The Traveling Islander

Day 7: We have a super busy day of guided tours around Kathmandu. Our guide Kedar picked us up at 9 and took us tonshow us four of the best sites in Kathmandu. Firstly we headed to a wonderful temple called Swayambhunath Stupa or better known as the “monkey temple”to tourists. One of the oldest and most revered Buddhist sites in the world. Kedar explained to us about how the origin story for Kathmandu and about the Buddhist teachings. We span the prayer wheels where you pray for health and happiness for your friends and family. The site was covered in monkeys but I didn’t manage to get a picture on my phone. It was a beautiful site. We then moved on to Hanumandhoka Square with several smaller temples such as the Karma Sutra temple several temples to Shiva and many others. 62 temples and monuments are within this site and this is where the living goddess herself lives. The new living goddess was only selected last October and is now three years old. We waited to see her make her daily appearance from the window of her home. She was very cute 🥰. There is a lot of construction work going on as there are still sites damaged from the earth quake in 2015. Next we moved on to visit the Great Boudha Stupa the second largest stupa in the world. There site was beautiful and many stalls were selling authentic art of Nepal. We visited a mandala painting school and shop where students learn for decades how to become a master painter. They were truly amazing with some painted in gold and silver. We also visited a singing bowl business where they gave us a taste of their treatment. It was all very interesting and the goods were of incredible quality. We then had lunch on a rooftop overlooking the stupa. We then had one more place to visit and this was the Pashupatinath temple a famous Hindu holy site and cremation site. It is built on the bank of a river where the dead are cremated on platforms and released into the river. Several funerals were taking place while we were there and it’s common for people to come watch as the family prepares their loved one for the ceremony. Overall a fascinating day in Kathmandu. Thank you Kedar! #kathmandu