ARRIVING IN KATHMANDU
As many of you know I escorted a group of 12 to Everest Base Camp in April of this year I blogged as we
hiked and have compiled them into articles detailing our journey up the mountain. I hope you enjoy the
adventure as much as we did.
We arrived to Kathmandu late in the evening and headed to our hotel. Our ride from the airport to the Thamel
area was unusually quite due to it being evening. Just wait until morning the horns start blaring at 6 am and
don’t stop until about 10 pm. In Thamel at our hotel, we are greeted by the typical Nepal black out which is a
daily random occurrence. No sooner did we finish lugging our suitcases up to the second floor of our hotel then
the generator kicked in. I still wasn’t about to brave the little elevator and risk getting stuck halfway
between floors. We are off to bed after a long travel day everyone's eager to see what Monday has in store for
us and view Kathmandu in daylight.
It’s been a busy morning we have been to the Hindu shrine of Pashupatinath, the biggest Hindus temple in Nepal
with cremation temple and watched several bodies being cleansed and cremated alongside the river. This was an
eye opener and culture shock for most group members as it is not an everyday site at home. Off in the distance
we can hear thunder, see some dark clouds and a breeze has kicked in which is welcome to cool things down. We
hurry back to the bus hoping to beat the impending downpour which never materializes.
We are now off to the Boudhanath Stupa the largest Buddhist Stupa/temple in the world that is if we ever get
through all this traffic. After a late lunch with a view overlooking the Stupa, a Stupa is a large solid dome
like structure topped with a golden spire and generally has large Buddha eyes painted below the golden top.
These give you the sense you are being watched but are also very mystical and you could sit staring at them for
hours. The custom is to walk around it clockwise chanting prayers as many times as you can spare in a day and
spinning the prayer wheels along the base as you go.
In the same square we then visited a local Thanka school, Thanka’s
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are traditional paintings all done by hand
that depictmany aspects of Buddhist beliefs. They can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months to complete and the detail
and the quality of work is evident between the more experienced painters and the novices. Many of us took the
opportunity to purchase a Mandala which depicts a stupa from top to bottom and represents how to live a happy
life in Buddhist religion. A unique and one of a kind work of art for our walls at home.
Our last stop for the day is the Swoyambhunath/Monkey temple- 2000 years old, and Kathmandu’s highest elevated
temple. There are many monkeys that live at the temple hence the nick name, they even have a little swimming
pool to enjoy during the summer. The numerous stair steps up to the temple where a little extra training for
tomorrow. We quickly explore the temple and admire the sweeping views of Kathmandu Valley as the sun is
preparing to set on us.
This evening we have dinner at a restaurant known for its clay oven pizza, as it is our last dinner before a
lot of Dahl baht, which consists of a platter with small bowls of lentil stew, rice and curry (a traditional
meal) eaten here in Nepal I decided on something a little more familiar. I have advised the group to avoid meat
and dairy as we hike, the refrigeration and storage are not up to our standards in the tea houses. I am trying
to eliminate as many unnecessary threats for any added illness as I can, we will have enough challenges with the
altitude as we climb.
After dinner and an informative orientation meeting, we were handed brand new waterproof duffel bags. Now the
task is what to take and what to purge if anything, being a Girl Guide and the group leader I have brought a
lot of extra snacks and other things just in case (not so subtle code meaning I've over packed). The food will
be eaten so I am not worried it will dwindle in size and weight along the way. I just have to fill my day pack
and I'm ready for our 6 am wake up and one last hot shower. Our group has an 8:45 am flight to Lukla, fingers
crossed the weather is clear and we get out reasonably on time.
Will the weather be clear and we make it to Lukla on schedule? Look for our next article to find out.
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