Thursday 2nd January 2025

Bhaktapur

Today we will travel from Pokhara to Kathmandu, the journey is 200 kilometres but the journey by road is estimated to take between 9 & 10 hours including just a couple of short breaks.

However, for a supplement, the travel company offered the option of a flight.

After doing some research, Pete, Anne and ourselves decided to book the flight.

There are three ancient kingdoms, all of which are in the Kathmandu Valley, and  also UNESCO sites. Although we would be visiting all of these sites, namely Kathmandu Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Patan Durbar Square, we decided if we saved time by flying we would have a few extra hours to spend in one of the places.

The ancient kingdom of Bhaktapur won our vote for the extra time, apparently its temples and buildings are the most intact, and there appears to be more to see than in the other two aforementioned places.

All of us set off from the hotel at 8am, the bus would drop the seven of us at the airport and then continue on to Kathmandu.  Sudan insisted on taking a photo of the four of us and the girls, Nadia, Gloria and Henrietta (who had also opted for the flight) as we were dropped off at the airport.

“Is that so you recognise us in Kathmandu?” Dave quipped.  “Last seen in Pokhara” someone else joked.  We all waved to each other as the coach left on its long journey.

The coach was taking our main luggage so we just had a rucksack each. As advised by Sudan, when we checked in, we asked for mountainside seats but unfortunately they had already been taken. We assumed they had been booked earlier on the internet.

Our flight was scheduled to depart at 10.10am for the short 25 minute hop to Kathmandu.  Originally we had requested a flight for 8.30am or 9am, but the company had advised against it.

They explained that the early morning flights were often delayed due to mist or low cloud, “Sometimes even as late as 12pm they warned”.  So, their advice was to relax, enjoy breakfast and take a later flight.

Well, our flight is delayed, it is now 13.25 and our estimated time of departure is currently 13.35. Our time in Bhaktapur is quickly disappearing!

Of course, if we had thought about it properly, we would have insisted on an early flight due to the fact that any flight delays would have a knock on effect.

The girls and ourselves kept in touch with Melina, who reported that their journey was going well.

When we were called to go through security I had an interesting chat with the young security staff.  After the young lady had patted me down, she then asked me a series of questions.  “How long have you been in Nepal?”  “When did you arrive?” “Where have you travelled?”

She had my passport in her hand, so she could have easily found the answers to some of her questions. Two other young females joined the first and I realised that they just wished to chat and perhaps practise their English.

Grinning, one asked how old I was; I replied “How old do you think I am?”

She guessed that I was 7 years older than I am! When I told her, her mistake, she quickly said “Oh I was going to say younger” attempting to rectify her mistake.

The other two ladies asked me how old I thought they were, they both beamed when I told them my guess.  Then, of course the first lady asked me the same question.

“Now, I can get my own back” I said to the other girls and deliberately said much older than I believed her to be.

When her face dropped, I explained that I was joking and then I explained the phrase ‘to get one’s own back’.

 

Although we weren’t seated on the mountainside of the plane, we still managed to see some amazing vistas of the snow covered mountains.

When we landed, we were surprised to find that Sudan had sent someone to meet us, the pleasant chap saw the girls into a taxi to the hotel and he found a taxi to take us to Bhaktapur.

The journey was a little hairy to say the least, the driver braked extremely hard twice to avoid bumping the car in front plus he also clipped a motorcycle!

It was 3.30pm when we arrived in Bhaktapur, if the flight had been on time, we would have been here about 11am but hey ho!  We are here now!

After paying our entrance fee to the ancient city, Pete & Anne went one way and we went another, agreeing to meet up again in Kathmandu at our hotel for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow!  This place is mind blowing! Everywhere one looks there is an ancient temple, a stunning stone statue or a sacred shrine.  This city, which dates back to the 2nd century  (when it was just a small farming area) was once the capital of Nepal.  It became a major city during the 15th century during the time of the Malla Dynasty.

It has four main squares, however we have a limited amount of time before it gets dark so we are going to saunter and enjoy!

Our wanderings started in Durbar Square. Durbar Square translates to Palace Square or Royal Square and each of Nepal’s ancient cities has a Durbar Square.

Walking through the Golden Gate we entered a small courtyard.  A door leads to the Palace of the 55 Windows. The Golden Fountain of Bhaktapur is situated in another courtyard.  The fountain like the Golden Gate has elaborately decorated metalwork.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most sacred temples in Bhaktapur is also located within the palace’s grounds.  However, non Hindus are not permitted entrance to the Taleju Temple. Some temples have signs stating this and also advising that no leather shoes or leather watch straps are allowed. This is obviously due to the cow being a sacred animal in Hinduism.

The 55 Window Palace has intricately decorated wood carved windows. The upper floor and many of its courtyards were devastated in the 1934 earthquake. The palace was rebuilt using some of the original struts that were salvaged from the wreckage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the Siddhi Lakshmi Temple was severely damaged in the 2015 earthquake, it was left standing, albeit at a rather precarious angle.  Scaffolding was used to support it while it was painstakingly dismantled.  It was then reconstructed stone by stone; earthquake proofing was also added to the temple.

Walking between squares we passed a shop where artists were meticulously creating thangkas and mandalas.

A member of staff said that we were welcome to watch and to take a photo if we wished.

 

As we entered the Taumadhi Square, we both exclaimed “Wow!” this square has the tallest temple in Nepal, the Nyatapola Mandir.

The imposing 5 tiered pagoda style temple is dedicated to the tantric deity, Siddhi Lakshmi. A sanctified image of the deity is within its inner sanctum where only Hindu Priests are permitted to enter.

Bhairavnath Temple is dedicated to the god Bhairav who is a fearsome incarnation of Shiva.  Two stone pillars each with a lion atop hold the flag of Nepal guarding the temple.

The Nepalese Flag is the only non quadrilateral flag in the world.  It has two pennons, the upper pennon has a crescent moon, and the lower one has a sun.  The main colour is crimson red which represents the bravery of the people; it is also the colour of the national flower, the rhododendron.  The blue edging is the colour of peace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flag was modernised in 1962. Before this date, the sun and the moon had a face on them. However, in the flag above, the sun’s face can easily be seen but the moon appears to have a pattern on it.

 

 

 

 

It was late afternoon and we saw locals gathered here and there having a chat. They all acknowledged us, some smiling, others waving at us or nodding.

The men were gathering too. However, unlike the ladies they were sitting silently!

We also noticed a couple of male groups playing some sort of board game.

 

We continued to Dattatreya Square as we wanted to see the famous peacock window.  Once in the square, I spotted a smartly dressed young man and asked if he spoke English. He did, as so many Nepalese do.

After asking for directions, he kindly told us he would take us and we chatted together as we walked. He then stopped and pointed at what was, clearly, an intricate carving of a peacock and said “I think this is it”.

We thanked him for his help and he continued on his way.  A couple of days later we would learn that this was not actually ‘The Peacock Window’.

Deciding it was time for something to eat; we sat in an eatery overlooking the wonderful square.  We ordered a dish of chow mein and a plate of momos (dumplings). The dumplings could be served in a soup, fried, steamed or partly steamed and then fried.  We chose the latter with a vegetable filling.

It is absolutely amazing sat here.  From our vantage point we can watch life in the square.

 

 

 

 

 

The beautiful temple that we are overlooking is dedicated to a three headed god named Dattatreya.  This god is considered to be the embodiment of the trinity of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma and is revered for his teachings on spirituality.

The daylight is fading, lights are being lit in the temple and bells are ringing.  A Hindu priest dressed in a bright orange robe walks out of the temple and blows a conch shell. In Sanskrit, the conch is referred to as shankha.

The shankha is usually blown at the time of a ritual or worship.  The sound that it creates is linked with the primordial sound ‘Om’. The sound is considered sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

The priest is also wearing a fleece as it is quite cool. Folk are beginning to congregate outside the temple.  Another priest gives what appears to be a handful of rice to the people gathered outside the temple.

A man on the entrance terrace of the temple is beating a drum, another is clashing a symbol. This is absolutely amazing, I feel filled with gratitude to be able to witness this ritual in this ancient square.

It was becoming darker, so we reluctantly forced ourselves away from the beautiful scene and walked back through the streets to Durbar Square.

 

Sometimes when one travels, things don’t go according to plan and occasionally this works out for the best.  If our flight had been on time and we had arrived in Bhaktapur this morning, we would have left before the sun had started to set and we would not have seen the Hindu Ceremony.

Dave and I were the last of our group to arrive at the hotel in Kathmandu; it was just after 7pm.  The bus had made good time, arriving at 5pm.

Pete and Anne arrived a short while before us.  They actually got out the lift that we were waiting for and as they were heading for the bar, we agreed to take our luggage to the room and join them.

There, as on many previous occasions, we enjoyed swapping tales of our day…or more correctly our few hours in Bhaktapur.

 

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