Sunday morning dawned bright and early. Well.... except for the bright part. I woke up at the lovely hour of 0215 and let me tell you, it was definitely not bright! In fact, I went out into my garden off of my room at the Duhliklhel Lodge Resort, hoping to see stars and the moon! All I saw were hazy skies... so back inside I went. I read.... I drank tea.... I worked on the last blog.... I finally went back to sleep at 0500 and slept until 0615. Thanks jet lag! It have been worse. I actually felt decently rested when I went up to breakfast. How delicious breakfast is here definitely helped me rouse! Excellent potatoes cooked in spices with onion and pepper, channa masala (chikpeas cooked in masala spices), fresh fruit, and freshly made omelets. Mom clued me in that if you ask, they'll make your omelet with spicy peppers instead of the mild kind, and it is so yummy! Breakfast of kinds, in my opinon. All washed down with a masala chai - great way to start the day! The Himalaya's have also been showing off for us since we've been here. Early every morning I'm greeted with a great treat during sunrise, where the sun illuminates the high peaks. Others have said that it can be difficult to see the peaks from here, whereas we've seen them everyday. I'm sure that the lack of pollution can be attributed to thedecreased emissions from cars due to the fuel crisis, and though that has made transportation difficultt at times, I'm very thankful to be able to see the mountains so well.
Dad and I made plans to go to Panauti, 7 km south of Banepa (where the hospital is) in the morning. I had originally typed out my own version of the following information about Panauti, but I really don't feel like doing it again! The following is from Rough Guides website about Panauti, and its the same information that is in my guide book. Incidentally, if you're looking for a good guide book brand, I would highly recommend Rough Guides. I've used their books for many countries and have really liked them.
"Built on a single stratum of rock, PANAUTI is said to be the safest place in these parts to be when the next big earthquake hits. The best-preserved Newari town after Bhaktapur, it’s an enticing enough place at any time, leading a self-sufficient existence in its own small valley 7km south of Banepa. Its centre is a perfect nugget of extended family dwellings, temples and public meeting houses, all built in the Newars’ signature pink brick and carved wood, and at the bottom end is a cluster of riverside temples and ghats.
Wedged between the Punyamati and Roshi streams, Panauti forms the shape of a triangle, with a serpent (nag) idol standing at each of its three corners to protect against floods. Buses pull up at the newer northwest corner, but the oldest and most interesting sights are concentrated at the streams’ confluence at the east end of town, approached through a distinctive entry gate.
The shrine area at the sacred confluence, known as the Khware or Tribeni Ghat, is a tranquil spot. The large sattal (pilgrims’ house) here sports an eclectic range of frescoes depicting scenes from Hindu (and sometimes Buddhist) mythology: Vishnu in cosmic sleep, Ram killing the demon king Ravana, and Krishna being chased up a tree by a pack of naked gopi (milkmaids). Krishna is the featured deity of the pagoda temple next door, too, where he’s shown serenading his gopi groupies with a flute. Other small shrines dotted around the complex are dedicated to just about every deity known to Hinduism.
The Khware has been regarded as a tirtha (place of sacred power) since ancient times, and on the first day of the month of Magh (usually Jan 14), it draws hundreds for ritual bathing. Beside the river, the tombstone-shaped ramps set into the ghats are where dying people are laid out, allowing their feet to be immersed in the water at the moment of death. Orthodox cremations are held at the actual confluence, but local Newars are cremated on the opposite bank, apparently to prevent their ghosts troubling the town.
Read more: http://www.roughguides.com/destinations/asia/nepal/the-central-hills/the-arniko-highway/panauti/#ixzz3nmTdWtxR
So Dad and I had a car picking us up at the hotel at 1000, and our driver showed up early and in a van similar to the old Toyota 4 wheel drive van my parents had when I was a kid. Those things are TANKS and can go anywhere. Perhaps that should have been an omen about the road that lay ahead of us!
Our driver was very polite and an excellent driver, and I wish I could tell you his name, but he spoke absolutely no English at all and therefore I have no idea. He is also a brave man. We drove back along the Arniko Highway to Banepa, and then turned south. I made the mistake (what a rookie move!) of saying how nice the road was, and it immediately turned to absolute crap. I think that even before the earthquake and subsequent landslides it was probably mediocre at best. However, this presented no challenge for our fearless driver! Remember that basically all roads in third world countries are at best two lanes, generally one large lane, and used as at least three to four lanes. He barrelled confidently along in our non-Toyota van, expertly avoiding huge boulders and ditches that seemingly emerged from nowhere. Suddenly, he had to hit the brakes. We were in a "town" which was really just an area in which there were more than five buildings in a row, and two buses on the road ahead of us had become locked in a passionate embrace. Ok fine, they had tipped into each other and were stuck. Same difference! There was quite the log jam of motorbikes, trucks, and vans waiting to be able to sneak around the low speed non accident accident. Incident? We'll go with incident. So Dad and I hopped out of the van to get a closer look. Many locals were helping to prop up one of the buses wheels with wooden slats to lift the bus high enough that the two vehicles could detach without damage to either. We watched this for a few minutes until we realized that it was much more fun to watch all of the locals watching the chaos. Families of four on motorbikes, buses crammed full of people, open back trucks delivering anything and everything to people outside of the cities. I love people watching, and this was wonderful!
Finally they had success and the buses detached. Then of course we had to wait for the jam to clear, and we were on our way! Bouncing along this dirt road, dodging obstacles of all kinds including children and kids (kids as in goats!), rocks and ditches, chickens and dogs, we arrived in Panauti. Our driver dropped us in the main square, and we took off. Actually we had no idea where we were going, so we slowly began walking in what seemed to be a good direction. Miraculously, it was the correct one! We crossed under a gate and entered the old town. The Newari architecture there was just fabulous. It is like a mini Bhaktapur except I found it to be better. No tourists AT ALL! No cars. Just the occassional motorbike, the locals, and Dad and myself. We walked past shrines, and cisterns, and tiny shops, schools and vocational academies, women drying their rice in the sun, women shaking their rice in woven baskets to rid the grains of the husks, dogs sleeping in the shade, children playing - we had stepped back in time. When we got to the Khware, we saw all that the guidebook described, and it was beautiful. I had not expected to find such tranquility, after the mayhem of Bhaktapur. If you come to Nepal you must visit Panauti - but if you don't come visit DON'T TELL ANYONE or else it will become crowded and commercialized! We spent an hour or so walking around, enjoying the peace before heading back to our driver and van.
The drive back was much less eventful, and after about 30 minutes of bumping along a dusty road, we reached the hotel. We had lunch and rested for a bit before deciding to walk into Duhlikhel, the town that our hotel is just barely outside of. It turns out its only a five minute walk into the town, and more specifically into the old part of the town that contains the temples we wished to visit. We knew the general direction in which we were heading, and we soon realized that we had no idea where we actually were. Both Dad and I enjoy what we call "being the right amount of lost." It means that you aren't actually lost, there's no danger, and you can most likely easily figure out where you need to be. We wandered up and down streets until we found a temple, then walked into the temple compound and enjoyed the views. Then we went back onto the streets, winding our way around until we magically ended up where we had wanted to! We had a map but didn't use it. Ah yes, being the right amount of lost is the best. We grabbed a spot on a curb and watched the world go by. School had just adjourned for the day, so we watched the children of all ages walking home - and we watched them watching us! By this time it was about 4:30, and we walked back to the hotel for a quick shower and happy hour in my parents room before dinner. Happy hour consists of gin and tonic and delish local potato chips!
We walked up to dinner, and I mostly remember dinner before my exhaustion overtook me. At the conclusion of the meal Dad and I said our goodnights and somehow safely stumbled down the three steep flights of stone steps to our room. I took a shower and immediately collapsed into bed! What a fabulous day in Nepal.
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