Yet another day of uninterrupted
sunshine - unbelievable! Half of the
group met up at 09.00 for a tour with a guide of three interesting
areas of Kathmandu: Patan, Pashupatinath and Boudhanath. What a
contrast to trekking through wild and barely habited countryside! Here
we were being shepherded by mini-bus around the busy streets of
Kathmandu, with brief tours (along with hundreds of other tourists) at
each venue. I tired very quickly, and had difficulty concentrating on
the sights. What follows is a brief photo tour of what we saw!
Patan: once capital of an independent kingdom and now a distinct part
of Kathmandu. We visited the centre, the Durbar Square with its
collection of Royal palaces. Wonderful intricate carvings, pigeons,
bustling temples, more motor-bikes.
|
Yoganarendra Malla pillar
|
|
Janet, Tish, George and Keith in Patan Durbar Square
|
|
Alternative transport in Patan
|
|
After visiting Patan it was back
in the bus and on to the Hindu pilgrimage site of Pashupatinath.
This collection of temples is heavily visited by tourists mainly to
gawp at the ghats overlooking the river where funeral pyres are
burning. I remember it for the monkeys scrambling through the site, and
the children sieving the river bed looking for valuables which have
come from the remains of the pyres which are tipped into the river.
|
Pashupatinath: funeral pyres
|
|
|
|
After a short mini-bus ride we
were deposited at Boudhanath, the site
of one of the world's largest stupas. Before we looked around it we had
a much need break for lunch in a restaurant overlooking the stupa.
While we munched there was much activity of the stupa - the eyes were
being repainted and down below flowers were being arranged ready for a
festival. |
|
|
Features on Boudhanath stupa
|
|
Tuesday 10 November - departure
|
|
|
Yes, the end had to come at some
point, so it was off to the airport and away - but it was not our last
sight of the Himalayas as the visibility was excellent, and sitting
beside me I had John who was familiar enough with the mountains to
point out the main features of the Annapurna range before it slowly
disappeared out of sight......
|
|
|
Back
to
top
|
To previous
log
|
To
summary table
|