Day 12: Spending a day in Kathmandu
Today was a day of sightseeing around Kathmandu to fill the time left by our early arrival back from the Khumbu. We found our guide, “Diamond” (his English name) polishing his car outside the hotel in the morning sunlight. He was to be our guide for the day and was very excited to show us his city.
The first stop was the bustling Durbar Square near the center of the city. It’s a collection of stupas, open squares, and temples filled with locals coming and going, praying, singing, etc. Tons of energy in the air with random chants and Nepalese songs breaking out. Traditional Nepalese music and yak candle smoke emanated from the various structures on all sides. Right in the middle of the main square, 6 huge cows just stood there chilling out, eating grains that the locals would drop for them. I guess they lived there along with hundreds of pigeons.
Diamond showed us one temple in particular that was full of impressive carvings and figurines, all of which were hundreds of years old. This was right next to the sacrifice area where they wacked a buffalo the previous day as part of a festival offering.
Next up was Swayambhunath Stupa, aka The Monkey Temple. This is a large stupa in western Kathmandu that earned its nickname from the large population of monkeys that like to hang out in the surrounding trees. They weren’t kidding, monkeys everywhere. We almost ran one over on the way there. Inside the compound there were countless Buddhas and a few monks milling about. Of course, there were also a bunch of vendors with tables set up trying to hawk their trinkets near the exit. It was entertaining to watch the monkeys piss them off by toying with all their wares. Since this was one of the higher spots in the valley, I was able to get this panoramic shot of Kathmandu…
After a drive all the way to the other side of the city we visited the Boudhanath Stupa. This is apparently the largest stupa in the world and is surrounded by ring of shops that protects it nicely from the hustle and noise of east Kathmandu. Diamond took us into an art gallery where we watched several artisans doing various works. The shop keeper explained the process to us and told us about the stories told by each work. Interesting stuff.
Tons of pics from today so be sure to check the gallery.
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