Nepal Day 7

Prior to leaving Bandipur in the morning, I got a few photos. I really loved the look of the little shops with homes or hotels above them.

I also really like the rooster out on the front porch. We really don't get to see that here in the U.S. I do remember waking up to the neighbor's rooster in the morning as a child....not quite the same.
You can't really tell how high up we are in the hills. In order to get back to the main roads from Bandipur we got to take a jeep ride again. This time Natalie and I rode on top of the jeep. This was very entertaining to the local people. They really questioned my ability to climb up on the jeep, but I surprised them with my agility and coordination. The ride on top of the jeep was so much more comfortable than inside where my legs feel asleep. On of the local boys sat up there with us and gave me one of the local oranges/tangerines (which are green, not really orange). Once we got down to Dumre again we found another bus to take us to our next destination.
The next destination was the River Spring Resort in Kurintar. We told the man of all trades on the bus our destination, but he decided to tell us to get off at an earlier town. For there, we got to walk 3 km uphill to the resort on the highway. The walk itself was not too bad, but there are all kind of trucks and buses passing at high speeds, but then add all of the children getting out of school and it is a disaster. We arrived safely, but from there I told Natalie we were going to spend the $6 (a rip off in comparison to other traveling we had done) to go to the cable car. Above is a picture of the me in front of the pool at the resort. A pool which we never had time to use.
The resort had cool little fountain in the front.
Looking up from the fountain was a gazebo.
Next to the fountain was a dragonfly. I love dragonflies. My camera did not want to focus on the dragonfly.
Once we caught the taxi back to the cable car, we took it up over 2 very high ridges. From the car you could see all of the terraces filled with mustard, rice, and millet. They were absolutely beautiful. I kept thinking about how long it would take me to build a retaining wall, and translate that to building all of those terraces on huge hills. The Nepalese people are very hard workers. Another favorite part of the cable car is that you could pay 150 rupees to take your goat to the top...not right on the price board.

The cable car took us up to the Manakamana Temple. According to the guide book this is one of the most important Hindu temples in the area. Newly married couples will travel to this temple to pray that their first child will be a boy. Wow! That would seriously have made me sad if me parents had prayed I would be a boy (Mom and Dad if you did please keep those prayers to yourself). In all of our visits to temples and shrines this was the one where we saw the most people actually worshiping.
There were holy men surrounding all of the walls prepared to bless the people who were coming to visit the temple.
The temple felt very dirty. There were sacrifices going on and there were candles and fires lite which caused a lot of soot and black smoke. Surround the temple were all kinds of people selling goods. I can't remember who told me that the temple in Nepal reminded them of when Jesus had to cleanse the temple of all of the money changers.
This is a little girl who followed me around the temple. You cannot tell from this picture, but she is wearing extremely ragged clothing and was really dirty. I kept expecting fleas to jump off her and onto me at any minute. She was very beautiful. She wanted me to take her picture over and over. She even brought friends to me so that I could take there picture as well.
This is me in front of the temple. We could not go inside because we were not Hindu.
These are several of the items used in worship. I could not tell you what there are, but I do know that the one of the left is a bunch of sacrifices left to the gods. People left food and flowers all over the place for god.
Again, red powder covering everything.
The next three photos are of the holy men. I loved their bright clothing. These were real holy men unlike the men in Kathmandu who were chasing us around to put tikkas on our forehead for a price.


A local woman who was waiting for friends or family at the temple.
We saw some real sacrificial animals. We did not actually see them being sacrificed. We were able to ask some local people about how it worked a couple of days later. They used to do sacrifices right at the temple, but it started to terrify visitors, so they now do them right behind the temple. I always thought that sacrifices were left for god or burned, but I was told that people bring them back home to eat. I don't quite understand why, but it is only necessary to kill them at the temple.
Above is a collection of items that may be used in worship that can be bought on your way up to the temple. All inclusive with a coconut gift to leave for god.
There is also red powder available for purchase. Natalie and I were tempted to buy some so that when we went back to Kathmandu we would not be bombarded by the holy men.
This little addition was taken mostly for Carrie. Everywhere there were little baby boys. In the United States the babies are all unisex, but we all know that in reality they all look like girls. I suppose that if your parents are going to the temple praying for baby boys that everyone wants a baby boy.

Nepal Day 6

The sixth day of the trip was a mix of bus travel and relaxation. Early in the morning Natalie and I set out from Pokhara on the city bus. We took the city bus to an area where we met a local bus to take us out of the city. I think that the lyrics, "On the Road Again" were written especially for us on this trip. There were several highlights incorporated in this particular ride. First of all both the driver and the "multi-task" man were smokers. Nothing says welcome to our bus like the slow flow of smoke through your seat. Now what is the "multi-task" man. He is the jack of all trade on the bus. He climbs like a monkey throughout the trip on top of the bus and back down, in flip-flops I might add. He also runs randomly from the bus to different homes and shops. It help if I could understand Nepali, then I might be able to tell you why he does the random running around. He also takes your money, hits to bus to tell it to stop, back up, and go, whistles while passing buses, and chats with his friends on the bus. The best part of the bus ride was that every time the bus stopped the CD that we were listening to started over. Over and over again we got to listen to the Nepali version of "Kung Fu Fighting." I then spent the rest of the trip trying to figure out what this song was and how I could get my little paws on it. Imagine the splendor of whaling at the beginning, followed by high pitched noises of women. Pure exhilaration and laughter with each time this little ditty repeated.

When we arrived at a small city of Dumre along the highway were were set free. From there we caught a jeep ride up to our destination. A jeep ride in the third world country is much more of an adventure then at home. Here they take a jeep that would fit 6 Americans and impale at least 13 inside and 8 on the outside. I was crammed in the back of the jeep where I was able personally get to know the locals. They all practically sat on my lap as they climbed over me to sit in the middle; those that did not get that opportunity were smashed against me. All the way up...up....and up the very tall hill we stopped and picked up more passengers. Natalie on the other hand stood on the back of the jeep, holding her life in her own hands. She did an amazing job, but will openly admit that her arms got a good workout.

Finally, arrival at the destination of Bandipur. We walked through the streets of the cleanest town we had been to so far. We stayed at the above hotel, which was a small room with a great view and a shared bathroom. We took this time to finally get some laundry cleaned. We gave most of our clothing to the hotel workers who washed out clothes in the local spring water. Natalie got a great photo of the clothes washing springs in her walk around the area. Unfortunately, I was back at the hotel working on homework. Happy to say that I got a lot of work done during that time. Unfortunately, from assessment of Natalie's pictures I missed out on some great scenery.
We then also say out of the street and at our lunch, right at the tables you see there. It was very peaceful place to spend a day. It was a great break from all of the constant sight seeing we had been doing on the rest of the trip.

Nepal Day 5

Early on the 5th day in Nepal, Natalie and I woke up. There is an extremely irritating habit that all people in Nepal participate in....can you guess what it is? I am certain that no one will get this one. All people in Nepal have the art of "hacking and spitting" down to a science. Now one might wonder, "How does this apply to a vacation?" Well, let me tell you about it. As I sat in the room working on my homework around 4 a.m. I started to hear the hacking noise. Natalie is a light sleeper, so she would also wake up while I was working. Together we began to enjoy a once in a life time experience. The sound of 50 men hacking a spitting simultaneously in the showers and bathrooms in the surrounding rooms. The walls were much thinner than we would have preferred. I showered and came out of the bathroom with Natalie attempting to catch the moment on video, but unfortunately she was unsuccessful. Nat thought there were less people, but I won the bet as well went outside at 515 am, to see the sun rise at our next location.

We went out and about particularly early because we had heard that watching the sun rise over the Annapurnas in a local town at the top of the hill was amazing. So we promptly caught a taxi up...up...up the hill. There were a lot of tourist standing at the top of a small hill within the town of Sarangkot. "They" (whoever they are) did not lie. The view from the top was amazing. The picture above was taken before the sun came over up. I really thought that the little hut was a great addition. Although, truth be told that I love the small quirky things when I am taking photos.
Right next to the small hill were individuals who were selling their goods. Traveling through Nepal it is easy to understand what brought all the hippies to the area during the 70's. As I was reading this post I thought, "Is this a Christmas promotion in the non-Christian country...or a plug to bring the 70's back?" Then I decided that maybe it would just be a good thing to have the world at peace. Additionally, it might make a great Christmas card.
Above is a photo of some of the good you can buy in Nepal.
I love this photo of when the sun was finally coming up. There is something amazing about the sun rising.
Natalie with a view of the Annapurnas. The valley was beautiful, but so hazy from the humidity.
The Annapurna Range (there are six peaks to Annapurna).
Another mountain can be seen with Annapurna, Machhapuchhare. One of the locals told me that it name meant pyramid. Looking at the mountain that would make sense to me.

I love this one too.
After seeing the sunrise, we went back to Pokhara. Immediately after we were dropped off at the hotel a local woman approached us with some pastries. At first we turned them down, but eventually gave in to the temptation. They were some fabulous warm pastries with some sort of chocolate filling. If you are every in Nepal these little ditties are a must.

The pastry was not enough so I had a local meal...the Marsala Omelet. The omelet was would have been much better if there had been addition of salt to the mix, but non the less amazing. I also had some curry potatoes. I am not sure if the Nepalese potatoes are different than ours, but I can say that they created a new close relationship between us. Me+Potatoes=Pure Love.

Then Natalie and I went went for a hike. I think the combination of my recently more sedentary life and the elevation definitely played a part on my ability to hike well, but Natalie was very patient with me. The hike started on talking us around the big hill that we were eventually going to go to the top of for the next two hours.
This is a photo of me while I was still thinking that this was going to be amazing. Don't you worry though, it was not only amazing, but memorable. The hike upward was a delightful challenge as we lost the trail. The good thing about a hike that goes through terraced areas and has a destination at the top of the hill is that it is easy to reach your goal when you are wandering.
After slowly hiking up...and up....and up (the theme of the morning "up") we were met with this beautiful view. The World Peace Pagoda. This was a very beautiful structure.
Around the pagoda there were a lot of marigolds. Marigolds are found everywhere in Nepal, but I will attest that I am surprised there are many left. Marigolds are used in all of the Nepalese celebrating that I participated in over the time I was in the country. They are used in there religious ceremonies as well. Oh well, I suppose that I will never know the answer to the question about how they continue to have this little flowers around.
We had to take off our shoes and then we were able to walk up the steps of the pagoda. At the top of the stairs we were met with this beautiful Buddha.

This is another of the statue at the World Peace Pagoda, but I am not sure who this represents.
After seeing the sites at the top of the hill, then we headed back down. I had this great idea that when going back down the trail we would eventually be able to find the real trail. Sadly or happily, that was not the case. We headed down the trail and met up with a place to take a canoe ride across the river. A really nice older man gave a really enjoyable ride back into town.

When reaching the shore we were met by an cute Tibetan woman who was selling jewelry. I have a special place in my heart for all of the older people who are selling items. When it came to buying souvenirs if they were seniors they were more likely to get my rupees. Natalie and I became the proud owners of some amazing yellow amber bracelets.
I the afternoon Natalie and I caught the city bus out to a local Tibetan Refugee Camp called, Tashi Palkhel. In the camp there was a Buddhist monastery. We went to listen to the two hours of prayer/chants that were performed daily. We got there early and were met on the the local monks. He was about 20 years old, I think. He took Natalie and I on a tour and told us all about the room where they say there prayers. You may not be able to see this clearly, but on the left edge of the photo there are a bunch of cake sacrifices to god. I loved the cakes! In the glass cases covering the room are 1,000 Buddha statues.
The monks sit at all of the little desks/tables at assigned seating according to their time at the monastery.
These are some of the horns used throughout the prayers.
Tibetan Bell and Dorje used in the prayers. I did not get to see how these are used because we only stayed for a little over one hour. We were worried about getting back into town before it got dark. Public buses and walking through unknown territory are not the smartest plans in unfamiliar territory.
Prayer flags outside the monastery. I learned that each color of the flags is correlated with one of the Buddhas that have been reincarnated.
It was fun to watch all of the monks (who were really young) interacting.
This is a picture of the outside of the monastery.
This little monk was our favorite. He was a bundle of energy and definitely gets into some fun trouble.
As part of worship individuals walk clockwise around the buildings and turn these.

This is a beautiful goat that was sitting outside one of the shops outside within the Tibetan Camp.

It was a great day!

Nepal Day 4

The fourth day of my trip in Nepal did not create many photos. In fact, through assessment of photos that were taken, this was the only picture of the day. I woke up in the morning and turned in a school assignment at the local cyber cafe. Where Natalie met me and we caught a jeep to the site to catch the bus to Pokara. We had another great opportunity to to ride in the back of the bus. Natalie and I were excited that we were going to have the entire back row. In fact, we even performed the tradition "high five" because of our excitement. Much to our dismay the bus stopped and picked up a couple of tourists at the next stop. We rode with two very tall Germans, but there was still on seat open. It was not open for long when a small local Nepali man and I had the opportunity to get very close for a while. I was grateful that he was only on the bus for a couple of looonnnggg hours. The ride to Pokhara was also very beautiful, but it was difficult to document the journey crammed into the back of the bus with no leg room and your backpack in your lap.
Shortly after arriving in Pokara we were promptly scammed by some local hotel owners. We got off the bus and were surrounded by hotel owners. Natalie and I were planning on walking to a hotel, but were convinced by another owner who said we could get a free ride to his hotel and if we didn't like it then we could find somewhere else. It was a hotel written about in our local guidebook, so we decided it would be okay. We got there and it was totally sub-par. We decided not to stay and then they owners told us we owed them money for the taxi (much more than it should have cost). Natalie and I were so mad that we paid the money and left.
We walked around there and found another hotel. The innards were not exceptionally better than the first, but the owner really loved us. He was so nice. He gave us all sorts of helpful information about how to get cheaper transportation, better tourists experiences, and so forth. We were really happy that we switched hotels, even though we payed more by giving money to the other place for the taxi.
After finding somewhere to eat we talked through the streets of Pokhara. About four minutes of walking through the city were identified Pokhara as the Park City of Nepal. It was set up for tourists, and does not display the real world. It was nice for a day not to be pestered everywhere we walked throughout the evening. We found a restaurant in the tourist district, "Lakeview." It was a great dinner of traditional Nepalese food, then headed home for the evening. The picture above is me at the restaurant while waiting for our food.