Temple Visits: Pashupatinath + Boudhanath + Swayambunath
Everything though is cheap here, so even with my breakfast I tend to splurge and order more than I could take (with all the extra side dishes)! And of course, my never-ending pots of Nepalese tea!
The next major agenda in my Kathmandu itinerary is visiting the 3 temples in and around the city --- Pashupatinath, Boudhanath, and Swayambunath. I am into my temple fix once again….
I went first to my favorite shawl shop to get my daily shawl change, this time in PINK! Hahahaha it will clash with my avocado-green harem pants! Colour blocking eh??? I will definitely glow in the dark now! Lol
I took a taxi to the temple as it is a bit out of town. Pashupatinath is the most important Hindu temple in KTM hence the place has a party atmosphere with lots of people milling around. First impression though, it seems like a marketplace full of vendors selling religious items and colorful beads and is located next to a very polluted but sacred Bagmati River.
Once you get through the horde of people and animals (the cows are everywhere, resting, walking, sleeping....) you can really feel the holiness and its importance in the lives or deaths of the Nepali Hindus.
The best I can get is to go up and try to take some overhead shots of the roofs. Although after a while, the whole scene became more surreally beautiful with smoke floating into the air coming from the ghats and pilgrims burning incense in the temple. The sun was hidden by the clouds creating a dark panorama of shadows hovering over the temple complex. It seems apt for this place of sorrows.
I went over to the cremation ghats and it’s like a Nepalese version of Varanasi. The place is frenetically alive, some are burning their dead, there are others also washing their hands and feet in the murky water. Uggghhh! Tradition or not, I’d surely die from the toxic germs in the water!
I know it’s very intrusive, especially as this is a place of grief and sadness, but as a tourist I still kept on clicking my camera. This is something new for me, an education, a learning experience. The funeral of the royal family members who were massacred in 2001 took place here in Pashupatinath also.
After crossing the bridge, I saw some sadhus sitting and when one smiled at me…..now is my chance! Hahaha so I asked if I can sit with them…..well, with my uncombed hair, para na rin akong relative ng mga sadhus!
Sadhus are holy men who have renounced material wealth and wanders around seeking enlightenment, mostly lives in forests, caves, and temples. Around Pashupatinath are some enterprising sadhus, you can give them tips when you have your photo taken(?). Although how can they completely cut off their ties to the world of man (and its earthly attachments) if they accept the tips......
On the upper levels surrounding the cremation area near the Bagmati River are uniformly placed small temples with lingams inside. Lingams are representations of the Hindu deity, Shiva, and are used for worship in temples. It is characterized by a phallic structure, a symbol of male creative energy. These small lingam temples are also normally used by sadhus as temporary shelters or meditation areas.
Hindus are really very strict. Most of their temples are off-limits to non-Hindus. I wandered off to the one at the bottom of the steps and they did not stop me coz they thought I am Nepali! Lol but they shooed me away when they saw my enquiring look and wandering eye tapos complete with a camera pa! Hahahaha
Farther beyond the cremation ghats, there are more beautifully laid out lingams, shrines, and temples that gives you a glimpse of what it might have looked a few hundred years ago with worshippers offering sacrifices in these temples.
What was supposed to be a short 20-30 minutes walk to Boudhanath became an hour as I keep on stopping off on the way and asking for directions.
I don’t know why coming back to KTM seems longer this time or maybe there just seems to be too many roadblocks around. We had to go around tiny alleys just to get into Thamel area. We even had to be turned away by the police numerous times!
And then the shouts came, some gangs of college students (youth wing of a political party) are on strike due to the death of Congress member in jail. Brandishing flags and wood planks, they were shouting in the streets and most likely mouthing off generic down with the government rhetoric. But what amazed me was, just with the noises and konting pasigaw-sigaw mega sarado na agad ang mga tindahan!
I was so pissed off coz while I was shopping in one of the shops in Thamel, when the shouting protesters came marching down the owner scrambled to close down his shop coz he was scared that the hooligans will smash his things if he doesn’t. How can this group of thugs paralyze the entire place! The police just stood by and watched while they scare the shop owners.
And to top it all off, the streets are without lights on the way to my hotel so I had to rely on incoming cars headlights to light my way!
No traffic lights
No street lamps
Frequent blackouts
Unpaved roads
These are just some of the problems in KTM! They should ask their government for these things and not rally about some outdated political ideologies!
Swayambunath
The following day, I left my hotel early coz I wanted to just walk to Swayambunath. From the map, it looked really near so I left the hotel without breakfast thinking that i'd get to the place in less than 20minutes but the fastest I can manage is around 35minutes! Oh, those old creaky bones again..... lol
The road is slightly uphill, you can really see a bird's eye view of the city of Kathmandu. Square and tall, multi-coloured houses perennially shrouded in either mist or fog.
At first, I got lost a few times and had to ask directions a couple of times but I knew that I'm nearing the temple when I saw shops selling prayer beads like these....
Swayambunath plays a very important role in the spiritual lives of Buddhist Nepalis and is the next most important temple after Boudhanath for the Buddhist Tibetans. This is also one of the oldest religious temples in Nepal (in a place where everything seems old and preserved, this is definitely ancient!) and is believed to be founded during the reign of King Vrsadeva around 5th century CE.
The golden gate at the temple entrance serves as an attractive gateway for worshipers. The lower ground area is a bit unexciting. Prayer wheels greets you once you enter the gate and after that it is like a bland park full of colorful Buddha figures scattered all over the place.
I took the eastern stairway approach (you have to pay 200NPR, or was it 100NPR for entry if you are a foreigner) which is by far more interesting, though the very steep stairway leading up to the temple complex can be a problem. Especially when you are halfway through the steps, its really steep. I felt a gravitational pull dragging me back.....or was it just my imagination?? hehehe
The climb up though is punctuated with colorful Buddha figures and cheeky monkeys climbing up and down on the handrails. Just keep on looking up at the Golden stupa which is glistening from the top of the steps.
The Swayambunath stupa acts like a guardian of the Kathmandu valley with its golden spire and gleaming white dome beaconing from a distance. The four faces of the Buddha facing all four directions seems to loom over the valley making people feel that there are eyes looking over you.
At the temple grounds, the space is congested with small stupa-like monuments with the cheeky monkeys also fighting for space and food crumbs! Pilgrims walk through the base of the stupa, surrounded by prayer wheels and Buddha statues and other deities.
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