DAY 151 - KATHMANDU

151) FRIDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 1977 : 0KMS. - KATHMANDU
 

Today, many people came to the temple along with their incense-sticks, candles as well as many articles and  food containers  (full of food). I understood that they came to make merit in offering food to the monks at the temple. I walked up to see the ritual ceremony, similar to ritual sacrifice, a non-Buddhist ritual but rather Buddhist mixed with Hindu or Brahmin. A ceremony conductor chanted while moving his hands in various forms and movements.  I  tried to interpret hand signals but I could not understand at all.

 

Oil candles, Swayambhunath - Photo : viajar-a.net / Bing images search

There were tiny oil lamps, in which cotton wicks were dipped in oil and lit up, being  placed in rows. I saw rice bowls filled with rice grains for scattering as well as  offering to the monks.  I did not see people offering ready meals to the monks like in Thailand (it might be done inside the building but I could not see as I did not enter inside).  Casting the Vajara  scepter, bell ringing and scattering of flowers around the ceremony seats were performed during the ceremony. What I have seen today should be the ritual practices of Watcharayan sect of  Buddhism (of Nepal and Tibet), worshiping  the Buddha  as a god  with a focus on individual rather than his preaching.

 

DAY 150- KATHMANDU

150) THURSDAY, 24 NOVEMBER 1977: 0KMS. - KATHMANDU
 
 

I walked up to pay homage to the stupa of Swayambhunath.  It is believed  to be about 2,000 years old.  At the base of the top part of the stupa, one pair of eyes were painted on four directions. Around the stupa there are  Buddha images in four different postures, one in each direction.  The Vairochana Buddha image is in the east. On the right of Buddha of the east, there is the Lama temple near the stupa. The Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are herds of monkey living around the area.  I do not hate monkeys so much as being  afraid of them.  We must be careful when walking around.

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In the evening, I  looked to the east seeing  the Himalayas far away on the horizon (I thought the Everest summit was included, but the people there told us differently), reflected with the sunlight in pink and red. As it was close to the full moon, we could  see the moon rising from the mountains. It was getting late in the evening and the sky became  blue and red. It was like a  beautiful  painting !

 
 

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In front of us, I saw a mother  monkey and its baby sitting  with their backs to us, they were  looking towards the moon. It seemed they were appreciating the beauty of the evening.   

 

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Suddenly  I felt homesick and would  love to fly back home immediately.  I stood watching the moon rise till late. It became windy, with the touch of the cold wind  I had to walk back downhill to the parking area below.

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