Today was out day off, and we hired a taxi to take us to Pashpatinath , bouddanath and back here. Pashpatinath is a vey important Hindy temple in Nepal. It is really large, and sits on the bank of the Bagmati river, tributary of the Ganges, and therefore an auspicious site to be cremated. The temple site was surrounded by many many kiosks selling necklaces, brightly coloured powder for foreheads and for the small Hindu shrines. There are beggars, some of them with leprosy, mostly dressed as Saddhus, or holy men. You have to be careful of someone striking up a friendly conversation because they want to turn into your tour guide and be paid for the service. Non Hindus are not allowed in the temple, and we spent a lot of time on the terraces across the river from the temple. While we were there two bodies arrived for cremation. There ws a troop of monkeys scamper o the rooftops of the temples, and we wandered around some of the buildings, where some of the Saddhus lived in tiny little compartments.
In Boudanath is a very important Buddhist stupa, or temple. The stupa is surrounded by buildings and a town populated mostly by Tibetans who left their country when the Chinese arrived. They have prospered here and the whole area is very wealthy looking. It is clean, the buildings are well kept, and there are many many stores selling things of interest to Tibetans. It was really awesome seeing the prayer flags waving in the breeze from the giant stupa, and its eye peering down at everyone below.
Back to work tomorrow!
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