Pokhara

I've been in Pokhara for four days now. It is a quiet, but a little touristy, little town by the Fewa lake.
Didn't do much, other than swimming, rowing a boat on the lake and eating and sleeping. That's the way to spend holidays ;)

Here some pics from Kathmandu and Pokhara:

Flute player on the street in Pokhara

Fewa Lake

Local beer and roti

Fewa LakeCrematorium near a temple in Kathmandu

24 hour long burning bodies

Entrance of that temple was 'For hindus only. No leather shoes allowed inside'.

We actually had to buy a ticket for 250 Rupees to watch the funerals, which were quite public.

At that temple

At the temple

Ceremony with Hanuman, the monkey god.

There was music, singing and a performance of this guy, dressed as a monkey.

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Patan, old village near Kathmandu

Patan

Patan

Patan

'Monkey Temple' in Kathmandu

Monkey temple

Monkey temple

No high rise in Kathmandu

Prayer flags on top of a hill.

There are many monkeys here everywhere. Nobody seems to mind them much. Also uncountable temples and holy places.

However, we spend most time drinking milk tea and eating local delicacies, such as chicken curries and momo (a sort of dumplings) and rice beer.

Tomorrow we'll go to Chitwan national park. Today we couldn't go because there is a national strike and all busses, taxis and other forms of transportation are unavailable. The streets are empty today.

Kathmandu

Here some of my girlfriend's pictures in Kathmandu

Kathmandu

I have been a week in Kathmandu now. I wish I could stay here forever.

After spending 12 hours in Bahrain airport, being surrounded by Arabs in all kinds of exotic dresses and hats, sitting opposite of the MacDonalds (too expensive to buy or eat anything), I finally boarded my flight to Kathmandu at 6:20 AM.

Nepal is a fascinating place. In one week I took more pictures that fit my memory stick(s) and still have three more weeks to go!

It is a place where MacDonalds looks like this...

A place of rikshaws...

A place where the people speak with a funny accent and where money changers have funny names...

We went to visit the famous 'Boudhanath Stupa'. A religious circus.
However, there was something peaceful about this place...

Maybe it was the giant stupa with the all-seeing Buddha eyes...

Or the many candles and insence burning...
We spent about three hours in the square around the stupa, sometimes stopping for a drink of 'hot lemon' (that is exactly what it is) or 'Lassi' (sour milk with sugar).


Around the stupa are prayer wheels which monks were eagerly turning
'Buddha Eyes"
This is our daily breakfast: milk tea and 'buff mo mo' (dumplings filled with buffalo meat). Total price for this tasty meal: less than 50 Euro cents.

The day before that, there was a holy festival in Kathmandu. The celebration of the last day of the rain season, and the only day that the 'living goddess' goes outside. We waited three hours in the hot sun, surrounded by all the craziness one can think of.

Holymen were dancing...
Monkeys were watching...
And there she was (actually, this is a boy. The girl came later but my camera ran out of battery) They are being pulled by a group of people, shouting and raving, in an ancient wooden coach. Lots of noise, firecrackers and people shouting and running.

There were three temples on the square, on which people crowded to catch a glimpse of the living goddess. One was for women, one for men and one for 'tourists'. Soldiers with bamboo sticks directed the people to their proper 'seats'.
Holymen were walking amongst the crowds, chanting...
The 'national guard' or some such...
and their leader...

The hot afternoon sun was hard to endure...
To pass the time, why not have a chat with a holyman?
Or watch the crowds from a nearby house...

View from the roof terrace of our hotel. Kathmandu has no high rise, and is beautifully quiet at the end of the day. No noise, except for dogs barking and the occational flute playing

Magical things happen here. We watched this eating hotel guest turn into a crow...
Kathmandu is located in a valley, and is thus surrounded by mountains.
Chen Yi on rooftop