Finally I get a chilled out day, my days are always full on, adventure and exploring, such a hard life hey? So it was great to have a semi relaxing day. Saying that we did go visit the Pashupatanath Temple and walked through the villages until we found the Boudhanath Stupa.
Pashipatnath Temple
The Pashupatinath Temple is Nepal’s most sacred Hindu temple and is located on the banks of the Bagmati River 5 kilometres north-east of Kathmandu Valley.The entire precinct is on the UNESCO World Heritage sites list and is a place not to miss when visiting Kathmandu. It is full of colours, cows wonder free around the site and some interesting smells float around. The Bagmati River is considered sacred and many cremations happen here. The cremation happens in plain site, something slightly odd for westerners, however a sign of respect for the people of the temple. There are two spots for cremation inside the site, each side of the bridge, one for the people and the other side is for both rich people and people of importance. It was very strange to watch a cremation happen before our very own eyes. I new I was allowed to watch but I still did feel uneasy, like I should not of been there, like i was intruding in on a grieving families special moment to say goodbye. Could you imagine in Australia, just a bunch of random people hanging around and watching your parents funeral? It was interesting to see the deceased person treated with the upmost respect, they were washed in the sacred water, covered in beautiful colours and surrounded by their family. It was beautiful moment, but I could not shake the feeling that I should not of been there, so we hit the road and went looking for the Boudhanath Stupa.
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We had a map and decided it would an adventure to walk there. So we followed the map through the local neighbourhoods, all the local kids were very intrigued at these foreigners walking through their neighbourhood they would all come out and say “Hi”, I got the impression that might of been the only english word that they new, as they would say it over and over again. We didn’t feel uneasy in this area, it did look very rough and extremely poor, so I didn’t pull out my camera, you just never know and I don’t like to attract unwanted attention. However I could not resist when we came across an empty paddock full of mature Marijuana plants just growing wild. They were huge and you could really smell them. So we snapped a few photos for fun and went on our way. I did not want to hang around there for to long, as I believed that the plants even though they looked to be wild, probably “belonged” to someone and they most likely would not want to me to be mucking around them.
Weed grows everywhere
We soon made it to the Stupa, and it was packed as always, It was my 2nd time here now. I always get this chilled out vibe when i enter a Buddhist site, today was no exception. The prayer flags, peacefully waving in the breeze and the beautiful sound of “Om Mani Padme Hum” playing from almost every shop, just created a beautiful atmosphere. As we walked around the corner there was a small peaceful demonstration happening. This was at the time that the young girls from Nigeria had just been stolen by the brutal Nigerian Terrorist group Boko Haram. It was chilling to hear about the abduction and then seeing this group of young people was amazing. The group attracted an audience and I am certain a large Social Media hit. #bringbackourgirls
Boudhanath Stupa
#bringbackourgirls
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One Life, One Search,
Peace Out,
Shane.
Tattered Passport 