On the afternoon of the second day, Shrek offered to take us through the stupa temple near our hotel, but Jim’s ankle had taken enough abuse, so we went back to the hotel. I decided I would check out the stupa on my own while Jim recuperated and had a beer. The Bodhnath stupa is just half a kilometer from the back of our hotel, and after figuring out that I could actually exit that way once someone unlocked the gate, I wound my way there down a narrow walkway, only 5 feet wide but still used by motorcycles as well as pedestrians. I was a little nervous about finding my way back, and carefully turned for landmarks at each junction. The stupa is an enormous white dome, ringed with the ubiquitous prayer wheels and topped with a four-sided, golden tower with the eyes of Buddha on each face, prayer flags draped around. The temple is ringed with shops and restaurants, but is less touristy than some of the other areas, being an area with lots of monasteries and Buddhist study centers. Throngs were circumnavigating the stupa, always clock-wise, chanting and praying. There were crimson and saffron robed Tibetan monks of all ages, and women dressed in flowing dresses with striped, woven aprons tied over them, also Tibetan I think. The buildings circling the stupa were three and four storeys high, many with rooftop cafes. The air was filled with chanting from the worshipers and from the various music stores blaring chanting music. I was on a mission to find backpacks for our next day’s trip, and found them easily. There are many shops here that sell nice hiking equipment, Mount Everest is close by after all, so I zeroed in on a stall festooned with North Face packs, and asked the salesman for his cheapest pack. We only needed them for an overnight trip, no need him thinking we were taking a major trek with them. Success, and for only about $25 for both.
I happily wandered the stupa a while longer, scoping out possible restaurants for when Jim would come down another day, and absorbing the vibrant sights and sounds. As a bonus, I didn’t get lost on the way back to the hotel, and the guard was right there to let me back in the locked gate.
We opted for a fancy dinner in the hotel’s premium restaurant that night, and had a wonderful meal of paella (me) and Australian steak (Jim), with a nice bottle of Italian red. Nice jazz music, the delicious smell of a brick oven, and pounding rain outside. It was perfect. It was the first time it had rained more than a few drops, in spite of July being the rainy season in Nepal, and we were happy to enjoy it from the shelter of the hotel, and grateful it hadn’t started while we were tromping the dusty streets sightseeing.
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