During the Holiday break, Maya has been spending hours a day at the piano teaching herself Saint-Saens, “The Swan”. It is a rather complicated piece but Maya is already sounding quite proficient at it. It is very nice indeed to have the house filled with music, especially at this time of year.
Christmas at the Calabria’s is an all-day affair. It starts with Jeanine’s famous pop-over breakfast (another outstanding batch this year) followed by the emptying of the stockings (one item at a time, sequentially from oldest to youngest). This usually takes us to lunch time and then the afternoon is spent slowly opening presents from under the tree. This year Jeanine was responsible for all of the gift selections as I was in Nepal. I did, however, return with an assortment of Cashmere scarves and shawls, Tibetan wool hats, Nepali pants, jewelry and a singing bowl which were all distributed on the day I arrived.
This year Kyle took over for me as head Zeppole Ball fryer. These honey and sprinkle covered fried dough balls are a long standing Christmas Eve tradition that goes back to my youth. The kids have become quite proficient at the recipe and I have little doubt they will one day be photographing their children making these little holiday treats.
A more recent tradition is Christmas Eve Dinner at Chang An’s Chinese restaurant with the Budris family.
I did not bring any shaving gear with me to Nepal and returned with a scrubby beard. All the men I run into say I should keep it. All the women say it should come off. I plan to keep it for about a week and then this photo, taken by Maya, will be the only record of its existence.
My effort to obtain a seat assignment on the left-hand side of the plane for my flight from Kathmandu to Bangkok was immediately rewarded with views of the full Himalaya range including Mount Everest as we broke through the clouds after takeoff. What an incredible sight to end my visit to Nepal. From Bangkok, I fly to Frankfurt, and then on to Boston for a total trip duration of 36 hours. It is hard to complain about the less-than-ideal routing given I used frequent flyer mileage to obtain my tickets. The time is put to good use as I set a goal of deleting at least half of the 6000 photos I took during this vacation. Once home I will seek to further reduce that number to 1000.
The Chorten Chempo in Bouddha is one of the largest stupas in the world and the most important Tibetan Buddhist monument outside of Tibet. The stupa has been sealed for centuries and no one knows for sure what it contains although it is widely believed to contain parts of the Buddha’s body (bones, hair, teeth) and other holy relics. Is is said that one spin of a prayer wheel here is the equivalent of reciting the mantra embossed on it eleven thousand times.
By mid morning I began walking to Pashupatinath, Nepal’s holiest Hindu pilgrimage site. The Pashupati Mandir is the main temple but entrance is restricted to Hindus only although I was permitted to go as far as the entrance gate and look inside. Here also is where cremations are performed on the banks of the Bagmati River. During my 4 hour visit, I witnessed as many cremations including one for a high ranking dignitary complete with a military guard and band with the General of the Nepali Army in attendance to pay final respects. Bodies are carried to the river where they are dipped in the water three times, the feet are cleansed and clothing removed (discreetly under covers). The body is then placed on a riverbank ghat (raised platform) on top of a bed of logs. The chief mourners (typically the eldest sons) circle the body three times and then set it on fire (face first, which I found to be somewhat disturbing). It is then surrounded by additional logs and covered with wet reeds to keep flames from erupting. Smoke is carried to the heavens for hours before the body has been fully consumed. I found the cremation ceremony to be very poignant and beautiful but had trouble reconciling that image with the level of pollution in the holy river which I can only describe as a sewer.
I find traditional Hindu religious attire to be very photogenic and enjoyed making several portraits as I surveyed the crowds from a distance.
The ancient Newar town of Bhaktapur, located 30 minutes by bus from Kathmandu, was my favorite cultural destination. It was cleaner and less commercial than the other places I have visited and one can imagine that this is what Kathmandu must have been like in bygone times. I spent the entire day roaming within the gates of the old city.
The siblings pictured below are children of the street. At no point during several visits to this particular square over the course of the day did I see a parent anywhere. The older girl never let the baby from her arms. What they did for food I have no idea.
The city is graced with carved wood at almost every turn. The artisan seen working here was preparing a new railing for the guest house in which I was staying. All the work is done by hand.
Durbar Square in Bhaktapur was easily my favorite cultural destination. The architecture and craftsmanship are unrivaled and the layout of the square is more open than most others by virtue af an earthquake that destroyed many of the original structures.
Yesterday I complained about all that is wrong with Kathmandu. Today I covered about 25 miles on foot trying to capture images of all that is good. Most tourists take taxis between the main attractions. By walking you get a much more intimate view of the city. In no particular order.
As I was getting ready to make the 8 hour bus trip back to Kathmandu, I noticed a very unusual scene. A man suspended by a rope was collecting honey with little apparent regard for the swarm of bees that was attacking him as he did so. No amount of money in the world could induce me to perform this work in this fashion. I departed with a greater appreciation for the honey I was having each day with my lemon tea. The bus ride went quickly as I spent the hours conversing with a young woman who worked in Bhutan as an eco-tourism adviser and was in Nepal visiting friends. That evening I found a quiet guest house and went out for a nice dinner at an Indian restaurant.
Tomorrow I will walk throughout the city visiting the many cultural sites in the area. My photographs will be carefully taken to show all that is beautiful. Today, however, I must comment on the fact that Kathmandu is the most polluted city I have ever visited. It is truly depressing to witness what little regard the Nepalese have for their environment. The air is thick with smog from unregulated engine emissions, the open burning of trash, and the use of fires for cooking and heating. The rivers and waterways are filled with garbage and sewage. Residents urinate, defecate and spit where they please. Car and motorcycle horns are beeped incessantly all day long and well into the night. People discard refuse and organic waste wherever they are standing. The homeless live in squalor. It is hard to imagine how people who can be so friendly to strangers can be so uncaring for their own environment especially in a country so blessed with natural beauty.
I logged another 10 miles this morning while making the return hike to Sauraha with my two guides. We saw very little in the way of wildlife but did arrive just in time to watch the local elephants bathing. Handlers scrub their elephants from top to bottom and all involved seem to really enjoy the daily ritual. Hearty spectators can climb on top of an elephant if they wish to take a very cold shower.
Once cleaned, the elephants return to duty carrying up to four passengers at a time into the jungle. I joined one such tour this afternoon and was treated to several wildlife sightings including a mother and baby rhino.
At day break I met my guides by the river where we started our two day jungle trek with a 4 mile boat ride in a dug out canoe. Dense fog reduced visibility to almost nothing. Our boatman clearly knew every rock in this river and guided us expertly downstream even though we could only hear the rapids as he set up for them. A few miles in, the head guide whispered to the boatman who quickly brought as to shore. We scampered up an incredibly steep bank and then stood silently until we could hear the sounds of a very big animal moving through the brush. I was instructed to climb the nearest tree as did my guides. In a few minutes a huge one horned rhino emerged from the mist. Their eyesight is rather poor but they have excellent hearing and a great sense of smell. We waited patiently in our perches and I was treated to some great photos as this magnificent animal, one of 2000 remaining in the world passed below my tree.
When the coast was clear we climbed down from the trees and returned to the boat to complete our downstream journey. After landing, we set off on a rather brisk pace through the jungle. Having just returned from high altitude and with three days of recovery time on my blisters I was moving in high gear. We covered no less than 20 miles during the ensuing 9 hours and I could have easily gone further. During that time we encountered all manner of wildlife as documented below and paused for lunch in the safety of an observation tower. We spent the night in a small lodge just outside the park which we reached just as the sun was setting.
Although portions of the Annapurna Circuit were more dangerous than I had expected, I must say that nothing compared to the risk of riding the buses in Nepal. I left early this morning on a 7 hour journey to the Chitwan National Park located near the southern border with India. Much of the bus route is along a narrow road that is carved into the sides of the mountains. Between the terrible conditions of the roads, the lack of maintenance on the vehicles, and the generally reckless nature of the driving, one could expect to see a disabled vehicle or accident every thirty minutes or so.
The city of Sauraha, located on the Rapti River, is the eastern gateway into Chitwan, the first national park in Nepal. It was established in 1973 and granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of 360 square miles, mostly jungle, and visitors must be accompanied by two guides (forward guard and rear guard). I shunned the group packages and hired two local guides this evening and made arrangement to meet them at sun up. I spent the remainder of the day exploring near the river.
Pokhara is the third largest city in Nepal with a population of 250,000 and is situated on beautiful Phewa Lake where visitors can rent boats for a day on the lake or to visit the Taal Barahi Temple located on an island in the middle. I spent most of the day reading by the water with my feet up. I have the complete works of Sherlock Holmes on my iPhone and finished several volumes while my toes basked in the sun. I did manage a few photos that did not require much walking.
In light of my badly blistered feet, I have decided to skip the remaining down hill section of the circuit. Instead I will fly to Pokhara for a day or two of rest and recovery before heading further south where I will continue trekking in the jungles of Chitwan National Park. The 40 minute flight through, rather than over, the mountains was delayed by 5 hours. I was told that this is quite normal and that some people are forced to wait for several days for clear weather. The saying here goes; “The clouds have rocks in them”. Planes on this route are not equipped with avionics so pilots must rely on visual navigation.
I spent more time people watching than walking today hoping to give my blisters a chance to heal. Soccer is played everywhere and you are as likely to see girls playing as boys.
I treated myself to a 90 minute massage which did wonders for my aching muscles and left me entirely relaxed for the remainder of the evening which ended in a nice sunset.
