a travel journal

A long shot! This photo was taken from the room I stayed over night.

an unexpected mind change took me to a beautiful place called...

Places visited:Kathmandu and PokharaDates: 21 Sep - 24 Sep 2015

Departure: Early morningDubai to Kathmandu

VENI. VIDI. AMAVI We came. We saw. We loved

Pashupathinath Temple, Kathmandu

Pashupathinath Temple, Kathmandu

One of the most sacred Hindu temples of Nepal - Pashupatinath Temple is located on both banks of Bagmati River on the eastern outskirts of Kathmandu.Pashupatinath is the most important temple dedicated to god Shiva. Every year this temple attracts hundreds of elderly followers of Hinduism.They arrive here to find shelter for the last several weeks of their lives, to meet death, be cremated on the banks of the river and travel their last journey with the waters of the sacred river Bagmati, which later meets the holy river Ganges. Hinduists from every corner of Nepal and India are arriving here to die. It is believed that those who die in Pashupatinath Temple are reborn as a human, regardless of any

misconduct that could worsen their karma. The exact day of their death is predicted by astrologers of the temple. If you are attracted to the places where the spirit of death can be felt, then consider Pashupatinath as your first destination. It is a temple with special atmosphere of death; death is present in almost every ritual and every corner of it.Majority of sadhus are very tourist friendly and eager to pose for the photos with foreigners, but it is not free of charge. They live in caves or tiny cells on the territory of Pashupatinath. Sadhus have extremely ascetic and even miserable life but for a Westerner their independent and unconstrained behavior looks mysterious.

Pashupatinath Temple

I was one among other few who were taking photos of this sadhu.

People do cremation here

and immerse ashes in this river. Though

water looks dirty I saw people

taking bath in it.Pashupathinath Temple, Kathmandu

Pashupathinath Temple, Kathmandu Counting his daily collection

Swayambhunath, Kathmandu

Swayambhunath, is among the oldest religious sites in Nepal. According to the Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī Swayambhunath was founded by the great-grandfather of King Mānadeva (464-505 CE), King Vṛsadeva, about the beginning of the 5th century CE. This seems to be confirmed by a damaged stone inscription found at the site, which indicates that King Mānadeva ordered work done in 640 CEHowever, Emperor Ashoka is said to have visited the site in the third century BCE and built a temple on the hill which was later destroyed.Although the site is considered Buddhist, the place is revered by both Buddhists and Hindus. Numerous Hindu monarch followers are known to have paid their homage to the temple, including Pratap Malla, the powerful king of Kathmandu, who is responsible

for the construction of the eastern stairway in the 17th century.The stupa was completely renovated in May 2010, its first major renovation since 1921 and its 15th in the nearly 1,500 years since it was built. The dome was re-gilded using 20 kg of gold. The renovation was funded by the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center of California, and began in June 2008.The stupa consists of a dome at the base, above which is a cubical structure painted with eyes of Buddha looking in all four directions. There are pentagonal Toran present above each of the four sides with statues engraved in them. Behind and above the torana there are thirteen tiers. Above all the tiers there is a small space above which the Gajur is present. The stupa has many artifacts inside it.

Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath, Kathmandu

Aerial view of Kathmandu city from the top of Swayambhunath

Thamel is a commercial neighborhood in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Thamel has been the center of the tourist industry in Kathmandu for over four decades, starting from the hippie days when many artists came to Nepal and spent weeks in Thamel.

Street of Thamel, Kathmandu

a normal day at Thamel

Kathmandu Durbar Square (Nepali: Basantapur Darbar Kshetra) in front of the old royal palace of the former Kathmandu Kingdom is one of three Durbar (royal palace) Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.Durbar Square was surrounded with spectacular architecture and vividly showcases the skills of the Newar artists and craftsmen over several centuries. The Royal Palace was originally at Dattaraya square and was later moved to the Durbar square.

Kathmandu’s Durbar Square is the site of the Hanuman Dhoka Palace Complex, which was the royal Nepalese residence until the 19th century and where important ceremonies, such as the coronation of the Nepalese monarch, took place. The palace is decorated with elaborately-carved wooden windows and panels and houses the King Tribhuwan Memorial Museum and the Mahendra Museum. It is possible to visit the state rooms inside the palace.

Durbar Square

I love this picture for no reason.

I got into this Maruthi 800 (local taxi) to catch flight to my next destination,

Pokhara. The taxi guy managed to drop me at the airport on time though there was a

huge traffic all through the way.

Buddha Air - mini domestic plane to several local destinations in Nepal. It has hardly 25-30 seats.

off to the green...!

I walked from Pokhara airport to the nearest

city. If my decision was to hire a taxi, I would

have missed many beautiful views and

shots you’re going to see in the coming pages.

Pashupathinath Temple, Kathmandu

He sells those colored ropes for living. He looked at me for a glance and got back untieing the knots.

Located 200 km west of the capital Kathmandu Pokhara is the second largest city of Nepal, which also is the headquarters of Kaski District, Gandaki Zone and the Western Development Region. Despite being comparatively smaller valley than Kathmandu its geography varies dramatically within just few kilometres from north to south. As an example the altitude varies from 780 m in the southern region to 1350 m in the north. Additionally the Annapurna Range with three out of the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and

Manaslu is within around 15 km of linear distance from the valley. Due to its proximity to the Annapurna mountain range, the city is also a base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit through the ACAP region of the Annapurna ranges in the Himalayas.Pokhara is home to many Gurkha soldiers. It is the most expensive city in the country,

Pokhara

Nature perfectly set it up for photography. One of my favorite picture ever, and will always be.

You can see at least one Banyan tree at every junctions in Lakeside Road, Pokhara. Evenings, for chit-chat and gathering people find this a best place.

Perfect rest place for those who walk

through Lake side road. Amazing

view of the lake surrounding this area

will make any one spend some time in

this shade.

Straight from Pokhara domestic airport, I walked down to the famous and

beautiful Fewatal lake side. June till Sepetamber, Nepal has mansoon climate, and I

witnessed a heavy rain while walking and had to spent a

while atthe nearby shop.

This shot was taken soon after the rain and it was

still drizzling.

Other side of left side picture. If the sky was clear you could have seen the great Mount Everest smiling at you.

Local taxi drivers near the Fewatal lake suggested me this place to visit, called Devi’s fall. Amazing water fall. I rushed and could’nt stop clicking pictures of this chilling place.

The water forms an underground tunnel after reaching the bottom. This tunnel is approximately 500 feet (150 m) and runs 100 feet below ground level. On 31 July 1961, a Swiss couple Davi went swimming but the woman drowned in a pit because of the overflow. Her body was recovered 3 days later in river Phusre with great effort. Her father wished to name it “Davi’s falls” after her. Its Nepali name is Patale Chango, which means “underworld waterfall”.

I planned to walk around the city after I left from Devi’s fall. I was running out of time and it was getting dark I moved towards the hill next to this place.

I wanted to climb till the the top of it to reach World

Peace Pagoda, but then mansoon hits again and

had to end the journey for that day.

Aerial view of Pokhara city at night - shot from the apartment I stayed over night.

Next morning, I woke up early by around 5:30 am to watch sun-rise. That was the

whole idea of staying over the mountain top. But I was not fortunate to see it as it

was foggy and freezing cold till noon.

While sipping the morning I saw a group of people para-

gliding. I’m sure they had a good time flying .

The tiny spot you see above the clouds is the place where I stayed previous night. Amazing isn’t?

Chit-chat evening

Vew from World Piece Pagoda.

Last few hours in Pokhara I spent at the shore of Fewatal lake. I just loved this place and weather.

A travel journal by Dubai based Indian - Vpin Babu Chakkalaparambil. Nuevo.Pictures NuevoPictures vpinbabu