Left: The highest temple in Bhaktapur City at Taumadhi Square
Right: The entrance to Durbar Square at Bhaktapur City. The king's palace is just behind to the right.
Bottom: The queen's "bath" at the palace at Bhaktapur City. Of course I'm not sure which queen used it as the king had 52 wives.
A bit of a sleepless night. Bad indigestion from something I ate at dinner. It got light at 5 and I was up a little after 6. Had breakfast in the dining room. A "religious dignitary" of some sort arrived with his entourage while I was eating. He had very long hair and was dressed all in white. Many of the Hindu people immediately got up and went to greet him when he walked in. They wanted to touch his feet and he caressed their hair. Don't know who he was, but it was interesting to watch.
Met Abhijeet at 9 am and we were off for our adventures outside of the Kathmandu Valley. It is even smoggier today - very thick - reminded me of China. But as we left Kathmandu it became somewhat clearer - but still not clear. Abhijeet told me that the smoke was from the brick factories. I could see the tall smokestacks spewing thick smoke all out in the distance. There we large stacks of very orange bricks stacked in many places.
We first went to Nagarkot, a remote village way up in the mountains. There were lots of terraces where they were growing lots of corn and they also plant rice here. There is a large resort here and Abhijeet and I started here. From this place you can sometimes see Mt. Everest, but unfortunately, it was very very cloudy and started getting stormy. Thunder in the distance. So I guess seeing Mt. Everest on this trip isn't going to happen. Oh well, you always have to save something for the next visit!!
Abhijeet suggested we walk down the mountain and see the village life. It looks very hard and difficult. A spring is the only source of water - outside the house. Animals walking in and out of the homes too. Lots of goats, chickens and dogs. We got half way down the mountain and Abhijeet decided it was going to pour rain and we would not make it to the meeting place with the driver. So we headed back up the mountain - not an easy walk for me but I made it. We got to the car just as the heavens opened. We drove in the rain for about 45 minutes and then the driver headed up a narrow, dirt, trail. I couldn't believe we were going up here, but they told me it was to see another village and also the Changu Narayan temple. We got 3/4 of the way up and got stuck. The ruts in the road were made worse by the rain. So we turned around and went back down. I had to laugh at this experience - who would have thought I would have ever been doing this - not me!!!!
We went around the mountain and came up the other side. We got almost to the top and 2 buses were stuck in the mud from the rains. After surveying the situation, the driver and Abhijeet decided that we couldn't get up today, so we gave up on that stop. We headed to Bhaktapur.
Bhaktapur is a 500 year old capital where the King lived. Beautifully preserved. We spent the rest of the day taking in the architecture, people watching, shopping, and talking. The streets are all made of the orange brick and beautifully maintained. Not many cars in the city but lots of motorbikes and pedestrians. My big purchase of the day was a jar of Tiger Balm for 225 Nepalese rupees.
Returned to the Hyatt in late afternoon and relaxed by the pool as the heat of the day subsided. Tomorrow will be on foot in areas around the hotel only. Apparently, it will be difficult to get anywhere in Kathmandu tomorrow as there will be many protests over the lack of progress from the Congress on their constitution.
Had drinks and snacks in the Executive Lounge. Tried "yak cheese" - it was really good. Other foods interesting as well - a little bit spicy. The chocolate mousse cake was a keeper.
Took it easy and watched the French Open for a while and to bed about 11. Tomorrow will be a "relaxing" day in Nepal.
No comments:
Post a Comment