After returning from the trip and eating breakfast, we were on the road for a day packed with sightseeing and shopping. We popped some tags and now have $0 in our pockets.
We started sightseeing in old Kathmandu which houses the former palace of the king and was the site of one of the original 3 kingdoms of Nepal (you might remember that we visited one of the other former kingdoms yesterday). For those of you who are Game of Thrones fans, the king's throne might not be as menacing as the Iron Throne, but it looks a ton more comfortable and we would love it to replace our office chairs. Unfortunately, it is behind glass and declaring it through customs might prove difficult. The area is also surrounded with amazing temples. It seems like every corner we turn down in Kathmandu, we are smack in the middle of another ornate, old, beautiful temple with fascinating architecture.
Old Kathmandu
One temple we visited was the "house of the living goddess." This is a temple devoted to the worship of the goddess of power, and a young girl is selected to actually embody this goddess and live in the temple until she reaches puberty. The chosen girl needs to be from a specific ancient family in Kathmandu. She then lives in the temple where she is looked after by the family at the temple and her parents can visit but not stay over. She is homeschooled as she cannot leave the home and eats all meals except breakfast by herself. Nepalese folks can visit her to get blessings, but foreigners cannot although they may see her if she comes to her window. In those cases, she is not permitted to speak to the foreigners or smile so she can come across as looking quite sad even though she may be very happy. Once she hits puberty, she leaves the temple to resume a normal life and a new goddess is chosen. If you are interested in learning more about the practice and the life of a former goddess, check out the book titled "From Goddess to Mortal."
We were very lucky in that our guide was able to request that the living goddess come to the window during our visit and we were able to see her for a few seconds, although we were not permitted to take pictures. This was really special and Prashant remarked how he had only seen her one other time in his life.
In walking through Old Kathmandu, we also passed through the market which is housed on the busiest street in the city. We passed tons of stalls, many with copper pots and pans adorning the street. We also passed through the glass bead market where married women purchase the beads that only they are permitted to wear and where beads are purchased for brides. As you can imagine, the stalls were quite colorful.
Bead market
Our next stop was Swayanbhunath which is an ancient Buddhist stupa/temple that is over 2000 years old. Tomorrow is Buddha's birthday, so there are beautiful multi-colored flags throughout the city and at the temples in particular. It takes 400 steps to get to the temple, but luckily; we took a shortcut and didn't have to climb them all. The temple has an amazing view of the valley and city below - which you would hope it would after 400 steps! This temple is also known as the "monkey temple" because of the monkeys that live there and roam the grounds. We were not disappointed and saw a handful of monkeys during our visit.
Our final stop was Patan, which is the final former kingdom of Nepal. For whatever reason, wherever we go, we get to hang out with a group of excited school children. Today was no exception and we took pictures and had high fives with a huge group of kids in Patan. Kyle got them all to do the wave and our signature "Yaaaaaaay!" Which has become the phrase of our trip. Jenny almost got swallowed whole by a group of kids who were so excited to take a picture with her.
In Patan, were able to visit the former palace, as well as a number of other temples including a beautiful, golden Buddhist temple which was the favorite of several members of our group. This temple has special monks that oversee it, and much like the living goddess temple, it is an honor to be selected and a rotating position. Two monks, one under age 12 and one adult are selected each month to run the temple. During this month, they can only eat one meal a day and must wear the same set of robes the who.e time. We actually saw the 2 monks playing a game in an area of the temple and they told us they had been there for 2 weeks. Their formally white robes were already a light shade of brown.
After the temple, we went to a free trade marketplace where we learned about healing bowls and their powers for meditation, relaxation, and physical therapy. We each felt the vibrations of the bowls after they we hit with mallets and even had the opportunity to stand in a large bowl, and/or place the bowl on our heads and backs. There is definitely power in those vibrations and each of us felt a wave of relaxation after our healing treatments. Sugath's eyes may have even rolled back in his head at one point.
Healing bowls
We bought a lot of great gifts at this and another free trade location, where the goods were handmade by local villagers and the profits are returned to them. The best news is that many of us bought items to bring back to our offices where we will be auctioning off the goods for PLAN as part of International PLAN month. So, for those of you who weren't able to join us, you will still be able to take a piece of Nepal home for yourself or as gifts for friends and family. So, be on the lookout for more information as we return.
After an exhausting day, we are now on our way to our last dinner at a local, Nepalese restaurant. It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day and that most of us will be heading to the airport. We will make sure to have at least one last post for you before we go, though.
The quadruple power chug!
No comments:
Post a Comment