hillgurney on tour: July 2012

We arrived in Kathmandu on the 19th June and immediately realised how cheap everything was compared to China, except unfortunately beer! Kathmandu was as dirty, hectic and polluted as expected and there are a lot of cows wandering about and sadly a lot of beggars, many of them children, so it took a little while to acclimatise.

We found the people in Nepal to be very friendly, helpful and trustworthy and the countryside is stunning; from our bus windows we had continuous views of mountains, valleys, rivers and huge gorges. Due to the fact that it was the monsoon season we experienced alot of heavy rain but we also had gloriously sunny days too. The plus point of being here at this time of year is the low number of tourists.

Whilst in Kathmandu we applied for our India visas, which took one week to process, so in the meantime we escaped the hectic capital and took trips to nearby Bodhnath and Patan.

As you can imagine we saw a lot of temples and many of the Hindu ones have carvings of very explicit sex scenes; some of the ones we saw were quite funny i.e armadillos having sex and others were quite disturbing!

An example of rude carvings on the Hindu temples

Nic receiving some healing with bowls!

View of Kathmandu from Swayabhunath (monkey temple)

We spent a few days in relaxed Bodhnath, one of the few places in the world where Buddhist culture is accessible. The enormous Bodhnath stupa is a draw for thousands of Buddhist pilgrims. Today, most of the Tibetans that live here are refugees who fled China after 1959. We enjoyed walking around the stupa with the pilgrims, and hanging out with the welcoming monks in the Gompas (monasteries), where we drank sweet milky tea whilst listening to them praying and chanting.

Huge Bodhnath Stupa

Buddha Eyes watching everything!

Pilgrims walking the Kora

We also spent some time in Patan, which has an incredible Durbar (palace) Square. You feel like you've been transported back centuries when you wander around the square and the surrounding alleyway.

More pornographic carvings

Posh wedding car!

Ladies gossipping around the water spout

Children playing in one of the Hitis

Stunning Durbar Square


Happy local children

After our second visit to Kathmandu to pick up our India visas we headed to Bhaktapur, another incredible ancient city with a beautiful Durbar Square. We loved wandering around the quiet alleyways, mingling with the friendly locals and soaking up the atmosphere. We stayed at a very cheap and basic guest house (3 pounds a night) which felt more like a homestay. The owner and his family were so welcoming and provided us with great food and advice.

A bit of rain!

Taking shelter in one of the temples

Hindu dog

Amazing ancient houses

Friendly local children

Even the dogs in Nepal are friendly

From Bhaktapur we went on a trip to Namobuddha to stay at a Buddhist monastery, this involved a bus ride on a packed local bus to Dhulikhel and then a long walk up a hill. We had great weather for the whole trip and the landscape was stunning. Legend relates that one of the past Buddhas came across a tigress close to death and starvation and unable to feed her cubs. The sorrowful Buddhas allowed the hungry tigress to eat him, an act of compassion that transported him to the higher realms of existence. We'd heard this story whilst visiting the amazing Mogao caves in China, so it was very interesting for us to come to the spot where it happened.

We spent 2 nights at the monastery and enjoyed resting, taking in the fab views and having very interesting theological debates with a Dutch man who was on a personal journey discovering the meaning of Buddhism.

Namobuddha is on the top of the hill

Making my way up the final steep prayer-flag line path to the monastery

Stunning views

Lovely sunset

After leaving peaceful Namobuddha we had a final night in Bhaktapur and then we got on packed local buses to Manakamana, which is on top of a hill and is accessed by cable car. Hindus believe that the goddess Bhagwati has the power to grant wishes and thousands of people flock to the temple here to pray. The temple is particularly popular with newlyweds who pray for male children. The pilgrims seal the deal by sacrificing a goat, chicken or pigeon.in a pavilion beside the temple. The animals are also brought up on the cable car! We unexpectedly were in Manakamana on a Tuesday, one of the busy sacrificing days, and while we were having breakfast we saw hundreds of pilgrims making their way, with their animals, to the temple. We were amazed at how many there were and felt very sorry for the animals. After breakfast we went to the busy temple and saw a huge queue of people and animals snaking their way down the hill and around the temple. I stood away from the madness and chatted to a young girl who told me that she did not think that God wanted people to sacrifice animals. She'd been here 6 times with her family. I cannot understand why people in the 21st century continue to do this.

Queueing with their sacrificial animals


Swamis

We then spent a couple of days in the hill-top village of Bandipur, which was very pretty and relaxing. We then had over a week in beautiful Pokhara. People come here to do mega-trekking and to enjoy the amazing Himalayan views. However, because it was the monsoon season we opted to relax alot and volunteer at a local orphanage. Our hotel room had huge windows and one morning we woke up early and were delighted to see that the clouds had cleared and get a glimpse of the Himalayas.

Fishtail mountain

Yes there is a lady under there

Prabhat orphanage is small and very basic but the children are loved and well cared for by the exceptional couple that run it. We were made to feel very welcome and really enjoyed playing with the children. We received so many big hugs and kisses and it was a wonderful experience. Please take a look that their website www.prabhat-orphanage.com. They are currently building a new building for them to sleep in and all donations would be gratefully received.