseball diamond and accompanying field

Landscaping and a park 

The tennis courts are on the left and the swimming pool is on the right

This is the terrace for the cafe

Oh hello, Mr Ambassador.

So, I scored a meeting with the United States Ambassador to Nepal on Saturday. Hell yeah.
Talked with his secretary and we'll be setting up a meeting soon.

More about "Phora Durbar" AKA American Pleasure Park in Kathmandu soon.

On the 4th in Kathmandu

So quick update before I head out.

This past Tuesday I went to a book release hosted by my friend Yuyutsu RD Sharma's book shop. It was attended by the Israeli Ambassador and several other distinguished poets and writers. Met some interesting people, and made a fool of myself by reading one of the poems in Nepali in front of an audience, whatevs.

Today I'm going to what I like to call the "American Pleasure Park". It's basically an extension of the US Embassy accessible for only US Citizens, and it's essentially a park with recreational facilities located in the middle of the city inside of a WALLED, ARMED guarded complex. I think its the most hilarious thing ever. No other embassy in Kathmandu has a freakin' "pleasure park" for its citizens. 

I woudl show you a picture, but I'd probably be arrested, or at very least hauled in an interrogated for taking a picture of the WALL surrounding the complex. 

The only reason I'm going today is because they are having 4th of July festivities, and the ambassador is opening the ceremony, so I'm gonna try and talk to him... yeah. more on that later

Why do they build temples on hills?

Sunday, June

So I've been wanting to go to Bajrayogni Mandir (temple) for a while now. It is located in the sleepy town of Saakhu, which is about 45 minutes northeast of Kathmandu. It always amazes me how quickly the landscape turns a million shades of green as soon as you leave the city limits.

The countryside here is a magnificent tapestry of greens and browns contrasted with the blues of the sky and the most beautiful clouds that you will see anywhere. Seriously, the clouds in Nepal are amazing. They are bigger, brighter, sharper, more magnificent than any clouds I've ever seen before. Whether they are flying high over the hills of the Kathmandu Valley or lying low along the houses on top of those very hills, they come out perfect in photos.

Once we reach Saakhu, I'm traveling with Grace, Katherine, Ryan, and Jasmine today, we begin our trek through the town's one main road. Saakhu is a historical town along the trade route between Tibet and India, so there are a lot of old relics of the past in this once bustling town. A quick 15 minute walk brings us to the other side where a long dirt road winds through the rice paddies passing by old Hindu and Buddhist shrines and places of offering.

As the road begins to slope upward, the landscape becomes more forested, and every other turn beckons us to continue as the golden three-tiered Newari-style pagoda of Bajrayogini peeks out beyond the branches.

Another liter of sweat, and a million steps later, we reached the temple complex. Bajrayogini temple is one of the best examples I have seen yet of the syncratic nature of Buddhism and Hinduism in Nepal. An extreme mixture of iconography from both religions take center stage inside this temple complex, and the details in all the pieces in this temple are amazing.

Eventually we make it back down the hill and into Saakhu once again for a quick lunch at a cute little canteen of sorts where the sodas were actually cheaper than the meal for once (25 rupees!!!!). Delicious meal of Buff Chili Momo and a soda.

Afterward we catch a bus to a neighboring town because we had no idea how to get to the next temple, which is called Changu Naryan. We could see the temple on the opposite side of the valley we were in on the top of an opposing hill, which wasn't the sight we exactly wanted to see. The bus we got on ended us dropping us off in front of someones house, which was in front of a huge expanse of rice paddies, in the middle of nowhere. the eff.

Consulting with some locals, they instruct us to go through the rice paddies to the base of the hill and then up the tiny dirt path that we can see from our point on the opposite side. Trudging through muddy paths surrounded by flooded patties, I felt like I was really taking a pilgrimage of sorts that one in Nepal might have taken years ago. This was the Nepal that I imagined in my mind.

There were no stairs on this hike. At one point we met some locals, and asked if we were going the right way. We had reached a crossroad. They told us, risky way (but faster) or easy way. Of course we took the risky way, and whatever the eff that meant, haha, but I think it was the right way. It led us up the hill in a hasty fashion up rock faces, along grazing goats, and friendly children, what more could one ask for?

At the top of the hill was, of course, stairs that reached the temple complex itself. Once inside the temple square we were greeted by the sight of...scaffolding. In a bittersweet acceptance, we realized that the temple was undergoing a multt-year restoration. Whatever.

Changu Naryan is one of the oldest temples in the Kathmandu Valley, if not the oldest. It is dedicated to Vishnu, and it seeped in Hindu iconography, but is still a revered site for both Buddhists and Hindus, who see Vishnu by different names. I still enjoyed Bajrayogini better, but I enjoyed both temples a lot. Pictures and captions to come.

Oh, and the way that we got to the temple? The freakin' back way. The busses that reach the top of the temple are on the other side of the hill.

After purchasing a reward for myself for making it up the hill, and a 2 hour bus ride later, we were back in Kathmandu.