We have returned from our four days/three nights Nepal Trip
on 29th April 2012. We have been thinking of taking this trip for
sometimes and as they say there is time for everything we too were on our way
to Kathmandu on 26th April 2012 by Jet Connect flight from IGI
Airport Delhi and landed on time at Tribhuwan International Airport, Kathmandu.
We checked in Vaishali Hotel in Thamel, the tourist district of Kathmandu in the afternoon. As there was nothing scheduled for the day we explored the Thamel market on foot. I had visited Kathmandu in 1979 and had a vivid memory of Central Park (Ratna Park). We tugged our way to the Park through the busy, crowded and badly maintained streets of Thamel and on reaching Ratna Park all our hopes of a well maintained Park were dashed. It was in a shabby condition. We did not even enter the Park. Thamel Market is full of shops selling handicrafts and other gift items. I am not sure it they are locally made or brought from outside. Similar items are available on janpath Road in Delhi.
Nepal is a land locked country with 56827 sq miles of area
and about 35 million population. Some 2 million Nepalese live outside Nepal
doing lowly paid jobs. Nepal has a troubled history that culminated in the sad
massacre on June 1, 2001 in the Royal Palace that killed King Birendra, Queen
Aishwarya and seven other members of the Royal family by Crown Prince Dipendra.
Allegedly he took the step in a drunken state as he was not being allowed to
marry a girl of his choice. He too committed suicide three days after. The
truth however never came out. No wonder, Royal Palaces are full of unsolved
mysteries and untold stories. Nepal is a
Republic now ruled by Maoists coalition. The constitution is in the making for
the last 5 years and may come into reality any time soon.
Nepal is a destination for trekking and wild life
enthusiasts. Most of the mountaineering expeditions have been successfully
taken through Nepal. Eight of ten highest Mountains in the world are in Nepal. Our main purpose of coming to Kathmandu was to
take the mountain flight to Mount Everest. As the saying goes, if you cannot
have the best, grab the second best. This is exactly we did. Since we could
not/cannot climb Mount Everest, the next best thing was to fly over it. So we
took Mountain Flight operated by Agni Air at 6.30 in the morning on 27th.
It’s an half an hour flight that takes you to as close as possible to the mountains.
On a day when the sky is clear, as was in our case, it was an experience beyond
words. The snow covered peaks shining with the rainbow colors of the sun rays
appeared to be so mystic. The Everest
(8848 m) looks like a Pyramid tugged in between two mountains. Other mountains are Gosaithan -8013 m,
Dorjilhakpa-6966m, Choba Bhamare-5993 m, Gauri Shankar- 7115 m, Melungtse- 7023
m, Chugimago-6297 m, Mt. Numbur- 6956 m. It is said that Mt. Gauri Shankar has not been conquered as
yet because Shiva Parvati reside on this mountain. So much for FAITH.
Boardig the Mountain flight
Everest Range
We had also planned to visit Pashupatiinath Temple in Kathmandu. There are many temples in Nepal but Pashpatinath is the main attraction for the Shiva-devotees. That possibly is the reason why people from South India and Shiva Devotees from as far as Singapore visit this temple in large groups. We visited the temple in the afternoon .We could have the Darshan peacefully. There are many legends attached to the temple. It is said that once Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati visited this place and were mesmerized by its natural beauty and decided to stay. They turned themselves into deer. Gods were worried as to where Lord Shiva could be found. They finally located him at this place and persuaded him to return to Mount Kailash, his abode. He agreed on one condition that thenceforth he would be known as Pashupatinath, the Protector of animals. I guess legends have some hidden message and here the message is to protect the animals. We also visited Buddhists Temple called Swayambhu on the hill top.
Pashypatinath
Pashupatinath
Swayambhu
Swayambhu
28th was kept a free day for exploring Kathmandu. It is believed that when the Mother calls, the feet automatically move towards the Mother’s abode. Looks it happens with us too. Somebody suggested that we go to Mankamana Devi temple some 100kms from Kathmandu. Mankamana Devi in Nepal is equivalent of Vaishnodevi is in India. Hundreds of devotees visit the temple everyday hoping that their wishes will be fulfilled. Saturday attracts huge crowds. Knowing well that we may have to face a huge crowd we still took the plunge. We hired a car and left for Mankamana at 8 in the morning and reached there at 10.30 only to be greeted by a long serpentine line of about half a km. Mankamana is on the hill top (1302 m) and is presently reachable by cable car that takes some 15 minutes to cover the 3 km cable way. Before the start of cable car, it was an arduous journey on foot that took hours.
Queue of Devptees
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Cable car
There is this practice of pleasing the deity by offering
animal sacrifice. In olden times buffalos were sacrificed. They have now been
replaced by goats and cocks. Fortunately this practice is fading away not
because people’s faith has somehow taken a shift but because, I think, the costs
of animals have become prohibitive. Whatever may be the reason, it is a good
sign.
We managed to have Darshan of the Mother and returned to Kathmandu at about 9.30 pm.
Clouds on board
The above photographs of moving clouds were taken on board Jet Connect return flight. The scenario was so beautiful that I could not resist the temptation of capturing it. I have a very good video too.
We reached home on time.
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