Nepal: A Week of Temples, Trekking, & Namaste

 
Hola Chicos & Chicas,
One of the major reasons that Marianella and I chose to move to Bangladesh was for the promising travel opportunities that seemed to abound when we perused the maps of southeast Asia.  One of the first flights we checked after accepting the job was to Kathmandu, given the close proximity to Dhaka and it did not take us long to settle upon Nepal for our first extended vacation in Asia.  As you may have noticed, news from us has been pretty quiet-acclimating to the new job, home, and culture kept us very occupied through our first three months, so we were quite excited for our trip to Nepal.

Gloriously, we were not disappointed.  Just an hour and a half flight northwest from Dhaka, we arrived in a drastically different terrain-gone was the humid flat land of Bangladesh, replaced by crisp air and the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas.  Our timing was also ideal-late October/early November is supposedly the best time to visit Nepal, and it certainly was the case for us; each day the skies were a brilliant blue interspersed occasionally with puffy white clouds.  To boot, as you will see later, there was a full moon during our trip which made the nights in the mountains as beautiful as the days. 

Traveling with three other families from our school, we enjoyed a great balance of culture and fun within the two largest cities of Nepal (Kathmandu and Pokhara) and time spent trekking through the Annapurna range of the Himalayas.  Marianella and I ended up visiting three Buddhist temples during our time in and around Kathmandu, each of them unique and stunning in their own respect. 

Bhaktapur

Immediately after disembarking from the plane, we headed to Bhaktapur and our first temple visit in this ancient city which is recognized as a World Heritage Site.  The city's history dates back to the 8th century, where it served as the nation's capital until somewhere between the 12-15th century.  Arriving at the old city is quite spectacular, given that the route took us across bumpy, gravel roads and dust-covered apartments.  However, after ascending a slight incline into the town, we were greeted by the open-air art and architecture, much of which dates from the 15th and 16th century, maintaining an incredible resilience to the elements and people throughout the years. 
 




 


Swayambhunath (The Monkey Temple)

Upon our return to Kathmandu from Pokhara and the Himalayas, I was quite eager to visit this temple, lining up a trip on the bus ride back to our hotel with the travel agent that was on board.  I will be honest-it was all about the monkeys.  The idea of seeing free range monkeys roaming around the complex was quite inviting.  With my mind on the monkeys, I wasn't prepared for what was the most visually arresting of the three temples we visited.  Ascending a steep staircase (which was child's play after our time trekking), we arrived to see the four-sided golden Buddha eyes which you see above (well, two of the four eyes anyhow).  It seemed that with each corner that we turned at this complex there was a vision of something that stopped you in its beauty or splendor. 
Prayer wheels:

 
And monkeys?  Oh yeah, we saw monkeys.  We learned quickly that these monkeys weren't to be trifled with; when they weren't attempting to outsmart vendors and unsuspecting tourists who were casually watching their stalls or bags, several of them seemed to be engaged in an ongoing grudge where they would chase each other at full speed, screaming their monkey scream, all the while ignoring the many people who also populated the area.  When we witnessed a monkey grab a little girl's dress in pursuit of food, I considered for the first time in my life how to defend myself from a monkey attack.  Fortunately, I did not have to bare fists against the monkeys as we chose a respectful distance from each other (and Marianella scratched our plan to feed them some granola bars smashed up on on the trek).
 



Durbar Square-Kathmandu

On our final morning in Nepal, Marianella and I hoofed it from our hotel to the main square in Kathmandu which possessed yet another of the finest temple complexes in the nation.  While the other temples we visited were set away and above the crush of people, these temples were situated smack-dab in the middle of the bustling city with taxi cabs, motorcycles, and rickshaws zooming past the monuments located in the city center.  Walking to and through the complex was a feast for the senses-incense wafting from nearly every doorway, children dressed in their uniforms being hustled to school by their parents, street vendors hawking all types of trinkets and souvenirs while cows and dogs lazed along the open spaces.  Fascinating as it was, we were glad to pay the price of admission and enter into the tranquility of the enclosed temple where we once again found ourselves gaping at the indelible architecture that has existed for centuries.  The most stunning of this open-air art was off limits for photographs, but these pictures provide a nice taste of our final morning in Nepal. 
 

 

 
Marigolds aplenty:

Will I ever tire of seeing cows roaming the streets freely?  I think not:



Pokhara and the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas

I don't really know how to start this description because I know that words and pictures will not be able to capture the magic that was the three days and two nights we spent hiking through a loop that brought us so close to this most majestic of the Earth's mountain ranges.  We awoke each morning before sunrise to view the sun ascend rapidly into the sky and then we would hike throughout the day until reaching our night's destination for rest.  Along the way, we would wind through small villages comprised of brick homes that had stood for 200-300 years, sheltering the natives from the harsh weather at the feet of these mountains.  Unfailingly, the villagers welcomed us with smiles, greetings of "Namaste" ("good day" in English), and when we would stop, a delicious cup of hot, milk tea.  When not walking through the villages, we were walking through the stunning countryside amongst a forest of trees, bubbling streams, and terraced crop plots.  As already mentioned, the weather was ideal-it reminded me so much of autumn back home, with bright blue skies keeping the days warm and the nights possessing that crisp chill which begs for a thick blanket (which was the key accommodation in our spartan guest houses). 
Our airline to Pokhara:

Everyone is headed to the mountains in Pokhara:
 
Our first day on the trek was undoubtedly the toughest, a six-hour hike that stretched over approximately seven miles, much of which was uphill, including the first hour where we basically climbed straight up a hill.  After swearing that we would make better use out of our elliptical machine, Marianella and I reached the crest of that hill along with the other members of our group and continued our uphill climb, although it was never as arduous as that initial ascent.  After finally arriving to our station for the night, we devoured a late lunch and felt like we should fall into bed.  However, the beauty of the location did not allow us to do so; instead we wandered throughout the small village, basking in the last rays of sunlight and watching the sun disappear behind the mountains. 
At our first rest stop:

One of our guides catching big air on a bamboo swing:
 

From the village we stayed at the first night:

 

 
The second day was another trek of upward ascent, but at a more relaxed pace with our guide working in more breaks for our wearied bodies.  While not as strenuous as the first day, there was plenty of uphill climbing, particularly as we approached the Australian guest house, which was our station for the night.  It was a shorter day of trekking, but the views. . .it seemed as if we could touch the snow on the mountains from where we stood.  Again, while we were exhausted, we resisted spending much time inside as the clean crisp air and stunning landscape kept us outside as long as possible.
Our reward for a couple hard days of trekking:
 
The view from our room:



 
This was perhaps the highlight of the trek; we headed to this little clearing to view the sunset.  As we gazed west, to the east was the moon rising simultaneously.  These next two shots were taken at the same time, by turning around 180 degrees:

 
And this was just before sunrise the next morning:

Our third day in the mountains was departure day which consisted of the descent down, that presented our bodies a whole new set of challenges; instead of gasping for breath, we felt the wobble of our legs and knees.  It was a relatively quick trip down, which was okay; by this time, us amateur trekkers had experienced plenty.  From there it was back to Pokhara, where we lounged for a couple days, letting our bodies rejuvenate while ambling down the interesting streets and lakeside of a city built for tourists. 
 
As mentioned in the first paragraph, Nepal was one of the first places we considered visiting when we found out Bangladesh was where we were moving; as wonderful a time as we had, it likely will garner another visit from Marianella and I before we move from this region. 
 

Until next time~
Tim & Marianella

P.S.
One last photo for you-on our flight home to Dhaka, we were fortunate to be seated on the correct side of the plane to view Mount Everest as we said goodbye to Nepal: