5th May - Explore Kathmandu by Bike

I needed to get out of Thamel today before my head exploded. I have been on the go for the last few months all the time - seeing loads of new things and everything changing all the time. It has been lovely to relax for a while and reduce the pace but I am bored in the same place now. Thamel is crowded and dark because the streets are really narrow and the buildings tall. We have been staying in the same square mile for days now (well ish) and I needed to explore the rest of the city and the major sites. No one else wanted to come with me and so I went on my own. I also needed to test out my bike after it has been tuned.

I spent the morning trying to update my blog and then by the time I had picked up my bike and faffed it was 2 before I left.

Boudnath:

It took me much longer than it should have done to get through navigate and the traffic and cross the city to the Boudnath. I stopped off at a little Stupas on the way and took photos of my lovely clean bike. It is working better than ever before. They have done the best job ever of tuning it. I am really happy.

I was not sure what a Stupa actually was and so I looked it up. Wikipedia says:

The stupa is the latest Buddhist religious monument and was originally only a simple mound of mud or clay to cover supposed relics of the Buddha (cetiya). After the parinirvana of the Buddha, his remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under eight stupas with two further stupas encasing the urn and the embers. Little is known about these early stupas, particularly since it has not been possible to identify the original ten monuments. However, some later stupas, such as at Sarnath and Sanchi, seem to be embellishments of earlier mounds.

In the third century BC, after his conversion to Buddhism, the emperor Asoka had the original stupas opened and the remains distributed among the several thousand stupas he had built. Nevertheless, the stupas at the eight places associated with the life of the Buddha continued to be of particular importance. Accordingly, the importance of a stupa changed from being a funerary monument to being an object of veneration. As a consequence their appearance changed also.

It was lovely and sunny on the way there. I had to find somewhere to leave my bike safely while I popped to see the Boudnath and so I had a snack in a local restaurant. During the 15mins that I was there the weather turned and thunderclouds moved in. I really should have sent off much earlier but I have not got used to the strange weather yet. It meant that the atmosphere was really cool when I arrived at the Boudnath. Half the sky was bright blue and the other half black.
The Boudnath was really huge. I was surprised by the size of the site. Again, other people are better at describing the history and importance of these sorts of sites so I will not try. This is what Wikipedia has to say (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudhanath):

Boudhanath is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is known as Khāsti by Newars as Bauddha or Bodh-nāth by modern speakers of Nepali. Located about 11 km (7 miles) from the center and northeastern outskirts of Kathmandu, the stupa's massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal.

The Buddhist stupa of Boudhanath dominates the skyline. The ancient Stupa is one of the largest in the world. The influx of large populations of Tibetan refugees from China has seen the construction of over 50 Tibetan Gompas (Monasteries) around Boudhanath. As of 1979, Boudhanath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Along with Swayambhunath, it is one of the most popular tourist sites in the Kathmandu area.

I was halfway round when the storm arrived. It really does rain hard when it rains here. Everyone knows that it will pass in 30mins and so most people just shelter inside until it passes. I waited in a shop with a couple of buddist monks and some locals. It was great to watch the storm. Very atmospheric. The Stupa almost looked angry about the storm. The eyes are really haunting.







I love this sign outside of the temple. It suggests: "Do not Enter Animals"! Good advice everyone :-)




Patan Dunbar Square:

I gave up waiting after a while and just decided to get wet and head to the next place, hoping that the rains would stop by the time I got there. Unfortunately, I was right. The Bauddha is on the Western side of Kathmandu and I then head to the Southern side to Patan Dunbar Square. This is where Johnnie and I should have met Liam, Ang and Emma a couple of days ago. We had gone to Kathmandu Dunbar Square instead, which is only just a couple of kms South of Thamel.
The Dunbar Squares are actually very similar with Chinese influenced architecture. There were less tourists (and therefore less touts) in Patan however. I love these Nepalese hats that many of the locals wear. It was lovely watch this group of 40 or so men just sitting, laughing and chatting at the square.




Swayambhunath:

From Patan, I then headed to the East of Kathmandu to the Swayambhunath (otherwise known as the Monkey Temple to tourists). This is a stupa on the top of a hill over looking Kathmandu. It took a while to get there through all the crowds. The views on the way were quite good over Kathmandu Valley. I decided not to pay the 250RS to get in as I thought that Johnnie might like to go tomorrow morning and see it with me and I did not want to pay twice. I headed back to Thamel then having had a good explore of the city. I felt much happier to have got a feel for the place and learn my way around. I don't like not having a feel for my surroundings and just being in the middle of a city. I can handle cities for a few days but after than I need to get out!





The bike route:

There are loads of women and men carrying loads like this everywhere. I am sure the wheel was invented several years ago.....




It took me a while to get back to Thamel as I was trying to cycle through little back lanes that were very busy. I took this photo to show what it is like.... Like trying to walk through Oxford, UK the Saturday before Christmas.




The pollution in Kathmandu is really bad. This is the rubbish in the river. The water is definitely not drinkable. Even all of the locals drink filtered water (unlike India). However, the streets are much cleaner and there is not the stench of sewage so often walking round the city as there is in India. I really regretting not getting a face mask as many of the locals do. The pollution is really not helping my sore throat and cold.




Back to Thamel:

As it would be my last night in Thamel (and because I was bored of eating at the same place all the time) we went out to a different restaurant for dinner: Funky Buddha. We had a really lovely meal. I had Thai Beef Salad and some chocolate cookies for pud. Lovely meal.