Trekking day 2: Pothana to Landruk

I really liked this chapter from Adyashanti which I am reading. Here are my favorite parts. "The deepest experience is when you realize that this open, radiant, empty mind and open, radiant heart have always been open. They don't need to open; they are not going to open; openness has always been there. . . . Free yourself of all limiting identities and embrace the infinite.

What allows this opening to take place at a great depth is to realize we are already the openness into which we are opening. . . . It has been eternally here from the beginning, and, in that, our humanness finds a welcoming to open itself. This is so because we are not opening ourselves into a mystery that is alien, or foreign, or different, but into what we have always been.

If you touch the sacred quality of winter inside yourself - that quality of everything returning to its most essential form - you find yourself falling off the end of the mind and into openness. . . . When you find the courage to allow yourself to return to the essential, you are actually returning to the very root of your own self.

This openness is actually the core of who everybody is. Stop waiting to let go of everything, and then your true nature is realized. When it is realized, then live it."

Sunrise at Pothana



Susanna from Canada and her guide Mike. It turns out not only does Susanna have the same birthday as me, but also the same year, and maybe even the same hour (I have to confirm with my mom when I was born). We spent the evening becoming friends, drinking to many things - our mutual birthday, Noah's sense of travel adventure, and other things that I can't remember.



The town of Tolka - three times while walking through this village we were stopped by a sign and a person asking for a donation. The first was for a hydro electricity, the second was for a school, and the third for a trekking guide who lost both his legs in an avalanche.

Trekking day 1: Phedi to Pothana

We are back in Pokhara after 9 glorious days in the Himalayas. For me it is a little bit of culture shock, even though Pokhara is a nice transition town. I apologize for the numerous entries, but this blog site will only allow me to upload 5 photos per entry, and there were just too many beautiful sights to edit that severely.

Trekking was more expensive than I anticipated. We returned to Pokhara with 115 rupees ($1.55) between Noah and me. It was a little scary when the first three ATM machines were not working, but the fourth worked fine.

We had planned to go on a 4 to 5 day trek, but with each day we decided to go higher. We were prepared for only a low level trek, bringing only tennis shoes and wind breakers. Luckily we could get blankets along the way at the guest houses, and there was hot water for showers at the end of each day, except for at Machhepuchre base camp (though I was able to buy a bucket of hot water there). It turned out there was not much need for all the expensive, specialized gear that REI and North Face want us to believe we need.

The trek started with one million steps up the mountain side to Dhampus, then a beautiful walk through the rice terraced hills to the sweet town of Pothana.

View from half way up the one million steps

rice terraces

Noah wanting a photo of a water buffalo

the town of Dhampus

Morning photos

Adyashanti writes, "Self-inquiry is a spiritually induced form of winter-time. It is not about looking for a right answer so much as stripping away and letting you see what is not necessary."

It is not necessary to anywhere else than where I am. This is once again my hardest lesson - acceptance of what is, acceptance of who I am, acceptance of love - loving myself as I am.

I will be away from internet access for a few days, as Noah and I are going trekking tomorrow. More when I return.

These images are from the balcony of my hotel this morning

9/28: Machhapuchhre

I woke up before sunrise and headed to Lake Phewa, where I rented a row boat and took these sunrise pictures of Machhapuchhre (Fishtail) mountain.

9/27: Pokara

The drive from Kathmandu to Pokara might be one of the most beautiful in the world. It took about a half an hour to reach the edge of the Kathmandu valley, which is a high valley completely surrounded by hills. The sky was clear, so as we reached the edge, there were many glacial peaks in view. You then immediately descend into a steep canyon, surrounded by incredibly lush, green rice terraced hill sides. We then travelled along the river, at the bottom of a steep canyon. The water looked much cleaner than the river in Kathmandu valley. There were rapids and many foot bridges across the river.

Since we bought our tickets the night before, the only seats left were in the driver's cabin. Packed in with us were two Australians and the driver's assistant. One of the Australians had never traveled before, so for a time, I saw everything through his eyes: my first water buffalo, bicycle trucks pulling heavy loads behind them, cows roaming the streets, a girl herding her goats, an old women carrying an overloaded basket of vegetables with just a head strap to manage the load, the beautiful terraced mountains. Everything was new, fresh, and amazing.

Back in Kathmandu

We walked from Nagarkot to the village of Sankhu, down hill about 4 hours to the west. From there we caught two buses and ended up in Kathmandu around 2PM. But we won't be here for long. We are catching a 7AM bus to Pokara tomorrow morning, which is a very beautiful lake about 7 hours west of Kathmandu, near the Annapurna Himalayan range. I hope to do some more hiking there, as well as eating good food (this is where Christy and I discovered Malai Kofta, 25 years ago).

Banana tree and flower

Walk down from Nagarkot

Himalayas, finally!

Evry morning I would wake at 5AM and check to see if the clouds had dispersed (we were told that the best chance to see the Himalayas were at sunrise). Finally, on the fourth morning, as we were planning to leave, we had a perfect morning.

9/26: Nagarkot

I don't know how far Bhaktapur is from Kathmandu. I remember a half hour bus ride 30 years ago, but it took 75 minutes with all the traffic. In Bhaktapur we walked to the Nagarkot bus stand, found a mini-bus totally full, even the roof was filling up with Nepalis. The bus behind it was full as well, so we climbed on the roof of the first bus, which was scheduled to leave in five minutes. I counted 34 people on top of the bus, and at least as many inside. Riding on top was really pleasant, though you do have to watch out for low branches and electrical wires. And then it started to rain. And then it started to REALLY rain. The bus stopped to allow people to go inside. Noah pulled out his umbrella and we stayed on top.

In Kathmandu, before we left, many CD shops were playing this chant of "Om mani padme hum." I kept that chant going all day long. I especially appreciated it on top of the bus in the rain. The little boys to my right were shivering, as was the old man to my left. I wanted to put my arm around him to share my body warmth, but I didn't. Noah was miserable, but I was fine, even happy, obliviously humming my chant. After about a half hour the rain stopped, and soon after that we were in Nagarkot.

We were thinking to stay in Nagarkot for one, maybe two days. We ended up staying for three days. It rained and stayed cloudy every day. Only on the fourth day, did it clear up and we had spectacular views of the Himalayas.

From on top of the bus - 34 people in total

View from our hotel deck


Mr. Tom, my new friend



A really long worm - Noah thinks we need some of these in the U.S.


The village of Kattike - our first day walk

9/22: Kathmandu, and what's next

Boudhanath stupa

Swayambhu stupa

Prayer wheel with "Om mani padme hum" on it

We are leaving for Nagarkot today, a village in the mountains three hours from Kathmandu. Kathmandu has been pretty busy. We have walked to the major sites – Pashupathinath, Boudhanath, and Swayambhu – all good walks on the edge of the city. The architecture of this city is amazing. There are little squares everywhere with temples, shrines and stupas. There are amazing old buildings with incredibly fine wood work.

Kathmandu rivals Calcutta as the most densely populated place we have been. It is built like a village and the narrow roads cannot hold all the foot traffic, bicycles, motorcycles, cars and trucks. Luckily it is much cleaner than the cities we have been to in India. There is not near the animal population, so not near the shit on the roads. The Nepalis do a better job than the Indians at cleaning up their streets each morning. But just like India, there are no trash cans, let alone recycling bins, so as the day wears on, the trash piles up in the streets. The worst places are the rivers, where much of the trash ends up. A lot of the trash is biodegradable - they make little bowls out of leaves, but there is so much plastic, and it clogs up the water ways, so not only are the rivers ugly with trash, but they stink as well.

The trekking season hasn't started yet, so there are so many guides looking for work. Some of the unemployed guides are fairly aggressive, and they use the same routine that we are familiar with from India, acting friendly, wanting to know where you are from, making small talk, and eventually coming around to their sales pitch. On the other hand, I have had some nice conversations with these people after I have made it clear that I don't want a guide. They genuinely love their country and are happy to share with you what they know. Also, the drug dealers and shop sales people are not near as aggressive as in India. I think also they are not near as desperate. I have not seen as many beggars. The standard of living, at least in this capitol city, seems much higher than what I observed in India.

I am really happy to go to the villages. I don't know how long we will stay in Nagarkot. It is located on the highest hill in the valley. Supposedly, there are incredible views of the Himalayas. We might stay a few days and do some day hikes, or do a short trek to other villages on the way back to Kathmandu. It will depend on what Noah is comfortable doing.

After our little village experience, we will head back to Kathmandu, then take a seven hour bus ride to Pokara, a small town on a beautiful lake to the west of Kathmandu. Once again, I don't know what we will do there or how long we will stay. If Noah likes the Kathmandu valley village experience, we may go on a small trek there as well.

Noah is still trying to decide what to do after Nepal. He may go back to India with me, and maybe do some small trip to Rajestan, or up to the Tibetan refugee capitol of Dharamsala in the northwest of India. Noah's other option is to head back to Southeast Asia for his last few months. He is now more confident to travel alone. I am excited for him to do that, but also a little nervous, as any father would be.

I will be starting my teacher consultant job in Delhi in November. I am looking forward to seeing what it is like to be in one place for a while. Hopefully it will work out that I have something to offer this school (the length of the stay of the job is open-ended), and I will be there for a while. We will see.

So that is the plan for now. I don't know what internet access there will be in the villages, so it might be a while before you hear from me again. Shalom.

Pashupati

Noah and I walked about 75 minutes to the south east to Pashupati, a beautiful Hindu temple complex. Funeral procession on the steps below the temple, waiting their turn for cremation.

The temple had a number of burning ghats on the river, with bodies and funerals waiting in line.

There were a lot of monkeys, hanging out with the humans near the river. The monkeys scare both Noah and me.

Swayambhu

I woke this morning at 4:45AM, walked to Durbar Square to watch the city wake up and drink chai, then walked 40 minutes to the north west and climbed the 366 steps to Swayambhu, this beautiful stupa and temple complex on a hill overlooking the Kathmandu valley.

The monkey was stealing the offerings

Nepali faces

My quote for the day:

"When your heart speaks, take good notes."

Judith Campbell

9/21: Durbar Square Kathmandu