Dating back to the early 1400s, Bhaktapur is small city located outside of Kathmandu and is only about a 30 minute drive. The wood, stone and metal art work and original nature of the city makes it worth a visit.
Weekend Trip To Bhaktapur
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Our New House, Dil House
On Friday we moved into Dil House. We are still getting our stuff situated and we haven’t yet received our large shipment of stuff but this is a very exciting moment for us!
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- 1st Floor extra room
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- Yard
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- Lucy is enjoying herself
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- Living room with dragon fireplace
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- Stairwell
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- Master Bedroom
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- My office
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- Bedroom 2
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- 3rd floor living room
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- Terrace... Amazing!
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- City view from the terrace
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- Our front door
Lake Begnas Fishing Trip
We had a great time fishing in Begnas. The Begnas resort was very relaxing and the staff were amazing. We caught around 30 Tilapia and had a good time fishing with some locals.
So, you’ve got a dozen or so chickens
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So, you’ve got a dozen or so chickens, you need to get them to town and all you have is a motorcycle.
…Problem Solved!
Patan Durbar Square
Patan Durbar Square is in a small city called Lalitpur on the south side of Kathmandu.
The city is heavily laden with temples and markets. We took a cab over and hit the streets. Here are a few photos from around the area.
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- There is no shortage of amazing detailed wood work here.
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- Lazy Dog
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- This whole template was made of brass and silver.
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- Even the bells have prayers carved into them.
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- Hand carved wooden masks. Each mask at each store is different. I don't think these are machine produced.
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- Lots of old men just hanging out and socializing. People here are very social.
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- The main Durbar Square temple.
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- Entering the market area
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- Lots of amazing metal work.
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- Look at the hand carved detail on these pots.
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- Large fruit scales. Here they weigh fruit the old school way.
Driving In Nepal
Well, I received my driver’s license a few days ago. It is made out of business card paper and my photo is just glued to it. I hope I don’t accidentally wash it.
Driving here is seriously different than home and is definitely taking some getting used to. First of all, the lanes are on the opposite side here, the steering wheel is on the wrong side, the blinker is on the wrong side, and the gas and break pedals are switched. I keep turning the windshield wipers on when I turn corners! There are also numerous other distractions and hazards such as cows laying in the road and large boulders scattered about.
This is a tuk-tuk. They are mini buses which carry people around the city. We were advised not to get in them. Any guesses as to why?
Here is a small snapshot of the traffic here. Motorcycles fill every space and the size of the lanes depends on how much traffic there is.
More cows in the road. If you hit a cow with your car you will likely have to leave the country. Cows are sacred here.
Swayambhunath Temple (Monkey Temple)
On Sunday we visited another one of the massive stupas. This one was at the top of a large hill but the climb up to the top was worth it. As we climbed, we encountered several monkeys, none of them bothered us though. There were also several interesting vendors on the stairs up and in the temple area selling some interesting hand crafted items. Near the top we were followed by a man trying to get us to pay for tickets. After a local asked him to be quiet, I told him we already had tickets and he left us alone (We did not). I didn’t feel bad considering they only charge non-nepali or white people.
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- The rock walls on each side were all carved and painted with writings
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- Miniature statues adorned nearly every corned of the temple area.
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- Looking down on the gate to the temple from the inside.
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- Here we go. This was a painful climb to the top.
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- Panorama of Kathmandu Valley from the top.
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- The Swayambhunath template
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- Candles and Prayer wheels
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- You can see the polished area of the prayer wheels where people turn them often.
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- A medium sized monkey. These monkeys were everywhere.
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- Another view of the valley
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- This monkey actually stole a cucumber from the vegetable stand. The owner didn't appear to mind. This must be a common occurrence. Damn Dirty Apes!
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- Another view of the main temple. The paint splatter patterns near the top are part of a ritual they do. I have not been present for this yet.
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- I am not sure what these are but they look like massive left over pieces from a chess set.
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- We had some food here on the roof. Not bad.
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- Here we go back down. So much easier than up.
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- Little runt monkeys, monkeying around.
