DAY 149 - KATHMANDU

149) WEDNESDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 1977 : 0KMS. - KATHMANDU

 

We went to apply for entry visa at the Indian Consulate for our visit to DARJEELING, a special restricted area of India.  We had to wait for five days to get our passports  back.

In the afternoon we drove to visit PATAN (about 5 kms. away from KATHMANDU. It is an old city and the appearance of Durba Square (Palace Square) looks  almost the same as in KATHMANDU but it is more beautiful and not so deteriorating  like the one in KATHMANDU.   Unfortunately, the beautiful carved wooden pagoda and these old palaces were abandoned to a poor state.  I was amazed  and admired  the skill and efforts of older generations, seeing  such carved patterns  in the construction of these beautiful creations.  

Until present, I still see traces of the splendor of traditional art. They were neglected and  did not get enough attention, either because of lacking of money, etc. So it has been left  to decay over the time. The younger generations will  have no chance of seeing the genuine works but only pictures of them.  It made me thinking of the collapse of Pra Tat Phanom (in Thailand) many years ago.

PATAN was founded in the reign of King VERA DEVA in 298 A.D., with its original name of  LALITPUR.  In addition to the pagoda and the temple of the Hindu religion, there is also a Buddhist pagoda too. 

 SWAYAMBHUNATH - Photo : wikipedia.org / Google images search

We left  PATAN  almost dark and  drove  through KATHMANDU to the parking area the main entrance to the stupa of Swayambhunath,  located on a small hill.  It is an ideal place and very quiet. Fortunately, it was not  forbidden to park in the area and no one chased us away. 

DAY 148 - KATHMANDU

148) TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 1977: 48KMS. - KATHMANDU

 

We drove along the hillside and across the mountains down to the valley until we approached KATHMANDU (still  situated  above the sea level at 1,350 m.).  KATHMANDU formerly  known as KANTIPUR was founded in 723 by King Gunakama Deva. The name KATHMANDU originated from a nearby pagoda Kasthmandap near Darba Square, which is believed to have been built from the wood of a single tree. Bagmati is the name of the river that flows through the city of  KATHMANDU.

 

KATHMANDU Valley - Photo : wikipedia.org / Bing images search

 

The interesting sight to view in KATHMANDU would include the Durbar Square with wooden pagodas, carved into various Hindu gods and the old palace.  The pagodas look like Chinese style pavilion with patterns and stripes mixed with the vines, dragons and gods.  Some of the  pagodas having awnings supported by  certain props, like those of  Thai traditional houses. These wooden props were carved in remarkable erotic designs  of both humans and animals in  different  manners  so blatantly.

 

Durbar Square, KATHMANDU - Photo : wikipedia.org / Bing images search

Durba Square - Photo : wellnepaltravel.com / Bing images search

  

There is also a statue of Kali Bhairava (Kal Bhairan) - God of Destruction (Giants), painted mostly in black and red.

Inside of some of the Nepalese (or Chinese) style pavilions there were statues of Shiva or lingam located in the middle of the Yoni base. It is the worship sign of the Hindu religion. 

Kali Bhairava - Photo : bilder-aus-nepal.de / Bing images search

 

DAY 147 - NAUBISE

147) MONDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 197 : 158KMS. - NAUBISE
 
Leaving  POKHARA  on the way to KATHMANDU today, we drove through the valley  along the road flanked by the abyss and river.  

http://munichtomadras1977.blogspot.com

 

We enjoyed  the visible view of  the Annapurna peak in the long Himalayan mountain range covered with snow in the distance.  In the evening before the sun goes down, it turned to a  beautiful golden peak.  We parked  overnight  on the roadside  about 45 kms. before  the city of KATHMANDU.

 

 

Photo : tripadvisor.co.uk / Google images search

DAY 146 - POKHARA

146) SUNDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 1977 : 0KMS. - POKHARA

 
 

I could feel the cold weather and wind at dawn that woke us up to watch the sunrise.  When I firstly looked to the Himalayas, they were covered by the clouds on the eastern hills with low visibility ahead. The valley below was also filled with the clouds,  like a silvery sea when exposed to the sunlight . But it was still dark under the clouds and those clouds of dense fog would slowly rise and disappear.

Annapurna range - Photo : mountainmusicproject.blogspot.com / Google images search

 


There were still thick clouds on the mountains. I could not see anything but had to wait until around 10:00 a.m.,  when we could see  the Machapuchare  peak (6,993 m.) of  the Annapurna Himal (8,091 m.) and some of the nearby peaks.  We intended  to wait until the sky was clear with no clouds but it would probably take us all day.  Approximately at  noon, we slowly walked down from  the Sarankot. I did not  feel  tired and came down faster than walking uphill.  It was about 2.00 p.m. when we arrived at the foothill below.

Machapuchare (Fishtail) - Photo : wikipedia.org /Bing images search