I've been meaning to write about our trip to Nepal for several weeks now, but school has kept me busy. Now that report cards are finished, I can spend more time blogging.
After arriving in Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur and passing through the long line for "visa on arrival" at immigration, we exited the airport and hopped in a taxi destined for Thamel, the backpacker district of Kathmandu.
Thamel is definitely a backpacker ghetto, with tons of souvenir shops, restaurants, and cheap guesthouses lining the dusty, crowded roads full of people, taxis, bicycles, motorbikes, and rickshaws. Our friends Alex, Will, and Angela had gone straight from the airport to a safari in a national park in another part of the country, so John, Greg, and I wandered around Thamel seeking out cheap food.
Our first food experience in Kathmandu was eating one of Nepal's famous dishes - "momos" (dumplings) at a place called Yak Restaurant. They really love their yaks in Nepal. You can find yaks on the back of some of their money, buy products made of yak wool, eat yak cheese, etc! John and Greg also tried Tibetan hot beer called "tongba" which was basically hot water poured over millet seeds.
After eating lunch, we took a cab to Boudhanath Stupa, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal, and the largest stupa in Asia. We saw many Buddhists walking around the stupa clockwise, spinning the prayer wheels as they went. Hanging out at the stupa was an awesome experience - seeing the beautiful colours, prayer flags flying in the wind, hearing the prayers and songs fill the air, watching the people go by. We even went to a rooftop bar across from the stupa to sit back and enjoy the view as the sun went down.
After leaving the stupa, we made our way to Pashupatinath, the holiest place in Nepal. Pashupatinath is also one of the most significant Hindu temples in the world. When we arrived, it was evening and many locals were out at the temple celebrating a Nepalese festival. After some confusion, we weren't sure that we would be able to see anything since there was a sign saying that only Hindus could enter the main temple area, so we wandered up the road and came across another part of the temple complex which was on the Bagmati River. From there, we could see the festivities from afar at the main temple we were denied access to. We also came across the ghats which lined the river. At that time, several bodies were being cremated on funeral pyres. Seeing the cremations at night on the river was a surreal experience. A local told us we could take photos but I felt strange doing so. In the end, I decided to take a few, but the true experience was not fully captured. Being at the ghats was a memorable experience that I will remember for a long time.
After arriving in Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur and passing through the long line for "visa on arrival" at immigration, we exited the airport and hopped in a taxi destined for Thamel, the backpacker district of Kathmandu.
Thamel is definitely a backpacker ghetto, with tons of souvenir shops, restaurants, and cheap guesthouses lining the dusty, crowded roads full of people, taxis, bicycles, motorbikes, and rickshaws. Our friends Alex, Will, and Angela had gone straight from the airport to a safari in a national park in another part of the country, so John, Greg, and I wandered around Thamel seeking out cheap food.
Our first food experience in Kathmandu was eating one of Nepal's famous dishes - "momos" (dumplings) at a place called Yak Restaurant. They really love their yaks in Nepal. You can find yaks on the back of some of their money, buy products made of yak wool, eat yak cheese, etc! John and Greg also tried Tibetan hot beer called "tongba" which was basically hot water poured over millet seeds.
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| Tongba - Tibetan hot beer |
After eating lunch, we took a cab to Boudhanath Stupa, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal, and the largest stupa in Asia. We saw many Buddhists walking around the stupa clockwise, spinning the prayer wheels as they went. Hanging out at the stupa was an awesome experience - seeing the beautiful colours, prayer flags flying in the wind, hearing the prayers and songs fill the air, watching the people go by. We even went to a rooftop bar across from the stupa to sit back and enjoy the view as the sun went down.
After leaving the stupa, we made our way to Pashupatinath, the holiest place in Nepal. Pashupatinath is also one of the most significant Hindu temples in the world. When we arrived, it was evening and many locals were out at the temple celebrating a Nepalese festival. After some confusion, we weren't sure that we would be able to see anything since there was a sign saying that only Hindus could enter the main temple area, so we wandered up the road and came across another part of the temple complex which was on the Bagmati River. From there, we could see the festivities from afar at the main temple we were denied access to. We also came across the ghats which lined the river. At that time, several bodies were being cremated on funeral pyres. Seeing the cremations at night on the river was a surreal experience. A local told us we could take photos but I felt strange doing so. In the end, I decided to take a few, but the true experience was not fully captured. Being at the ghats was a memorable experience that I will remember for a long time.
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