So little to do, so much time. Strike that, reverse it.
My last few days in Nepal are going faster than two cheese coneys in the hands of a fat man. Got back from trekking, went to Lumbini, and now its Dipawali (or Diwali) (or Tihar) and the city is going crazy! But [...]
As promised here are my pics from Kathmandu Durbar Square. I visited there awhile back, but failed to post anything. This was right before my visit to Pokhara, however, so it was a busy few weeks. Better late than never!
We started at the Kumari Ghar where the Kumari Living Goddess lives. [...]
Pashupati Temple (temple for Shiva) is one of the most sacred places for Hindus in Nepal and throughout the world. This is the main temple in Kathmandu, and its where the dead are cremated on the side of the sacred Bagmati River. It was built around 400 AD. I was not allowed [...]
Budhanilkantha. Say that three times fast!
This 20 foot long, 1300 year old incarnation of Vishnu is nestled in the foothills of Shivapuri on the northern edge of Kathmandu is the Sleeping Vishnu. He’ll awake again at the end of the rainy season.
He appears to be floating in a pond [...]
At the Bhoto Jatra festival (see my last post) I was lucky enough to see the Royal Kumari, or living goddess, although I use the work “lucky” with a slight cringe.
There are many Kumaris found in India and Nepal, but the most famous one is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu. She is a young [...]
Every year in Lalitpur, the Newari people build a giant chariot for the Rato Machhindranath and parade it through the city for a month. At the end of the procession, they hold the Bhoto Jatra festival.
The Rato Macchindranath is the god of rain (rato meaning “red”, macchindra meaning something like “fish”, and [...]
I visited Old Dhaka to check out some of the more historical sites. Old Dhaka reminds me a lot of Kathmandu, especially the Thamel area. Tight streets lined with small shops covering everything from clothes to brooms to cement coloring. Rickshaws are the mode of transportation of choice in this area. [...]
Yesterday at 9:15 a bomb detonated in a local Catholic church. Two people were killed, one of which was only 15 years old. Fifteen others were injured, some very seriously. The bomb was detonated by a Hindu extremist group. This is the first (and pray last) time a church has ever [...]
Today my friend P.J. and I headed over to Swayambhu Stupa. It is also referred to as the “Monkey Temple” because of the monkeys that play and relax around the stupa. It sits atop a hill overlooking all the Kathmandu valley and has possibly been a religious site since around 460 A.D. [...]
Baseball! Tomorrow the season begins at 1:10. The Reds take on Santana and the Mets. Its gonna be good. Unfortunately I won’t be there. I had tickets last year, but I ended up in Guatemala instead. It was a fair trade.
Baseball was even spoken about today in church. [...]
