My last day in Nepal turned out to be quite a busy one. My flight was not until late in the evening, so I had time during the day to do something, but had no plans. A Thai group had arrived at Sanu House, and at breakfast Sarita said she was taking them on a tour, and anyone else could come if they wanted.
Again, we had the adventure of travel by bus.
First, we went to Swayambhunath, a large complex of Buddhist temples and stuppas, also know as the Monkey temple because of the large number of monkeys there.
Next we packed into a small bus and drove the Kathmandu's Durbar square. I'd been there before, but this was interesting because it was so packed for festival time, and there was a kind of car and motorcycle rally going around waving flags and shouting, and groups of people in traditional costume.
Next we took a bus to the village of Kirtipur, on a hill on the outskirts of Kathmandu. There is an old stuppa there, dating to the 1500's. There is also a couple of temples, with a fantastic view over the city.
Things were really festive in Kirtipur. Just about every block had a mandala done in colours on the road.
Everyone was outside, and tons of people were driving around, shouting, banging cymbals, etc.
It is also a time for the men to get together and gamble.
We took the bus back to the house, and got there by about 4:00 pm. Sarita said to be in the kitchen early for dinner, as there was going to be a ceremony for festival that we would all participate in. When I entered the kitchen, I found every sitting place decorated with a design on the ground in front of it, with and arrangement of fruit, flowers, nuts, and candles. Quite a sight. We had to sit in order by age, men on one side, women on the other. Then Sarita's sister came around to each person, put the red dot on the forehead. We were then given a handfull of flowers and grain to hold in our hand. For each person, she lifted all the fruit on the ground in front of them. The person put handfull of flowers and grain over it, and then took the fruit in their hands and lifted it to their head saying 'namaste'. Then each person got an egg to eat, and spoonful of rice and yogurt to eat from their hand. Finally, the plates were passed around and there was a dinner of rice and couple of different types of masalas. What an amazing thing to experience!
On this trip I've seen so much, and this was a really special end to it. I felt very priviledged and grateful to have experienced everything. However, the trip was over. About half an hour after dinner, I got my bags, said the good-byes, and got a cab for the airport.
Again, we had the adventure of travel by bus.
First, we went to Swayambhunath, a large complex of Buddhist temples and stuppas, also know as the Monkey temple because of the large number of monkeys there.
Next we packed into a small bus and drove the Kathmandu's Durbar square. I'd been there before, but this was interesting because it was so packed for festival time, and there was a kind of car and motorcycle rally going around waving flags and shouting, and groups of people in traditional costume.
Next we took a bus to the village of Kirtipur, on a hill on the outskirts of Kathmandu. There is an old stuppa there, dating to the 1500's. There is also a couple of temples, with a fantastic view over the city.
Things were really festive in Kirtipur. Just about every block had a mandala done in colours on the road.
Everyone was outside, and tons of people were driving around, shouting, banging cymbals, etc.
It is also a time for the men to get together and gamble.
We took the bus back to the house, and got there by about 4:00 pm. Sarita said to be in the kitchen early for dinner, as there was going to be a ceremony for festival that we would all participate in. When I entered the kitchen, I found every sitting place decorated with a design on the ground in front of it, with and arrangement of fruit, flowers, nuts, and candles. Quite a sight. We had to sit in order by age, men on one side, women on the other. Then Sarita's sister came around to each person, put the red dot on the forehead. We were then given a handfull of flowers and grain to hold in our hand. For each person, she lifted all the fruit on the ground in front of them. The person put handfull of flowers and grain over it, and then took the fruit in their hands and lifted it to their head saying 'namaste'. Then each person got an egg to eat, and spoonful of rice and yogurt to eat from their hand. Finally, the plates were passed around and there was a dinner of rice and couple of different types of masalas. What an amazing thing to experience!
On this trip I've seen so much, and this was a really special end to it. I felt very priviledged and grateful to have experienced everything. However, the trip was over. About half an hour after dinner, I got my bags, said the good-byes, and got a cab for the airport.
No comments:
Post a Comment