After an early morning yoga class and an early lunch I grabbed a taxi to Pashupatinath. I think it's safe to say it is the strangest, yet one of the most interesting, places I've ever visited. It is along the Bagmati River and has a Hindu temple. Along the river are platforms where cremations take place. You can see various streams of smoke rising from a distance, which are, in fact, burning bodies. There were 2 going on when I was there, I watched one but didn't take pictures out of respect for the families there who were cremating their deceased. Again, a strange experience.
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| People sitting across the Bagmati watching a cremation |
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| Smoke from a cremation |
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| View of Pashupatinath |
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| Cow statue outside a temple |
The complex is large and as you wander up the stairs into the trees, you are surrounded by what I think are graves with monkeys wandering through the trees. Then it was a 45 minute walk to Boudhanath through the "suburbs" of Kathmandu. I loved walking through the quiet peaceful streets and seeing a quieter way of life.
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| View of Kathmandu |
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| Crossing the Bagmati River |
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| Down by the Bagmati River |
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| A schoolyard |
Boudhanath was unbelievable. It is the largest stupa in Nepal if not all of Asia (can't remember). It is a pilgrimage sight for Buddhists all over the world. TIbetan monks live in a nearby monastery and were walking around the courtyard the whole time I was there. It was a circular complex with the stupa in the middle which you can climb and walk around, a walking area around the stupa, and shops and restaurants wrapping around that. Really, really cool!
The professor I will be working with (Steve) arrived that evening with the students he had been leading for the past month. It was nice to finally have people contact and get a feel for what I will be doing over the next 5 weeks.
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