Kathmandu

 


August 26-28

We arrived in Kathmandu late in the evening of the 26th and were greeted at the airport by Ngima’s family.  Phunuru on the far right is getting to be well known in the mountaineering world and we’ve climbed with him a couple of times in the past.  It’s been three years since my last visit and was good to see everyone again.

Our first full day in Kathmandu was focused on relaxing and recovering from jetlag.  There are nine members of the overall team that I arranged, and this was the first time that we were all together.  An hour or less after introductions were made, it became clear that everyone was compatible.  Personally, I’m happy to be able to bring so many friends together for such a great experience.  It’s rewarding to see things through the eyes of people experiencing Kathmandu for the first time. 

We all went out in the afternoon for a walkabout mostly to see the great Boudhanath Stupa.  This is one of the largest Stupas in the world and only a 10-minute walk from the hotel.  The massive spherical Stupa is a Buddhist temple and is a World Heritage Site.  People come from all over the world to visit and worship here so we felt privileged to be so close for a visit.  The tradition is to walk around clockwise so when in Kathmandu…. 

Back at the hotel and feeling good about being outside walking today after so much travel, we had a great visit in the lobby bar. 

Saturday evening, we had a nice dinner with Ngima’s extended family.  Climbing is important to this family and the people represented here have achieved many successful summits of the world’s highest peaks.  It was a lively time and lasted until we all began to fade.  A birthday cake was even arranged with the restaurant to celebrate my 56th year.  Really a great visit with lots of story telling.

Walking back to the hotel, I almost had the feeling that Boudhanath was keeping watch over us. 

Sunday started out with some Yoga Vibes (on-line yoga classes) in a little room we found down at the spa/fitness center.  It’ll take a few more sessions to work out the kinks but Kriss and I are feeling a bit better now and head off to breakfast. 

On Sunday, our group of 9 took a sightseeing tour of Kathmandu.  First stop was Shree Pashupatinath, which is the oldest Hindu temple complex in Nepal.  Only Hindus are allowed to enter the temple proper but we could look on from outside the gates and across the Bagmati River.  Within the grounds lay temples, monuments and other religious structures.  The most interesting and somber part for us was the cremations that were taking place down at the river.  Traditionally, male family and friends take the body to the river, prepare it for cremation in one location then transport it a little further down to the cremation pyre sites where a caretaker performs the cremation.  

The next stop was Hanuman-Dhoka in Kathmandu Durbar Square which is the 17th century historical site of royal palace for the Shah Dynasty and the Malla kings.  Many of the historical structures were severely damaged during the 2015 earthquake but most have been rebuilt already and the restorations continue for the rest.  

The last stop was at Swayambhunath which is also called the Monkey Temple because so many monkeys live on the grounds.   This historical religious site is important to both Hindus and Buddhists and contains many temple buildings, Stupas and other religious structures.  In the country of Nepal, religion is a big part of their daily lives with about 80% of the citizens being Hindu, 15% Buddhist and 5% Muslim.  

It was a great day and a good way to spend time together as a team.  Tomorrow we will be sorting gear and getting ready to move off into the mountains for the start of our trek.

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