Nepal - People

Well, if you an avid traveler; you want to see all and do all. I am one such person; never ever get enough of traveling. But its good to leave some; the mystery it holds is enough to entice you for your next sojourn - to somewhere else.

Its the same feeling with Nepal as well. Each place brings in a uniqueness that no other place can ever give. Its not just about the place; but the moment, the time, the people. Even if you could visit the same place with the same set of people in the same manner; it sure wont be the same as the earlier one!!

Meeting new people; dousing their curiosity, sharing anecdotes between smiles is a pleasure by itself. Met few interesting people in this trip as well. I tried to click few portraits - the absence of sun light made it best to capture a character - the depth which gets lost due to that sunlight; I feel.

The hazy surrounding highlights the portrait and captures the features quite well. Thats what I tried to do. Here are few.

Flaming red T shirt, Ray Ban aviators, a garland - does he not give our Bollywood heroes a run for their money?

Sadhus galore at the Pashupathinath temple. Smoking hash, talking expletives, they have their way. They bless you only if you give them money. These halo around this Baba was the effect I gave so that he looked spiritual :-P

A Sadhvi. She cussed more than the Baba. Tall, well built lady.

 

It was Rakhi bandhan day. Brahmins sit near the temples and offer blessings to people who offer them fruits and money. This man was waiting for people to come by and seek his blessings.

A Tibetan mother and her daughter. The older one was pensive; concentrating in her prayers. I asked them if  The wrinkles on their face is proof enough of their ordeal, they are refugees. I could click their picture. They obliged :)

This girl was diligent in her work, trying to shielding the lip smacking sweetmeats that was all around her; not once did she eye them.

What caught me was this lady checking her watch; time and again. The entire crowd was in a festive mood; and this lady had some other important work I guess.

At the monastery in Swayambhunath temple. This Lama was around when I sneaked into the monastery and quickly walked out. He wanted to know where I was from. He readily posed for a picture. It was a perfect setting with no light. His eyes talk stories :)

Stern and strict - a police officer guarding the palace at the Kathmandu Durbar square.

Naughty kids - readily posed for picture; later one of them kept nagging me for money! :-/

My dog picture :)

These school girls looked so pretty; liked their skirts :)

A dollop of vermillion on her forehead, bright green contrasting beads; a busy Newari lady

One of my favorite picture mainly because it was unplanned. She just came in the frame.

Never minding the architectural treasure she is surrounded with; this lady is busy selling her items.

This boy's father is one of the very few; or rather the only craftsman who hand makes singing bowl. singing bowl by itself needs an exclusive post. Behind him are the rows of machine made singing bowls :)

The guide at the Patan durbar square. Shared lot of interesting information.

Finally, our driver who drove like mad bull; never stopping even once to admire the nature. Well, its an everyday affair for him :)

Nepal - Patan

Not being able to view the Himalayan ranges was one disappointment. We even booked mountain flights which tour you through the ranges for one hour and get as close as 200 meters to Mt. Everest, for 2 days. The flights were canceled after waiting for 3 hours both the days due to bad weather.

We need to respect the laws of nature; another disappointment was I could not go para gliding. Though people were para gliding in Pokhara, the local tour guide warned me that the winds were gusty and not safe. So I just had to make do with a boat ride through Lake Phewa. But on our way back to Kathmandu, we did river rafting in Trishuli river.

The experience was adventurous, the river was full and the currents strong. Gorgeous scenery, amazing river; 30 kms of rafting. We had a professional instructor who gave us tips and instructions; the rowing was tiring - go with the current. Team work - consistent and in sync made it all. I even got out of the raft and hung on the edges and waded through the water for 2 kms. It was scary; the depth and the strong current. All it required was let your hand go of the rope tied on the sides of the raft and you go with the water. Though life jacket was worn; it still was scary when the current was strong and the water swelled; I had to be pulled into the raft :-D

Another observation that struck us - maybe only because we are from southern part of India. English is used as any other local language and we actually find it odd if English is not used. Got to see pure Hindi script everywhere - few words which we long forgot after wrapping up our school period. Like 'yatayat' for 'transport', 'prahari' for 'police', 'pul' for 'bridge'. These words brought that lingering memory of having come across these words in school when learning Hindi.

Getting ready for rafting on Trishuli.

A team already on their way

On our way back; just after the rains, the rainbow appeared. As the landscape was rolling hills one after the other; one could see the rainbow in different angles - sometimes across one mountain to another as if its a sky bridge; sometimes just touching the ground as if its nailed to the green bed of grass; sometimes as its hanging from nowhere. It was the first time ever that I could see the rainbow lingering for more than an hour!!! That was a bonus. It didnt end there. It was not one but two rainbows!! What more to ask for :) 

I clicked 100s of picture to capture it in all angles and landscapes.

 Sunset

 Patan - also called Lalitpur is a major city in Nepal. Its a city of rich heritage - fine ancient arts, metallic and stone carvings. Patan, like Kathmandu has a Durbar Square. Here is the Durbar Square of Patan; a UNESCO world heritage site. The temples with intricately carved wooden doors and windows, beautiful courtyards, exquisite icons made of terracotta, stone, metal and wood  exhibit artistic excellence of the craftsmen and the  fine taste of the people. The whole city looks like an open museum; you are treated with amazing art works whichever side you turn.

A slab proclaiming the UNESCO site 

 

The Mul chowk; bustling with shops selling crafts and arts

Statues at the entrance of the chowk. Hanuman covered as usual with an orange silk cloak, Narasimha; the other side was a Ganesh statue. 

 A central 'stumbh' or pillar overlooking the King's palace. The King built this as a symbol of arrival of his death. He constructed this pillar and believed that if the bird on the hood of the snake protecting the king flew away; only then the king would die. How could a stone bird fly away? But it seems the King died the very next year at a young age.

A closer view of the top of the pillar. 

Jagannarayan temple; built in 1565; its the oldest temple in Patan. Every durbar square has a kamasutra temple which served as a center for young people to learn about sex; as it was a taboo to discuss sex among people. These temples served as self learning centers.  Each pillar has erotic carvings in wood. Enlarge the picture to notice the details :) 

The King's palace - residence of the Malla rulers of the Patan state. It was under renovation. Those little things hanging from the eaves of the palace are the bells. 

Circumventing the Hindu temples at the Durbar square are Buddhisht vihars and temples. This is the entrace to Hiranya Varna Mahavihar also known as Golden temple. The three story pagoda of Lokeshwar(Lord Buddha) was built in 12th century by King Bhaskar Verma.

Detailed wooden carving at the entrance. 

 On the extreme right is the figurine of Sakyamuni - the primary figure in Buddhism said to have born from the armpit.

The statue of King Bhaskar Verma and his Queen who constructed the temple. 

The Dorje, the prayer wheels and the Buddha 

The temple roof looks like any Hindu temple except for the presence of the Dorje and the Prayer wheel. 

On one of the door was a carved dragon about 1 feet in length 

Tangka paintings were sold everywhere. 

This bell is huge and very very old. Its rung only once in a year 

Centuries old aqueduct called Manga Hiti.  It has 3 carved stone Makaras(crocodile deities) spouting water from their mouths. It seems the water temperature changes according to the weather.

The Harishankar temple. The three story temple of Harishankar - half vishnu and half shiva built in 1704. It has an arcade beautifully decorated with wood carvings depicting the torture of the damned. In the front is a stone carvings of elephant on each side.

This beautiful shikara style Krishna temple is different from others which are all built in Pagoda style. It was built in 1637; consists of central tower encircled by three arcades. Its the first temple to be of Shikara style and all made of stone. Its the only temple having 21 golden pinnacles. There are beautiful carvings and a statue of man bird Garuda - the vehicle of Krishna is facing the mandir. This temple was the most beautiful in my opinion. As usual, leather was not allowed inside the temple. It was my birthday and was feeling incomplete without a temple visit; and the Krishna temple was a perfect place to seek my blessings.

The narrow by-lanes of Patan. 

Nepal - Gorkha and Pokhara

Vibrant with colors; bubbling with life - EXUBERANT is what I would describe the journey. Each place is unique; people and culture so strikingly different. Devotion, art, colors, peaceful, hospitality, reverence; I did my best to capture them all in my photography. 

People are not pushy at all; as Kavita mentioned in her comment in my previous post. They revere guests as God. They revere the mountains; for them its not Mt Everest but Sagarmatha; the Goddess of Sky. She stands silent watching over the valleys. They dont talk about 'conquering' her - aah man how ego he could be. 'Conquering' - I hate that word. 

One of the highlight is the Manakamana temple in Gorkha district. Its not the temple but the journey to the temple that is mesmerizing. A 3.5 km long cable car ride across hills and deep down you can see the Trishuli river seem to be flowing silently. Its amazing to see an entire town up there

The temple; shrouded by fog. One a clear day; one could see the Himalayan ranges.

Old wooden carvings along the temple roof.

In devotion; I ring these bells

Devotion - sacred threads tied around on a wooden plank.

The temple and the priest.

Remember the Nepali calendar being ahead of us? See the Mfg date here.

The cable car infrastructure.

The view from the top.

Cable cars

The entire stretch of cable car ride is filled with such a scene. It was never enough; others sitting with us in the cable car kept repeating the words "Jannat"

On the way to Pokhara. Pokhara valley is famous for its tranquil surroundings and lakes. Three of the 10 highest mountains can be viewed very closely from Pokhara. Its also the base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit.

Lakeside - along the Phewa lake; lined with busting bars, coffee shops and clothing shops - lively. We hired bicycles and explored the Lakeside.

Array of T-shirts

That night; there was a Nepali folk song and dance show.

They wore costumes of different ethnic groups.

Here is Velu having fun. We danced; they let me go but the girl in this picture wanted Velu to stay on and dance.

A Newari thali - rice, curd, spinach, dal, aloo and gobi curry, pickle.

Sarangkot is a village located on the mountainside at an altitude of 1600m with a great panoramic view of Himalayas. One can see Daulagiri, Annapurna ranges. Its like a pilgrimage to nature lovers to view the gorgeous ranges; provided the sky is clear. But it was not the season; the sky was hazy and shrouded with clouds. We went as early as 4 to watch the sunrise; very soon the crowd gathered. Waited till 7 but the clouds didnt clear and we couldnt see the ranges. The below picture was clicked at around 4:30 AM; the city of Pokhara

The only and the best view was this.

When we had to witness this!!

Anyway; disappointed yes; but we cant command nature isnt it? Bridge across the Seti river gorge. This river runs right through Pokhara city. Its also called White river due to its color. .

The river is just 2 metres wide but gushes by more than 40 metres deep down street level. It has carved a deep but narrow gorge through the middle of the town; and it roars and gushes; turning the water milky white in the process

Yup; so we accepted out fate and reminded ourselves that nature follows its course and its stupid to be expecting a clear blue sky. After Sarangkot and Seti river; we were heading back to hotel for breakfast; when the driver stopped on the main road and said "Sir; mountain dekhiye". It seems he saw in the rear view mirror. We just turned back and the excitement soared. Asked him to bring the vehicle to the halt; jumped out and ran towards the middle of the road; not caring about vehicles passing over us and were literally jumping up and down like kids. People were laughing at our madness. For them; its a daily affair but for us? Here was the most beautiful mountain as if just hung from nowhere.

This will give an idea from where we were viewing it. This is Machhapuchhre - "fish tail" mountain in the Annapurna range. The peak is shrouded by cloud. It is revered by locals as sacred to God Shiva and hence no climbing allowed. It has never been climbed to its summit. 

Davis Falls - the water travels through natural tunnel. Its name has an interesting story - Davis Falls

The gorge is deep and the rush so strong that water droplets can be felt on your face.

Gupteswor - a cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. Stalactite formation inside the cave. Its just a stone's throw away from Davis Falls

Photography is prohibited in the first part of the cave which has a Shiva temple inside.

The International Mountain Museum. Had it not for the clouds; we could have seen Himalayan ranges in the background. I keep saying this - you probably understand my disappointment.

I liked this picture of man and woman pointing to rest rooms.

The museum talked about various ranges; the conquering stories, equipments used; way of life of mountain people - their dresses; food habits, languages and lot more. School children group taking a look at a very large Thangka

The serene and calm Phewa Lake - jewel of Pokhara. People were para gliding along the hills around the lake. A local travel agent told me that the winds would be strong and it was not a good idea to para glide. I so wanted to; maybe sometime later somewhere else :)

5 kms away from main town was a quiet village on the banks of Phewa lake was Happy Village. The name of the village went so well with the feeling. A lazy evening with a hot cuppa to indulge and pass away your time.