Kathmandu - last day
On my last day (Tuesday, 12 December) in Kathmandu - and in Nepal - I woke early ready for a full day of sight seeing only to discover the city socked in with dense fog - but at least it wasn't raining. But fog was also not good for sight seeing as I really wanted clear weather to see the temples and views. It has been cold the past few nights in Kathmandu and last night it was less than 40 degrees F in my room! I thought I had finished with the cold nights already. It never stopped raining the day before, so I didn't venture outside of Thamel. So whatever I didn't see today, would have to wait for my next visit. I hung around Thamel until noon when the fog started to lift and decided to give it a go.
First I walked down to Nepal's most important Hindu temple, Pashupatinath. Unfortunately (or not) non-Hindus are not allowed in the temple so all you can really do is walk around the grounds surrounding the temple. This proved to be pretty interesting though because the temple is set right on the banks of the holy Bagmati River - a very dirty and unimpressive 'holy river'. And you know what Hindus like to do next to holy rivers? Cremate bodies... It was pretty unceremonial though. Lots of monkeys running around too, trying to steal my lunch!
Once I tired of the touts harrassing me, I headed towards the village of Bodhnath and the Bodhnath Stupa, one of the world's largest stupas. From the top of a hill I could see the stupa over a maze of low residental buildings so I just started walking towards it zig-zagging every which way through the maze of tightly packed residences. Finally I found the entrance after getting a bit frustrated by the feeling of being 'lost' in the maze. It was pretty neat there at the stupa with lots of Tibetans walking around the stupa. Then I took a taxi back to Thamel.
The only sight I didn't get to see that I really wanted to was Swayambhunath, or Monkey Temple. There is still lots I would like to see around Kathmandu, but I knew I wouldn't get to them on this trip. Among them are Dakshinkali, Bhaktapur, and Nagarkot. So I have some work to do when I return to Nepal.
I'm going to dinner tonight with the Dutch couple that are on my flight tomorrow - Ivo and Helen - and with Nadia and Anya, the Dutch mother-daughter duo. My last night in Kathmandu and a I have some rupees to get rid of....
Tomorrow I catch my Royal Nepal Airlines flight to Bangkok at 8:30 AM. Soon I'll be done with the cold weather for good.
First I walked down to Nepal's most important Hindu temple, Pashupatinath. Unfortunately (or not) non-Hindus are not allowed in the temple so all you can really do is walk around the grounds surrounding the temple. This proved to be pretty interesting though because the temple is set right on the banks of the holy Bagmati River - a very dirty and unimpressive 'holy river'. And you know what Hindus like to do next to holy rivers? Cremate bodies... It was pretty unceremonial though. Lots of monkeys running around too, trying to steal my lunch!
Once I tired of the touts harrassing me, I headed towards the village of Bodhnath and the Bodhnath Stupa, one of the world's largest stupas. From the top of a hill I could see the stupa over a maze of low residental buildings so I just started walking towards it zig-zagging every which way through the maze of tightly packed residences. Finally I found the entrance after getting a bit frustrated by the feeling of being 'lost' in the maze. It was pretty neat there at the stupa with lots of Tibetans walking around the stupa. Then I took a taxi back to Thamel.
The only sight I didn't get to see that I really wanted to was Swayambhunath, or Monkey Temple. There is still lots I would like to see around Kathmandu, but I knew I wouldn't get to them on this trip. Among them are Dakshinkali, Bhaktapur, and Nagarkot. So I have some work to do when I return to Nepal.
I'm going to dinner tonight with the Dutch couple that are on my flight tomorrow - Ivo and Helen - and with Nadia and Anya, the Dutch mother-daughter duo. My last night in Kathmandu and a I have some rupees to get rid of....
Tomorrow I catch my Royal Nepal Airlines flight to Bangkok at 8:30 AM. Soon I'll be done with the cold weather for good.
posted by Dustin at 3:34 AM
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