Was it called Kittenmandu back in the day?
Kathmandu, Nepal
December 21, 2014
I was in a very deep and restful sleep and therefore I was not happy with the 6:00 wake up call. I tried to convince Bill that he could go downstairs and check on our flight on the information displays and then come and get me, but he was convinced we would not have enough time if he did that.
So, we got packed up our carry on bags and headed to the gate and saw that our flight is not until 9:15, so we went back to the room and slept for another hour.
We had breakfast at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Bill had a chicken pastry and I had the veggie pastry. Our next stop was Starbucks for a Chai Tea Latte because they were out of stock on chai at the breakfast spot
. Bill enjoyed his lemon loaf from Starbucks. I will be sure to pick up a Starbucks India mug when we fly home.
Due to fog, our 9:15 flight was delayed until 10:00 and then 10:30. If we were in Germany, this would not be happening. The Indians and not efficient like the Germans!
We met Ujjwol our guide & Shayam our driver outside the airport in Kathmandu. Ouswal said that the traffic was bad due to the 4 million people in the Kathmandu Valley or the GKVA as I say. People were following the basic road rules with police officers instead of traffic lights at intersections but crossing over into oncoming traffic definitely is an option.
There is a golf course right beside the airport and lots of people were on the course. They all seems very close together, possibly having picnics on the course while other people were playing
. You must need to yell "fore" a lot.
Our first stop on our amazing journey was to check into the very beautiful Hotel Tibet International. We were graciously greeted by the manager who personally brought us to our room and gave us a spa pass so we could get jet lag massages later.
Our guide then took us to The Boudhanath Stupa which was built during the 5th century and most recently restored by the Tibetan prince in the 19th century. It is the largest and most sacred stupa in Nepal. In the 1950's the stupa was surrounded by rice fields, but today is surrounded by a thriving Tibetan community, many shops, restaurants and hotels. This was due to the exodus of thousands of Tibetans after the Chinese invasion in 1959.
The first thing you observed when entering the main gate was a great white dome (the stupa), painted with arches from yellow marigolds to represent a lotus
. The dome was topped with a gold platform with the large eyes of the Buddha painted on top. The eyes were to remind you to act as if someone is always watching your actions. A dot above the eyes is the third eye, symbolizing the wisdom of the Buddha. In place of a nose is a question-mark-type symbol that is the Nepali character for the number 1, symbolizing unity and the one way to reach enlightenment, through the Buddha's teachings.
If you were to see an aerial shot, the Stupa looks like a giant mandala, or diagram of the Buddhist cosmos.
From the top spire to the base of the wall around the stupa are pprayer flags that flutter in the wind, carrying mantras heavenward. The five colours of the flags represent the basic elements: yellow - earth, green - water, red - fire, white - air and blue - ether. Balancing these element brings harmony and health to the body and mind
The faithful walking around Boudhnath
.
At the entrance of the numerous monasteries surrounding the stupa there was a giant prayer wheel and vegetable oil candles. We spent some time in two of the monasteries, both of which really reminded us of our time in Tibet. The one was dedicated to the future Buddha and there were photos of the Dali Lama and the former head monk.
The second temple that we visited was where we were treated to a special blessing for good health and a long life by four monks. While we held incense between our palms they chanted mantras, then played instruments - trumpets, a drum, cymbals and a bell, then they quietly and slowly changed another mantra while the senior monk blessed a white scarf and tied it around our necks, then he touched our foreheads with a brass figurine and then tapped our heads with the paper that the blessing was written on
. The experience was very beautiful and touching.
We passed the large basin of woodsie and earthy smelling incense and climbed a few stairs and walked around the base of the stupa, then circled the rest of the stupa from the ground level between throngs of devout Buddhists, a few tourists and many shops. The shopkeepers are very polite and not pushy at all.
We walked back to the hotel and enjoyed our brisk massages. Well, at least I did! The massage was a combination of firm pressing that is like a visit to the chiropractor, yoga-like stretching and reflexology.
We were both getting hungry so we headed back toward the temple to a spot that our guide recommended, and that I saw featured in a magazine article in the lobby, Boudha Kitchen.
Bill ordered a very large Gorkha beer and I ordered a pot of masala tea
Our Room at Tibet International
. We had some beef momos (steamed dumplings) and a Nawari platter. Somehow the platter did not come and I had to reorder it. We were the only guests, so we were sitting by the window and the restaurant does not have heat, so it was getting a bit chilly! At long last, our platter arrived with seasoned peanuts, chicken, potatoes, rice and flattened rice, a very salty dish of dried meat and an Asian style quesadilla. It was delicious and worth the wait.
We did one lap around the stupa, then headed back to the room for an early evening. We will have to get up early tomorrow and it is going to be a long, full day.