After landing at the small airport in Kathmandu, I was taken to the offices of United Planet and briefed on my itinerary. The first night I spent in a small hotel next door to the office in the Thamel area of the city. That night I went to a very traditional Nepali restaurant where I was served several courses of authentic Nepali food. Dancers entertained us with Nepali dances which were originally used during Harvest festivals. About four or five men played unusual instruments that gave the music a minor key sound, quite beautiful, similar but different from Indian music. The dancers, two men and one women or sometimes two women and one man, in folk costumes moved with gestures that sometimes mimicked planting seeds and casting blessings over the future crops. The next day a tour guide took me to two of the most sacred places of worship, one for the Hindu and the other for the Buddhist religions. At the back of the Hindu temple which is sometimes known as the monkey temple because of the proliferation of the creatures a tributary of the Ganges river runs. At this sacred river people bring their departed to be cremated and the ashes thrown into the river. Several cremation pyres were burning and two bodies were covered and awaiting cremation. Young boys wade into the water to retrieve the burnt wood which also falls into the river along with the ashes.
Boudha Stupa and surrounding areas
The Buddhist stupa was less theatrical. Next to the stupa were several shops and also a school for painting the sacred Buddhist Thankas which are used for meditation and prayer in the home. At lunch I tasted my first yogurt drink called a lassi. Very good. We then went to the home where I am to stay during the remaining days of my visit. It is within walking distance of the school where I will be teaching.
