Day 4 February 19, 2024 Kathmandu
We are up early this morning for a flight to see Mount Everest. We are warned that flights maybe delayed or canceled based on air traffic and weather near the mountains. We bussed out from the terminal and boarded the plane. The flight was delayed forty-five minutes based on air traffic. Everyone on board gets a window seat. The aircraft is a prop plane so the wings are above the windows. Fog or smog lies over the city but the plane can get above it. The round trip flight takes about an hour. The flight attendants handed out a pamphlet showing the largest of the mountains and then pointed them out as we passed. Mount Everest was the furthest away so once we passed it the flight turned back and the other side got the view. The tops of several of the mountains were covered with clouds including Mount Everest. We did get to see the majority of it. They are quite impressive. We learned that all five planes scheduled to fly did so today. That is not a common event. We were very lucky. Then back to the hotel for breakfast before beginning the tours for the day. After about an hour of driving uphill we arrived at a monastery. The road really was something. It was quite narrow, steep and winding. It’s a wonder the big bus could make it up. After we got off the bus, we had a steep walk up to the monastery itself. We were met there by a monk who explained about their daily life. The grounds are beautiful and so are some of the views. We stayed for tea and biscuits (cookies) before heading back down the hill to the bus. Our next stop was where we were to get a blessing at the Temple of Kumari, home to Nepal’s most important living goddess. Unfortunately the Kumari wasn’t available. She may be after two. This girl is chosen at a young age and will retire when her menstrual cycle begins. She must meet 27 qualifications. Her family lives in the temple with her. She can only leave the temple during festivals. Her feet never touch the ground when she does go out. When she retires she returns to her original home. So off we go to Durbar Square where Hanuman Dhoka, the ancient palace of Nepalese Royalty is located. This is a very large square with many shrines and a few British architecture buildings. A very odd combination of buildings. Once again many are surrounded by scaffolding so they are not as visible as they could be. Today is a holiday and the square is full of people and salesmen. The second tallest temple in the country is located here. It’s about nine stories tall. Once again it is like a pagoda decorated with Hindu gods.
Everyone seemed willing to skip lunch so after an hour looking at all these buildings we headed back to be blessed. The Kumari was in so those who wished could remove their shoes and receive her blessing. Those who did received a red dot on their forehead. Rob got a red dot.
Our last stop for the day is at the monkey temple. It is located on top of a hill and is believed to be the oldest Buddhist stupa. It also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage site. The walk up the hill looked somewhat steep so Connie opted to stay on the bus with three others. Rob did go up. He said not a lot of monkeys like we had seen in India. We took the optional dinner and cultural show. About a fifteen minute walk from our hotel was a Nepali restaurant. All during dinner up to four performers did various dances from around the country. Dinner included a local wine poured from a brass vessel with a long spout. The drinking vessel was a very small clay bowl. It only held about two tablespoons at most. The pourer would start close to the bowl and then lift the vessel up to the level of her head without spilling much liquid. Next came a bean soup. Then Mo Mo which are dumplings. A black bean soup came next. Then they brought out a dinner plate sized brass plate. Rice was placed in the middle and then various foods around that. They included a green vegetable of some sort, mixed vegetables, chicken curry and a pork dish. They kept bringing the food around so you could have as much as you wanted. Dessert was rice pudding.
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