HI!
I've had a few action packed days, thankfully followed by a restful shabbos, and now I'm ready to go again!
On Thurs I went from Kathmandu to Bagktapor, (I don't have my itinerary or guide with me, so I am not sure how to spell the cities names, but I'll do my best), one of the three ancient cities in Nepal. Kathmandu, Bagktapor, and Patan were three separate states in Nepal, and (I can't remember when) where unified by one of the kings. Each one has a square called Durbar Sq (Palace Sq) filled with temples and statues.
I had a guide who drove me, and picked up a local guide to take me through the city square and its surrounding areas. There was a ton of information coming at me (both Thurs and Fri) filled with dates and names and I don't really remember much, as it was hard to catch/remember the names that are in Nepali or Sandskrit or Hindu, so I'll just describe what I saw.
Bagktapor has one of the best squares (of the three cities) since it is small, well maintained, and not as crowded as the one in Kathmandu.
One of the surprises was a symbol that we called the Star of David on lots of buildings, sometimes with a book in the middle. My guide told me that is the Hindu symbol for knowledge. (Also interesting to note is that they use the swastika symbol as a greeting on their doorsteps. I think it's interesting that they have symbols that are both recognized as Jewish and Anti-Jewish by us Jews as central symbols of their culture).
Another surprise was that the Hindu temples are frequently decorated with carvings of the Kama Sutra on the outside. One reason for this, I was told, is that it protects the temples from lightning, as the lightning gd is supposedly a virgin gd and will not look at picts of the Kama Sutra. Another explanation is that it was for sex ed in ancient times. Take your pick...
The Hindus still sacrifice animals, and there were several shrines with blood on them, and we even passed a buffalo enjoying his last day on Earth.
This is also the wedding season, and there were two wedding processions in Bagktapor while I was there, and they passed each other in the street. The procession consists of a band in red jackets proceeding a car with the couple (I think, I couldn't really see inside) which is decorated with flowers, followed by their entourage/wedding guests. It's very lively!
I was also able to visit an artists school for Tangka, the art that makes Mandallas (again, no help with the spelling here). The art is so intricate and takes years (about 14) to master. Once the artist becomes a master, then they paint with real gold and natural pigments. One painting can take about 3 months to complete.
I have discovered that I am definitely not an architecture photographer. I'm either too close, too far away, don't have the right lens, ect... so don't get your hopes up for many of the photos. Here are a few I shot in Bagktapor:
Golden Gates made of real gold
A school (Star of David is the symbol for knowledge)
On one of the temples
A kama sutra carving on one of the temples
This woman is collecting garbage (of which there is PLENTY in Kathmandu, tho she is Bagktapor)
A wedding procession
From Bagktapor I went on to Nagrakot. Nagrakot is up in hills and if it's a clear day, is supposed to have great views of the Himalayas. It's known for its sunset and sunrise views. Unfortunately, it was a really cloudy day, and so there were no sunset views to see. I did make up for it by having a massage! I needed it after the harrowing trip up the mountain. It was a windy road big enough (seemingly) for only one car, and a small one at that. However, we had to share the road with cars/busses coming down, so I spent most of the drive screaming OMG in my head (VERY proud of myself that it stayed in my head). I also spent the drive wondering how long it would take, if ever, for someone to ID my body and ship my home when we went off the side of the mountain. Yeah, it was a fun ride, and I knew that I had to do it again to get off the mountain the next morning! (Elisa, do you remember the harrowing drive at night, down the mountain in AZ? It was like that, but daytime).
Although it was a cloudy night the previous night, I woke up to see the sunrise. While it was still cloudy, it was very cool to see the sunrise over the Himalayas (I'm sure they were out there somewhere!)
The harrowing drive back down the mountain on Fri brought me back for what I'm calling (for my frum friends) my avodah zara tour of Kathmandu.
A guide took me to 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kathmandu.
The first was the holiest place in the world for Hindus, as set of temples, which to my dismay (OK, horror) included several cremation sites (which, here comes the horror) were active while I was there! Thankfully, non-Hindus are not allowed in the temples, so I didn't have to try to explain why I couldn't (by Jewish law) go in anyway.
I can't remember the name of the place, but here are some picts:
A cremation
A "hindu" guy playing the flute (His name was probably Bob originally. By the hindus, he's not considered a real Hindu- I guess they don't believe in converts)
A real Hindu
Monkey! There were lots of them running around :)
The top of the Hindu temple that is the holiest to them. I couldn't see the whole temple, as it's surrounded by buildings that are now used to house homeless senior citizens
A "holy man" (he and his partner are sitting at the entry way to this site waiting to pose for pictures, then you have to pay them. They are the Hollywood Blvd version of Hindu Holy men)
A Pagoda style (hindu style) temple
The other Holy Roller!
From the Hindu site I went to a Buddhist site. This is the largest Buddhist Stupa (temple) in Nepal (maybe the world, I can't remember)
The Nepal Flag
The Stupa
You spin this and it contains some kind of prayer
Monks
From the Stupa we went to the the Kathmandu Durbar Sq. It was larger, but much more crowded, more touristy than the one in Bagktapor. The Kathmandu square contains the house of the living goddess, the Kumari. They choose a goddess in early childhood and she remains the goddess until puberty. She comes to the window sometimes, but one is not allowed to take pictures of her. She only comes out for selected holidays a few times a year.
Nicknamed the Hippie Temple. In the 60's when it was fashionable to be a hippie in Nepal this is where they hung out
Windows where the Kumari comes out when she feels like it
A Nepali woman selling pictures in front of the Kumari house
A statue of one of Vishnu's selves
A statue of the Monkey Gd. It's covered, because he is a bachelor gd, and it is situated across from a temple with kama sutra carvings that he should not be looking at.
A palace guard
One of the only round style pagodas in Nepal
A traditional pagoda
From Durbar Sq we then went to the Monkey Gd temple, another Buddhist site with a great view of the Kathmandu Valley.
A carving made from a single use stone
Hard working Nepali women
Kathmandu Valley
At the end of the day I was exhausted and ready for shabbos!
Even though I went to the Chabad for shabbos, it was a quite one for me, as I was the only non-Hebrew speaking Jew there (the Muslim was there too, but not his wife :( ).
I leave tomorrow for Chitwan National Park and am looking forward to my elephant safari!
I'll post again when I can!
Robyn
I've had a few action packed days, thankfully followed by a restful shabbos, and now I'm ready to go again!
On Thurs I went from Kathmandu to Bagktapor, (I don't have my itinerary or guide with me, so I am not sure how to spell the cities names, but I'll do my best), one of the three ancient cities in Nepal. Kathmandu, Bagktapor, and Patan were three separate states in Nepal, and (I can't remember when) where unified by one of the kings. Each one has a square called Durbar Sq (Palace Sq) filled with temples and statues.
I had a guide who drove me, and picked up a local guide to take me through the city square and its surrounding areas. There was a ton of information coming at me (both Thurs and Fri) filled with dates and names and I don't really remember much, as it was hard to catch/remember the names that are in Nepali or Sandskrit or Hindu, so I'll just describe what I saw.
Bagktapor has one of the best squares (of the three cities) since it is small, well maintained, and not as crowded as the one in Kathmandu.
One of the surprises was a symbol that we called the Star of David on lots of buildings, sometimes with a book in the middle. My guide told me that is the Hindu symbol for knowledge. (Also interesting to note is that they use the swastika symbol as a greeting on their doorsteps. I think it's interesting that they have symbols that are both recognized as Jewish and Anti-Jewish by us Jews as central symbols of their culture).
Another surprise was that the Hindu temples are frequently decorated with carvings of the Kama Sutra on the outside. One reason for this, I was told, is that it protects the temples from lightning, as the lightning gd is supposedly a virgin gd and will not look at picts of the Kama Sutra. Another explanation is that it was for sex ed in ancient times. Take your pick...
The Hindus still sacrifice animals, and there were several shrines with blood on them, and we even passed a buffalo enjoying his last day on Earth.
This is also the wedding season, and there were two wedding processions in Bagktapor while I was there, and they passed each other in the street. The procession consists of a band in red jackets proceeding a car with the couple (I think, I couldn't really see inside) which is decorated with flowers, followed by their entourage/wedding guests. It's very lively!
I was also able to visit an artists school for Tangka, the art that makes Mandallas (again, no help with the spelling here). The art is so intricate and takes years (about 14) to master. Once the artist becomes a master, then they paint with real gold and natural pigments. One painting can take about 3 months to complete.
I have discovered that I am definitely not an architecture photographer. I'm either too close, too far away, don't have the right lens, ect... so don't get your hopes up for many of the photos. Here are a few I shot in Bagktapor:
Golden Gates made of real gold
From Bagktapor I went on to Nagrakot. Nagrakot is up in hills and if it's a clear day, is supposed to have great views of the Himalayas. It's known for its sunset and sunrise views. Unfortunately, it was a really cloudy day, and so there were no sunset views to see. I did make up for it by having a massage! I needed it after the harrowing trip up the mountain. It was a windy road big enough (seemingly) for only one car, and a small one at that. However, we had to share the road with cars/busses coming down, so I spent most of the drive screaming OMG in my head (VERY proud of myself that it stayed in my head). I also spent the drive wondering how long it would take, if ever, for someone to ID my body and ship my home when we went off the side of the mountain. Yeah, it was a fun ride, and I knew that I had to do it again to get off the mountain the next morning! (Elisa, do you remember the harrowing drive at night, down the mountain in AZ? It was like that, but daytime).
Although it was a cloudy night the previous night, I woke up to see the sunrise. While it was still cloudy, it was very cool to see the sunrise over the Himalayas (I'm sure they were out there somewhere!)
The harrowing drive back down the mountain on Fri brought me back for what I'm calling (for my frum friends) my avodah zara tour of Kathmandu.
A guide took me to 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kathmandu.
The first was the holiest place in the world for Hindus, as set of temples, which to my dismay (OK, horror) included several cremation sites (which, here comes the horror) were active while I was there! Thankfully, non-Hindus are not allowed in the temples, so I didn't have to try to explain why I couldn't (by Jewish law) go in anyway.
I can't remember the name of the place, but here are some picts:
A cremation
From the Hindu site I went to a Buddhist site. This is the largest Buddhist Stupa (temple) in Nepal (maybe the world, I can't remember)
The Nepal Flag
From the Stupa we went to the the Kathmandu Durbar Sq. It was larger, but much more crowded, more touristy than the one in Bagktapor. The Kathmandu square contains the house of the living goddess, the Kumari. They choose a goddess in early childhood and she remains the goddess until puberty. She comes to the window sometimes, but one is not allowed to take pictures of her. She only comes out for selected holidays a few times a year.
Nicknamed the Hippie Temple. In the 60's when it was fashionable to be a hippie in Nepal this is where they hung out
From Durbar Sq we then went to the Monkey Gd temple, another Buddhist site with a great view of the Kathmandu Valley.
A carving made from a single use stone
At the end of the day I was exhausted and ready for shabbos!
Even though I went to the Chabad for shabbos, it was a quite one for me, as I was the only non-Hebrew speaking Jew there (the Muslim was there too, but not his wife :( ).
I leave tomorrow for Chitwan National Park and am looking forward to my elephant safari!
I'll post again when I can!
Robyn
Great pics! You look like your having and amazing time!
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