On Saturday we woke up, and I had the coldest shower of my entire life. Anyone who’s ever jumped in a cold lake knows that it becomes hard to breath for the first few moments, and the shower was almost like that.
After breakfast we met Surendra, a young man who was going to be our guide throughout the trip. Neha, Surendra and I became good friends and had a lot of fun over the next seven days.
Because of the political issues the transportation in Kathmandu was shut down and we began to do what we spent most of our time doing – walking. The first walk was only about half an hour.
Our first tourist destination was a temple complex known as Pashupatinath. It was a series of different Hindu shrines and temples on either side of a river and encompassing a hill. Bahai architecture is all excellently well kept, but there is a different kind of beauty to these very old temples where the tree roots have grown into the stone. We crossed a bridge over the river and wandered around the shrines, which had a Chinese/Tibetan influence not seen in India. People sold Lays Chips and pop alongside stone idols and cripples with shorn limbs reached out, begging for coin.
Along the river there were these doors in the cliff and this was the second place in Kathmandu I was tempted to move into.
There was a large stone staircase leading up the hill, and at one point there was this little hole in the wall. You’re supposed to stand on the opposite side of the stair case, close you eyes, put your hands together and straight our before you, and then walk forward, and if your hands go into the hole it means your wish will come true.
There were a lot of monkeys wandering around, and at one point one of them grabbed an old lady’s bag and began trying to pull it from her. The other monkeys came around and screeched at her angrily. She managed to get the bag away, and we made sure to kind of walk in a circle around her until we reached the end of the staircase.
One of the major tourist sightes of Pashupatinath is apparently the cremation that goes on there. They wrap the bodies in white linen and then surround them with wood. As we walked towards the cremation grounds, we passed a stonewall and suddenly saw one of these wrapped bodies lying there. Neha and I both froze for a second and then glanced at each other. Stumbling across a dead body, even one wrapped up, when you don’t expect to see one, is a rather startling experience. We passed near the burning body, from which a great plume of black smoke was billowing, and I saw the feet of the dead man, sticking out from the wooden logs.
After this we returned to the Bahai Centre and rested for a short while. Then we were off again for another walk to another temple. We stopped briefly at a Hindu temple with obvious Chinese influence, witnessed in the pagoda like structure. It also contained some very nice woodcarvings.
We stopped for a moment and then carried on to our destination, Patandurbarchauk, a square filled with several temples. Here I began to see some foreigners, and there was a steady crowd surrounding the structures. I couldn’t go into any of them because I’m not Hindu, but it was still an interesting site. I don't have any pictures of this square because my camera battery ran out. Sorry!
Brick apartments surrounded the square, and someone had had the good idea to put a café in one of them with a roof top terrace. We climbed to the top and had a little snack. Actually that was probably one of the nicest moments of the trip. The view was spectacular, including not only the temples, but also the sea of brick buildings and beyond them the mountains disappearing into the mist. The weather was cool with a slight breeze. The terrace was made of warm orange stone and lined with bright flowers. We had a wonderful conversation and decent food.
Finally we returned home and spent the rest of the day relaxing.
No comments:
Post a Comment