Goodbye Nepal

June 11, 2014

Our final few days in Kathmandu was a race to try and fit everything in that we wanted to see and do.  We failed, but that’s alright as it just means we will have to come back.  And in the mean time, we had a hectic and fun dash around the city every day!

Jen and I signed up for a veg momo class!  

Veg momos are little dumplings - a flour and water dough filled with finely diced vegis and herbs then steamed to perfection!

The best part is you can stuff with them anything you want - mmm… chocolate apple momos!

We made our way to Swayambhunath, or the Monkey Temple as it is commonly called.  I think it should be called butt blaster temple for obvious reasons.

The views of Kathmandu are amazing from the top of this ancient religious complex, which is considered the 2nd most sacred site in Tibetan Buddhism.

The complex has a library, museum, monastery and this giant stupa with prayer wheels around it - and it is mix of Hindu and Buddhism, as seems to be the norm here in Nepal. 

This Hindu goddess is still covered in Holi paint from my 30th birthday! Ha!

As you can see, it’s really more locals than tourists that come here to spin the prayer wheels.

We also visited Pashupatinath Temple, a UNESCO Hindu temple complex.  Cows roam freely here and people actually feed them - it’s the opposite of a slaughter house!  Love it!

The burning ghats - for cremations - are found here along the sacred Bagmati River.  Death is handled very differently here.

A body takes 4 hours to burn . . .

The temple dates back to 400 AD, and is 1 of 275 Holy Abodes of Lord Shiva.

Neon colors are in again with Sadhu’s - Hindi holy men.

Our last stop in Kathmandu was Boudhanath Stupa - an UNESCO heritage site, the largest stupa in Nepal and the number one Tibetan Buddhist pilgrimage site.

Those are the prayer wheels around the stupa, with locals making their prayer rounds.  The stupa is inside the wall on the right - just so you can see how big it is!

This monk is doing prostrations, the religious burpee - three steps forward then completely flat on the ground.  This monk is just doing 400 meters or so . . . some monks do prostrations for 100’s of kilometers on pilgrimages.