Near Swayambhu (Monkey Temple)
Its hard to believe it but today is the last day of our stay in Nepal. It has been a great experience and we both have learned so much but we are ready to go home. Because our flight is scheduled to leave at 11:00 PM, we decided to go see Swayambhu, nicknamed the Monkey Temple by tourists. Swayambhu is another famous stupa in Nepal and is always a busy place with tourists, locals, street dogs, and of course monkeys. For the most part this site is intact after the earthquake except for a few smaller buildings around the main stupa. The atmosphere around the stupa was interesting because of the dichotomoy of people worshipping and the vendors pushing their wares on tourists. The vendor stands are right next to the small shrines where people are praying and making offerings. The close proximity of the vendors kind of took away from the ambiance of this sacred site. It was challenging to take a picture of the site without the encroachment of vendors repeatedly asking you to buy the same trinkets we had seen throughout our entire journey. We got to the point where we didn't stop to admire the beauty of our surroundings because that's when they strike with their touting. I was the most interested in watching the monkeys and loved watching the mothers taking care of their young, but every time I started to enjoy my live "Animal Planet" movie a vender would step in front of my "television" and block the view and prevent me from getting the pictures and video footage I was seeking. It was frustrating for both of us because we felt the presence of the vendors really conflicted with what this sacred site was truly about........spiritual practice.
Near Swayambhu (Monkey Temple)
Near Swayambhu (Monkey Temple)
A monk meditating in a shrine near Swayambhu
Entrance to the temple area.
There are a lot of animals that live at the temple. I had to feed this nursing mama.
This poor pooch didn't have very much fur. :(
After our visit to Swayambhu we decided to make one last trip to Thamel which is a tourist mecca in Kathmandu and a great place to shop for souvenirs and gifts. Our shopping spree was cut a little short because of a return of the "Colon Blow" that struck us both earlier on our trip had returned to haunt John on our last day. We've actually been surprised at how little our digestive systems have been disrupted on this trip. When you visit a developing country it's not a matter of if you are going to encounter digestive issues but rather how many times you will encounter these issues. Every drop of water you put in you mouth has to be treated (boiled/filtered/chemical treatment/ultraviolet light). This means that eating fresh vegetables is off limits because most likely the vegetables were washed in untreated water because Nepalis' bodies are accustomed to the untreated water. Even if your silverware has drops of water on them it is advised that you dry the silverware before using it. Luckily round two of "Colon Blow" for John only lasted a couple of hours and subsided before our long flights. Phew!
Street dust on a garden. Very dry right now.
Pigs rooting in a dirty river. :( this is in Kathmandu.
Dental hospital
Lunch in Thamel.
Pig head for sale on table (far right on table). This is a meat market.
Tashi and Lakpa's street.
Playground across the street from Tashi and Lakpa's house.
View of playground from inside and upstairs. Kids play a lot of soccer here!
Goodbye to Ema.
We then made our way back to Tashi and Lakpa's home to shower, pack our bags and enjoy our last meal of Dal Bhat, milk tea, and milk coffee prepared by Maya the great! Because she doesn't speak English and only a little Nepali (she speaks Sherpa) it was hard for us to express our total gratitude for her over-the-top hospitality.
Maya's Dal Bhat!
Yummy! Rice, chicken,fried spinach, curried vegetables, and lentil soup!
I could live off of milk tea!
John could live off of milk coffee.
View from Tashi and Lakpa's roof.
Then we were off to the airport at 8:30 and boarding our plane for an 11:10 PM departure. Because of India's blockade to Nepal, our flight had to be rerouted through Bangkok, Thailand for a refueling stop. This added a couple hours to our journey to Hong Kong, making the connection for our flight to New York tight.
Our plane for our flight to Hong Kong. There aren't any jetways at the Kathmandu airport.
Luckily we arrived in Hong Kong early and got to our gate for New York with time to spare! ;) In fact this flight was delayed for over an hour! Yuck! We were just glad that our plane from Kathmandu was able to have enough fuel to leave Kathmandu to begin our looooooong journey home!
Maya's Dal Bhat!
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