More Fabulous Faces Of Nepal

Watching the World Go By in Khokana

My Favourite - She Followed Us For 30 Minutes Asking to Have Her Picture Taken so I Have Several

And When I Asked Her to Smile, She Gave Me This Beautiful Picture

Also Taken in Khokana

What Stories This Wonderful Face Could Tell

Happy Young People

Yum!

A Shy Guy

School Kids, Happy to Be Out

Tibetan Hat

No - He Didn't Buy It

An Elderly Monk

Another Elderly Monk

Is This a Monk?

Working Hard

Selling Stuff

Reading His Prayer Book

Another Seller of Stuff

A Happy Man

Fixing a Flat

Mother and Child Selling Bracelets

Flight From Kathmandu to Varanasi

Wake up call 6AM for Flight at 10.30AM. Of course we are on time; actually we are a bit early. Checking out of Nepal is no problem, but getting off the ground? Difficult! We are delayed, and again delayed and finally take off at 2.30 PM. The reason we’re late? Nobody tells us, could be fog, could be no plane, and could be anything. Being this late means we lost our connection in New Delhi. One can not fly directly from Kathmandu to Varanasi, those are Indian rules. Only a few airports in India are set up with “Immigration” facilities. Yes, we have to enter India again, we need another visa, the first visa we had is no longer valid. We knew about this and we all have a 2^nd visa with a certain time slot on the visa, telling us what days we can arrive, how long we can stay, etc. India has rules. So, again, we must go to New Delhi first, take our luggage, have it inspected, book another airline to Varanasi but it would be a tight connection. Remember the fiasco we had going through immigration when we used our first time entry? But what choice do we have? We are on a schedule. We all agree to have a travel agent book us connecting flight on a 5 PM flight even though it's a different airport terminal, a different airline, etc. it will be very, very tight.

Packed Waiting Room for Flight to New Delhi

So we finally leave Kathmandu at 2.30 PM and arrive in New Delhi at 4 PM. We have 1 hour to push all of our Group (16 people) through Immigration using new visas, get our bags from the plane and then go through inspection, find the local representative, get on a bus stow ourselves and the suitcases, travel to the other section of the airport, 10 minutes away by car, unload the bus, check in all our bags and ourselves and then get on the plane to fly to Varanasi. We must do all of that in 1 hour. Welcome to India, it worked with 5 minutes to spare. Thank you Dinesh, you are the best. And thank you Harry, the local rep in New Delhi

Another Long Wait for Flight to Varanasi (only stair seating left)

who knows the ins and outs of the airport well. Those guys were unbelievable. Some of our paper work was not elegant, we had 3 boarding cards on 1 sheet of paper for example, but we had  all the paper work, it all worked. Even Immigration was relatively ‘fast’. The bus was on time, everybody hustled. Again it was a show of amazing India. I am still dumb struck on how it all worked out.

So…. Now we are all smiles and ready to board the plane to Varanasi but…welcome to India…the flight is delayed. Instead of leaving at 5 PM as per the schedule, we now have to wait. There are not enough seats in the waiting room, all seats are taken. Some of our group have to stand. Some, like Carol have a seat, and we all wait. I find a spot to sit along the wall, on the floor; next to large staircase. After a while my butt hurts sitting on the concrete. We wait. I find an improved seat along on the stairs. Next to me are all kinds of travelers, all waiting. Why we wait we don't know, but we just have to wait. Welcome to India. We finally leave New Delhi at 7.15 PM, arriving at our Varanasi Hotel at 10 PM. All of this bureaucracy, the delays, they all add up. What should be a 2 or 3 hour affair takes a whole day.

So what is next on the agenda?  Varanasi: the oldest city in India, maybe on Earth. Tomorrow's wake up call is at 5 AM.

Kathmandu, Stupas and Mandala

Main Stupa (enlarge by clicking picture to see the eyes)

This Monkey is Drinking Upside Down

Swoyambhunath, a mouthful I know, is an old religious place. Confirmed dates show it was a religious site since about 500 BC. It is probably one of the oldest religious sites still in use today. Monkeys live around the buildings so many people know it as the ‘Monkey Temple’. It's a Stupa, a representation, seen from the sky, of a lotus flower.

Standing Buddha

2 Smaller Stupas at the Site

Steep Staircase Up

A Monk With His Offerings

It’s a Buddhist symbol of purity and growth. Yet many Hindus use this Stupa to also pray to their gods. It is an active place and was totally restored by a California Group just a few years ago. The ‘dome’ of the Stupa is overlaid with gold. Each side of the upper Stupa has the all-seeing eyes of wisdom and compassion. The place has a magical atmosphere about it.

Another Monk

Scents permeate from the offerings to the gods, colorful robes of the priests or monks give the area a glow, too. There are 2 large staircases leading to the top. We took the one less steep. While there are tourists, the place did not feel touristy. I think it is because the people praying or making offerings keep the Monkey Temple from becoming just another tourist spot.

Gurkha Knife

A Total of 7 Elephants in This Carving, (4 On This Side)

Sure there are shops along the long staircase and our group bought quite a few articles, including me. I bought, what is said to be an ‘original’ and true Gurkha knife. The seller demonstrated how this Gurkha knife can cut iron. Very impressive! The Gurkhas are special soldiers. One of their strengths was close, hand to hand combat using this kind of knife. The British found out how fierce those guys were when they tried to invade Nepal in 1814 to 1816. The British never invaded Nepal. The Nepalese soldiers, especially the Gurkhas, were so good that the British used them to form a Gurkha Regiment in the aftermath . Even today, there are Gurkhas in the British Army. And yes, all people in this Regiment are Nepalese and from the town of Gurkha. The last large action for those guys was the defense, or invasion, of the Falkland Islands. Needless to say the Gurkhas won. I always wanted one of those blades. The blade is a bit heavy but very effective, even today.

While I admired the Gurkha knives, Carol bought a hand carved camel bone depicting 7 elephants and an Om, a sacred symbol in Buddhism and Hinduism.

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norway Sherpa

1953 was the year Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norway Sherpa reached the summit of Mt. Everest in Nepal. We sought out the statue honoring those 2 men. It was a nice photo op.

Chopping 2 Meters Off the Front

On the way to the Stupa of Boudhanath, the largest Stupa in South Asia, we saw houses and buildings and shops being chopped by 2 meters. The road was being ‘widened’ and every building along the road lost 2 meters off the front. Just imagine taking 6 feet off the entire front of your house.

Throwing Gold Paint to Make Lotus Petals on the Boudhanath Stupa

The Boudhanath Stupa is a holy place, especially for the Tibetan community. After the 1959 takeover of Tibet by China many Buddhist Tibetans settled in and around Kathmandu. The Boudhanath Stupa was already a special place in their religion, representing, from the sky, a Mandala. Symbolism abounds within the structure. We were not allowed inside, we tourists could only walk around the periphery and that was OK with us. There are many shops surrounding the Stupa and on the small side streets.

My Mandala - Example of Miniature Painting

One building near the Stupa was a school for artisans, in particular the painting of Mandalas. A Mandala is a Buddhist representation of the Universe. Mandalas are produced with sand or flowers or are painted. Very small details are incorporated into one of those paintings. Each part of the ‘Universe’ depicting the many  aspects of life, with the center being the goal of existence, the state of total bliss, of understanding, of wisdom and compassion. Some Mandalas are used as visual mantras during meditations, others, especially the sand and flower Mandalas, after their lengthy creation are destroyed to show that nothing is permanent. Mandalas are teaching

Enlarge to See the Incredible Detail in this Mandala

tools, meditative and spiritual. I always liked those, so…. I bought one; to be framed and to keep, not to destroy.

After all this sight-seeing we had built up an appetite and on the program was a show of native dancing, drink and food. We took a bicycle rickshaw to the venue and our bicycle rider was a bit older (40?). He had trouble transporting us on his rig. His breathing was labored and he coughed sometimes. The air in Kathmandu is terrible. Even if physically fit, smog and dust are not healthy to breathe.

Our Rickshaw Ride

The food was basic food with, to me, odd spices. We ate legumes, potatoes and vegetables, stew-like.

The dancing, explosive, sometimes with humor, mostly, though danced in group setting, no solos. What did I think of the music; Drums, flutes and ‘medieval’ sounding.

Nepalese Dancing

It was another hectic day but we did see a lot of Nepal in the 3 days we were there. Tomorrow we are on the plane again, back to India.

People of Nepal ( pictures only )

People of Nepal

Who Is This Guy?

On a Cell Phone

School Kids

Street Food