Namaste Nepal (Part 2)

The 2.25 hour difference of Kathmandu from Manila is tricky. The barbecue party ended around midnight and I did not get to sleep until 1am but my body clock was already up and about by 4am. Phew! And our day will just start at 10am. We had breakfast overlooking the world’s biggest stupa in Boudnath. And from a far distance, we glimpsed upon snow-capped mountains of the Lang Tang range. Surreal breakfast with the Team Germany and Helen, a Brit girl who was born and raised in India. Parang Princess Sarah lang ang peg. The area around the stupa is packed with stores catering to the many tourists flocking the area. Although the place is touristy, we did not mind since the colors and flavors of Kathmandu, overpower the feeling of crowdedness and commercialization that is common in these touristy places. A touristy place that I did not mind being one. There were people throwing paint in the façade of the stupa making sure a perfect arc of paint is formed just by throwing the paint and such precision they had. We were mesmerized by just watching them actually.

 stupa in Boudnath

 

 After breakfast, we went around the stupa.  Several monks and devotees were making their usual clockwise round of the stupa. It is said it is bad luck to go around a stupa counter-clockwise.   

After getting our fill of going around the stupa, we headed to Pashupathinath. According to Wikipedia, Pashupatinath Temple is one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world, located on the banks of the Bagmati River in the eastern part of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

Walking around the temple is quite a cultural experience. We witnessed burning of three dead bodies as  relatives nearby, were wailing while the bodies were cremated before our very eyes. Surreal experience. An image that I only have seen in National Geographic was happening before my very eyes.



Pashupati scene

After Pashupati, we headed to the Thamel, Nepal’s version of Thailand’s Khao San Road or Saigon’s     Pham Ngu Lao, Bui Vien, and De Tham streets. I still have to figure out though which is Manila’s backpacker haven. Is it Malate? Or has it been replaced by Makati? Or just like the entire country which cannot be boxed, it cannot be determined.

 According to Wikipedia,Thamel has been the centre of the tourist industry in Kathmandu for over four decades starting from the hippie movement when many artists came to Nepal and spent weeks in Thamel. Even though Thamel has been referred to as the "ghetto" by some, most low-budget travelers consider it a tourist heaven.

In Thamel, we paid for our reservation in the Last Resort, the site of the culminating activity of this trip, the jump. That deserves another entry though. Then, we ate early dinner in a quaint restaurant aptly named New Orleans something and Nadine and I decided to share Nepal’s staple Dhal Bat,   Dal bhat is a traditional Nepali staple food consisting of steamed rice and cooked lentil soup dal. And I love it! This is the first Nepali food I have eaten here after getting my fair share of European delights in Kathmandu so far.

in Thamel, like a dream come true

Tired from the half day of going around Kathmandu, we headed back to home base in Dhumbarai and rested. The initial plan for dinner was scrapped after everyone decided to sleep early. For the following day, will be the start of exploring Nepal without the comfort of having a chauffer-driven ride and the company of Kathmandu “natives.”