Right after the
durbar square, we went to visit a Tibetan buddhist stupa. This is one of the structures that we can immediately identify from an airplane is the buddhist stupa, Boudhanath. The square (or actually circle) surrounding the stupa is filled with souvenir shops selling Tibetan trinkets. Most restaurants and cafes operate the top floors so that tourists can enjoy the nice weather while having their coffee and viewing the magnificent stupa.
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| Boudhanath, it is shaped like a lotus flower when viewed from the top. |
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| Boudhanath, a panoramic view courtesy of a travelmate's camera. |
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| Tourists can climb up the stupa and walk around it. A very unique experience. |
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| Where there are temples, there are pigeons. Legions of them. |
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| Momo, traditional Nepali food. |
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| Thukpa, originated from Tibet, now part of Nepali cuisine. |
After lunch, we made our way to Pashupatinath. It is a very important location for Hindus because this is where they cremate the dead. Entrance fee is NR 1000, which is quite substantial but I do recommend it if you have a lot of time to spend and its your first time to Nepal. The money does go to supporting the life of the elderly that are unfortunate enough to not have any close relatives to care for them.
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| View of Pashupatinath on top of a nearby hill. |
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| White stupas across the river overlooking cremation sites. |
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| Red face macaques are aplenty there. |
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| One cremation site is actively being used. It's my first time seeing this. |
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| The main temple only Hindus can enter. I think the guide told us that this is where the final ceremony is being held before they cremate the dead. |
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| Stupas with many male-female force symbols, or Siva symbols. |
We went back to our hotel in the Thamel district. Some of us bought some needed hiking gear and I got myself a nice headlight for the early morning trek up Poonhill. Equipment sold here is cheaper than what we could have got back home in Malaysia.
Next:
http://physikality.blogspot.com/2014/03/day-3-long-bus-ride-and-pokhara.html
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