FINAL DAY IN NEPAL

  Final Day in Nepal

      Bhaktapur.....a romantic gentle world with beautiful gifts of art.  Much of the city is basically a wood carving museum with the finest bas relief work.

     Talking to our guide Uttum, he mentioned  the fact that he was very happy living here.  He said that he was very satisfied  with  his life   - everything that he needed was here- his family, his work, and friends....

     Biraj Lama, our waiter and  friend at Sunny Guest House,  is an amazing  27 year old from the countryside.   Several years ago he bought a small hotel here in Bhaktapur, sold  it, and opened a small wood carving shop  in the central district.   He is capable in English, most helpful in the restaurant as well  as providing information about the  area.

     We visited the museums today and were somewhat disappointed.   The cultural  museum displayed paintings of the Hindu and Buddhist deities.  Unfortunately, there was nothing relating to  Bhaktapur past or present.

        The wood carving museum did have some exquisite pieces of carved work. but were mostly of the deities and taken from temples.  Basically much of Bhaktapur is a wood, stone carving museum with fine bas relief.

TEMPLE CARVING, A MESSENGER DIETY 

VIEW FROM OUR ROOM

HOW I MISS YOU DEAR TEMPLE!

ANNAPURNA RANGE AND TEMPLE

     It is sad to say good-bye to you, Nepal and Bhaktapur.  

     You will always be the sweetest memory.

BHAKTAPUR II

ENTERING NARAYAN TEMPLE FOR PRAYER

Narayan Temple Prayers in Bakhtapur

    A beautiful spiritual experience.  We were surprised to find the Narayan Temple through a narrow non descript doorway near our Taumadhi Square.   It was hidden away behind several buildings.

    In spite of the fact that the temple is hidden in an untidy courtyard, it is an important place of pilgrimage and one of the oldest temples in the city.  An inscription states that the site  has been in use since 1080. It is dedicated to Narayan, a manifestation of Shiva.  Sitting on a high pedestal in front of the small temple is a statue of Garuda, a vehicle of Shiva.


    We were impressed  to observe a temple  worship service which included  men and women of the community.  About   5:30 the Hindu  priest began  speaking to older people of the community who  were seated on grass matts on the ground in front of him.  We were told that the priest was sharing stories from Hindu, Buddhist, and human morality.  I noted that there were many older men who were wearing the traditional topi hat and  women dressed in the  traditional Bhaktapuri  black sari with red borders.


    The next morning we attended the 6:30 am ceremony of worship there.  The older members of the community shared the traditions of honoring the sacred posts and the deity inside the temple.  The long ringing of the bell near the termination  of the service indicated the time for the priest to sprinkle  holy water, as a blessing, over all who attended.

    To see the residents be actively participating  in the religious  experience was  meaningful to me.   So often I see empty religious structures that  seem so far from the lives of the community!

NARAYAN TEMPLE ACTIVITIES

A  City Walk  With Uttam

     Our hotel waiter, Uttam fromm Sunny Guest House,  took us on a walking tour of Bhaktapur.               

Some of the views of sights we enjoyed with  Uttam:

                                                                                                                                                                        

 Ghat (cremation area) by the River Hanumante with many sculptures of Ganesh, Hanuman, Vishu and his life cycle.                        

                 

A private Secondary School.  Students  were most interested in knowing something about our world.

  

   The Buddhist Monastery - Munivihar -a gift from the Royal Family of Thailand .  Very clean and well  maintained

 A  Mosque

 A Daycare Center

 A Municipal Health Care Center - free services

 More Shiva statues and  the largest lingams of Nepal

BHAKTAPUR: CITY OF MAJESTY

    BHAKTAPUR: CITY OF MAJESTY

BHAKTAPUR STREET SCENE

NYATOLA TEMPLE WITH MOUNTAINS

      Imagine a medieval city of the 800's filled with hundreds of magnificent temples,  palaces, water fountains,  private residences right here in Nepal?

    We have fallen in love with Bhaktapur and its magical  atmosphere.  Our
Sunny Guest House suite looks out over the magnificent setting.  Temple bells   are chiming day and night by Hindu and Buddhist believers.  I do agree with the words of  EA  Powell in 1929 from his book  "The  Last Home of Mystery":


     "Were there nothing else  in Nepal,  save the Durbar Square of  Bhatgaon (Bhaktapur), it would still be amply worth making a journey  half way round the globe to  see"

    Bhaktapur grew up to service the old  trade route from India to Tibet, but the city  became a formal entity under King Ananda Malla in the 12th century.  It's history goes back to the early 8th century and it  used to be the  capital city of whole Nepal  until  the 12th to the  15th century.  The ancestors have protected the city until recent times with boundary walls and city gates.  Even today, it is preserved with significant entry fees from tourists, municipal restoration programs and  support from United Nations and other countries.

NAYATAPOLA TEMPLE

     The Newari people are the ethnic group responsible for the magnificent architecture, sculpture, and art.  They are the people responsible for much of the magnificent building in Lhasa, Tibet.  Kublai Khan of China was so impressed with the Newari architecture that he hired  Newari to build in his kingdom.

Thaumadi Tole

    Thaumadi Tole is the square that we overlook from our guest house and we have spent several  days getting to know the area.  Narrow cobblestone and  brick streets wind between the red-brick houses,  joining squares and courtyards peppered with temples, statues, and wells.   At its peak the city boasted  172 temples and monasteries, 77 water tanks,  172 pilgrim shelters, and 152 wells.

   The 100,000 residents of Bhaktapur are mostly farmers and  peasants.  Right now we can see rice drying and vegetable gardens in many residential areas of the city.  There  are  also businessmen, handicraft producers of pottery and wood carving,  and public employees.  We have so appreciated the kind helpful attitudes of everybody we have  met.

NYATAPOLA TEMPLE

     The most glorious structure in the  Thaumadi Tole is the five-story Nyatapola Temple.  It is the highest temple in Nepal and with its Himalaya backdrop is a picturesque scene. This beautifully proportioned temple was built in 1702 during the reign of King Bhupatindra Malla and the construction so sturdy that only minor damage was caused by the 1934 earthquake.

     In  the photo you can  see the stone figures at the five different levels of the entry stairway.  The temple is dedicated to Sihddhi Lakshmi, a bloodthirsty incarnation of the  goddess Durga (Pavarati).  We were awed by the beautifully well-preserved sculptures of the goddess appearing in her brutal incarnations surrounded with the naga and fearsome snakes.   Even  though the temple is Hindu, Buddhism  is represented with its eight lucky signs carved beside the temple doorway.

     Nearby and in the same square is the BhairabTemple, dedicated to Bhairab, the fearsome incarnation of Shiva.  Built in the 17th century and expanded in 1717 and a third level was added after the 1934 earthquake.  Some of the beautiful elements are the two brass lions holding the Nepali national flag, the only flat that is not  rectangular or square.  The entry door is beautifully carved in brass and there is a colorful painting of Bhairab on rattan with  a gruesome garland of buffalo guts!

     The most meaningful experience of that day was the visit to temple Mahadev Narayan  observing the prayer ceremony (which included Hindu, Buddhist, and moral stories ) attended by the older residents of Bhaktapur (mostly men wearing the Dhaka topi and a handful of women.  We heard that this is the oldest temples of the city (since 1080) and an important place for pilgrimage.

     I find Hinduism, a religion dating back some 3500 years ago, a most complex and  detailed religion which makes it difficult to understand the gods involved  in each temple.  The deities all have many manifestations with  different names.  Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune,  has an incarnation of the bloodthirsty goddess, Durga (Pavarati).

    Vishnu (producer and destroyer) is the probably the mot important god in Nepal.  He had many other manifestations and appears as bushy eyebrowed  Bhairab when he is in his fearful  manifestation.

   

CHITWAN JUNGLE ADVENTURE

 Chitwan Jungle  Reserve  Adventures

     Guide:  Pushkar and Ranjan  Hotel: Jungle  Safari Resort -  lovely setting  and room

      What animals  will we  get to see and under what conditions will we explore their lives?
 

JUNGLE SAFARI

RAPTI RIVER

     Departure at  6:45 for the jungle safari in ancient open air vehicles.   Crossing  the  peaceful river in a hand carved cottonwood canoe at 7:00 was beautiful.  Traveling through the park with many other vehicles probably limited our wild animal viewing, but we did manage to observe the jungle  setting in its diversity and beauty plus see a few amazing animals.

     One of the most  exciting adventures was to view a  python just taking in  the morning sun by the side of the road.  We also saw spotted dear, macaque monkey, larger langur, several groups of boar families, a rhinoceros at quite a distance in the  river, gharial crocodiles, elephant and sloth bear scate.
     The air was filled with birds and bird sounds.  We saw an eagle eating a mouse, woodpecker, storks,  fishhawk, parrots, beautiful kingfishers and  many varieties of butterfly.

EAGLE WITH HIS MOUSE

CROCODILE RESEARCH STATION

     The national  park  is covered with sal forest and also included  are cottonwood trees,  ficus  trees, strangling  fig winding themselves around  anything they could  find,  elephant grass and beautiful grasslands,  particularly along the  banks  of  the  Rapti and Narayani Rivers.

ELEPHANT BREEDING STATION

     Following our jungle walk of several hours, we visited the elephant breeding station with about 10 mature females and  5 small elephants.   It was hard to see the mature elephants restrained   by a heavy chain on  one  leg....but we were told  that they daily they go to the river to bathe and frolic in the jungle.  I  do so hope so.
     We later learned that mahouts do take the elephants for a bath and walk in the river many mornings.  And we observed the  elephants enjoying  their  baths by the  river one morning.   The mahouts  used rocks to scrub their course hair  and  hide.  Some of us joined the bathing and got on them, soon  to realize that the trunks would  bath us too with their gush of water.   What fun!

YOUNG ELEPHANTS

ELEPHANT RIDE

     Initially, I was not interested in participating with the elephant activity fearing elephant abuse.  After talking with other tourists who had experience, I decided to go for it.
     It was a  beautiful experience riding on top of that  magnificent animal.  His steady plodding pace is to be admired.  Four of us rode in our palanquin with gentle guidance of the mahout along  jungle trails,  through rivers and grassland meadows for several hours at sunset.    The elephants showed much individual personality in wanting to break off leafy branches, ferns, and  other delectable food items.   Some of these great beings were quite  determined about their direction of pathway which did differ from the mahouts.  Several  times we felt that the elephant was getting lost in the jungle.

WITH CATHY, TRISH, AND JAKE

LINDA AND SYLVIA

     Up and down we went seeing the beautiful jungle lands,  spotted deer, storks, a larger dark deer and the  prize of the day two rhinoceros in their amour like garb.  The texture  of their  hide would be fascinating to touch!

RHINOCEROS HIGHLIGHT

The elephant ride was a highlight of our journey  to Chitwan.

CANOE RIDE IN THE RAPTI RIVER

     Early one  morning  along a peaceful stretch of the Rapti river we traveled  in hand hewn cotton wood canoes and saw many of the birds mentioned above.  The brilliantly colored kingfisher and the graceful storks were highlights.

     The thrill of the journey was the sudden wild deep sound emanating from a huge crocodile taking his morning sun.  We watched him slowly slither into the river.  What a disappointment!   I observed that our boatman did not steer very close to him. Watching the grace and peaceful  body movements of the boatmen with their simple steering sticks was inspirational.
   
     After a beautiful meditative ride along the river,  we  landed  ashore the area where  elephants take their morning baths..  On the banks we excitedly watched them roll into the river and  spray themselves  with their water-filled trunks.  What fun they were having  and soon some of us joined  them in the water to wash their hide with stones and then mount that beautiful animal..  Taking off my hiking boots,  watch, and tummy pouch,  I absolutely loved getting  near them and feeling their strong bodies.   I did get  rather excited  when PINKY decided to spray my with his  graceful trunk.  His mahout was very kind to him  and I began to feel  better about the elephant care here  in the National  Chitwan Jungle.

BATHING WITH THE ELEPHANT

     We also visited a local museum which told the story of the Tharu people, thought to be the earliest inhabitants of the Chitwa region.  The Tharus  are thought to be the earliest inhabitants of the Terai  and are  the most visible people of the Terai.  They tend to have Mongoloid physical features and caste like distinctions exist between different  Tharu groups.

   Some people  believe  they could be descendants  of the Rajputs of Rajasthan.  They have been  traditionally animists but are  changing  rapidly to Hinduism.  Recently many have  been exploited by zamindars and fell into debt and entered into bonded  labor. Bonded laborers were  freed by gvt in 2000 but many and still landless  and  workless  people.  You can   see  many squatter  settlements of former kamaiyas.

BATIK CLASS IN POKHARA

GREAT BATIK CLASS WITH GURU UTTAM

ELEPHANT IN MONSOON
by sally

   Near the Taj Hotel in Pokhara I found a notice describing Batik classes.  Perfect opportunity for us!

     What a delightful morning we had with the kind instruction of the Guru in making our own batik design.

     In  his tiny studio we selected the size of work and subject  we wanted to make.   The steps we followed included.:

    *  Covering white cotton fabric with a mixture of bluing and kerosene.

     *  Drawing the design

     * Applying hot wax to the areas we wanted to remain white

    *  Paint designated areas of color that we wanted (water based paints)

     * Tie-dye surfaces, if desired

     *  Allow to dry

     * Apply hot wax around areas of design to remain free of color.

     * To achieve subtle lines in colored areas, apply hot wax to the entire area.

      * Gently crinkle the wax where desired

      * Dip entire piece in desired color (both sides)

      * Dry in sun

      * Iron both sides with hot iron when dry

     Jim is proud of his Ying/Yang fish batik and I know that my elephant will become part of a jacket or ve

GREAT TEACHER UTTAM AND JIM WITH HIS BATIK

GURU UTTAM AND SALLY WITH HER ELEPHANT

OUR POKHARA EXPLORATION

POKHARA EXPLORATION 

                Looking for the  warp and weft of  Pokhara...now that house building  is done      


     Lakeside is a frenetic main street of Pokhara which parallels the  large attractive Phewa Lake.  Population is probably more than 200,000 and altitude is about  2500 feet. This is the where thousands of tourists from everywhere in the world hang out.

POKHARA STREET SCENE

LAKESIDE SINGERS

       Walking along this narrow street you can pass by oblivious grazing  water buffaloes, taxis,  old  noisy Chinese or Indian farm vehicles, Land  Rovers,  humongous luxury tourist busses,  rickety  local busses,  old bicycle rickshaws, fruit and vegetable  carts,  motorcycles, old dilapidated  bicycles,  crazypedestrians  trying  to avoid the piles of sand,  stones, torn-up pavement,  dogs, and salesmen touting the great merchandise available in  their store. 

 
     Handicrafts of every kind  fill  the storefronts and sidewalks.  Hiking supplies (jackets and cargo  pants,  most with  North Face labels, sleeping bags,   walking  poles,  sweaters,  Andean style hats,  gloves..)..abound.  Then there are shops  of pashmina  and  cashmere clothes, t-shirts of   ever   design   like the  Yak Yak Yak Yak  shirts,   jewelry shops with the region's  turquoise, lapiz-lasili, coral, amber, and  other  stones, guides for  paragliding,   para hawking, zip-line  operations,  message, yoga, and , of course, restaurants  to serve every nation's tastes. 

      Unbelievable how life seems to flow so well and NAMASTE  (hello or in traditional Hindu expression "I greet the divine inside of you" fills the air.


     We have been enjoying the Lakeside strolls and  shops,  visits to Old Pokhara where a few brick buildings of former days with carved wood windows and doors still stand  in their  sad glory, visit to the Regional  Museum with its story of Pokhara's early ethnic life with a few mannequins of regional  dress, and shopping  at Mahendra  Pol, the newer market for local  residents.

PHEWA LAKE

BUILDING IN OLD POKHARA

ARTISTIC HOME DESIGN

NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR LAKE

PARAGLIDING

     Here I found the famed  Nepalese  handwoven Dhaka fabric in many colors  and qualities.  Most  of the colors as you can  see  in the photo are  light orange, yellow, and  green.  Those  seem to be the preferred colors here.  It was hard finding deep purples, blues, and reds.   I  found out that all the  Dhaka  cloth  in these markets comes from  a weaving area  about 4 hours  south of Pokhara called Palpa.  I was so happy to buy a few lovely pieces to make into something  when I return  home.

     Lots of jewelry and beads everywhere.  My focus is the turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, black beads, and dzi beads....My private jeweler is Kunjang,  a sweet woman from Mustang with a sad face.  Seems to offer me good deals!

     Another fascinating  journey was to a Tibetan Refugee Village north of  Pokhara.   Entering  the village we had to pass by all the old folks selling jewelry, pashmina shawls, carvings, and other tourist stuff.

     There  we found  a large attractive  monastic school and  a village with  a beautiful large temple filled with  monks, ranging in age from five to sixty-five  chanting their afternoon prayers accompanied by a great  drum, Tibetan horns, and  gongs.  It was a beautiful happening inside the temple.  But, I could not help thinking about the many poor oldTibetans praying and hanging  around  outside the elegant monastic world.

     Walking along the Phewa Lake path was a peaceful  experience with rice paddies, paragliders, parahawkers, the  Devi Maya lodge and restaurat located in Happy Village, and the daily life of rural Nepalese.

HABITAT ACTIVITIES IN POKHARA AREA

HABITAT ACTIVITIES IN POKHARA AREA

 

     An early dawn journey we prepared to view the Annapurna Himalaya from Sarangkot was magical.  It was possible to see a panoramic sweep of Himalayans peaks from Dhaulagiri (20,000 feet) in  the west to the perfect pyramid called Machhapachhare also known as Fishtail, (22,000 feet)  and the rounded  peak of  Annapurna II (24,000 feet).

FISHTAIL PEAK

SOME OF THE HABITAT GROUP UP EARLY

PEAKS AND KATHMANDU VALLEY

MORE HABITAT MEMBERS

MORNING HAS BROKEN

INCREDIBLE TRAFFIC JAM LEAVING THE SARANGKOT VIEW SITE

  DEVILS FALLS

WATERFALLS ON OUTSKIRTS OF POKHARA

AVISITOR AT THE FALLS FROM XISHANGBANNA, CHINA
ENJOYED MEETING

BUYING OPPORTUNITIES AT EVERY TURN EVEN AT DEVILS FALLS

INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN MUSEUM


     International  Mountain Museum is devoted to the mountains of Nepal and   the mountaineers who climbed them.  There are displays on the history, cultures, geology, flora and fauna of the Himalayas.

MAP OF ETHNIC AND CASTE GROUPS OF NEPAL  --- AROUND SIXTY!

NOTE THE DARK DZI BEADS OF THIS ETHNIC GROUP

WEAVING EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS ETHNIC GROUPS

ANOTHER ETHNIC DRESS STYLE

NOTE THE DHAKA PALPA WEAVING
A UNIQUE FIBER STYLE OF NEPAL

INTERNATIONAL PEACE PAGODA


    The International Peace Pagoda is on a narrow ridge high above Phew Lake.  It was constructed by Buddhist monks from the Japanese Nipponzan Mychoji organization to promote world peace.  We crossed  the lake from Pokhara by boat, enjoyed a meal at the Lychee Restaurant before we made the ascent in about one hour.  A stimulating hike up the hill!  It is a beautiful white structure with a view of the entire Pokhara area. 



     Will find pix but you can see the Phew Lake which adds much to Pokhara's enchantment.

VIEW OF POKHARA FROM THE OTHER SHORE

     Near the end of our stay in Pokhara we celebrated Habitat Priti's birthday with a fabulous dinner at the Castle Resort.  It is  perched high on the hill overlooking  Phewa Lake has a wonderful feel of exclusivity and fine local  food with the ever present dal bhat, salads, chicken and a fabulous birthday cake.    It was a fine setting to celebrate Priti's birthday !