On tour~

It has been an explorative and discovering week in Kathmandu and the valley around. I got a bike, drove around and got the most out of the delay we have with delivering the equipment in the village.

We have been waiting the last few days for the muddy primitive road to the village to dry up. The last part of the trip, from Arughat to Dhawa, 3-4 kms, is a very basic and dangerous road that only the village driver can drive it! Equipment (PVs, batteries, inverter, school furniture) needs to be transferred from one truck to the other to do the last bit. There is an idea to offload the staff to a warehouse in Arughat and wait a suitable day to do the last transfer! We cannot sit waiting for very long, as Justin says, we are getting cabin fever from our hotel rooms! :) Things are now underway and the transport is arranged for Saturday morning, we will load the equipment plus ourselves and off we go! We will stay 2-3 days and back to Kathmandu or Pokhara to get prepared for the installations!



PV panels ready to go



Batteries too



Inverter, the core of the system


And some info about the project itself, as promised on first post! Click the link below to open a pdf version of a presentation I delivered in London before I go. I hope you find it interesting!

http://bit.ly/bUpR6o



In the meanwhile, I had the chance to visit Bhaktapur, Bodhnath, Swayambhunath and Patan. All breathtaking places! Bhaktapur is a medieval city in Kathmandu valley with some of the finest religious architecture in the country. I arrived there about 3pm, and it was like I was transferred to another century, in another world! People at the old part of the town seem to be living exactly as they use to be 200 years ago! If you take out the motorbikes then it would be like walking back in time. I was lucky meeting a Thanka student (kind of mandalas with high precision and detail used as a tool for meditation, also made in sand). He took me to the school and saw their work. Amazed to learn they first meditate to achieve the level of calmness and peacefulness to do this detailed work! It takes sometimes years to complete a relatively big one and only made by the same person throughout.



Bhaktapur_Taleju temple



Bhaktapur_Handicrafts



Bhaktapur_Back street



Bhaktapur_Durbar square



Bhaktapur_Amish, the Thanka student



Bhaktapur_Tibetan Thanka art school



Bhaktapur_Thanka art school exhibition



Bhaktapur_Fairtrade



Bodhnath, at the outskirts of Kathmandu, is a Tibetan Buddhists neighbourhood. This is one of the few places in the world where Tibetan Buddhism is accessible and exercised without fear. There is a massive Stupa there, a religious structure of monumental size. Monks, Sherpas and normal people go around it (clockwise) while spinning the prayer wheels for good fortune. I really felt privileged being there. The mystic atmosphere of the place took my breath away realising how spiritually intellectual these simple people are. I had to leave the place, the rain was coming and in fact I ended up soaked wet in a little clothe shop waiting for it to go.



Bodhnath_A temple just off the main stupa



Bodhnath_Buddhists preparing for pray



Bodhnath_Student monks do their round



Bodhnath_Autofocus with a monk on nikes passing by



Swayambhunath is located at a hill at the end of the city. I can see it from the rooftop of the hotel. Mobbed by monkeys at its foothills, a long staircase with ancient carvings into every available space takes you to the top. The smell of incense and butter lamps in the air makes it an intoxicating experience. This temple represents the fine, peaceful and chaotic mix of two religions, Buddhism and Hinduism. People from both religions pilgrim at the same temple! I was already amazed how people from different beliefs (not extremely different) live here tolerant together peacefully but this time I’ve seen the ritual from close and, believe me, it was a staggering experience!


Swayambhunath_Cheeky monkeys, trying to steal your food..



Swayambhunath_Exhausting but rewarding



Swayambhunath_Kathmandu view



Swayambhunath_The stupa(1)



Swayambhunath_The stupa(2)



Swayambhunath_Unifying sculptures



Swayambhunath_Prataputra temple



Swayambhunath_The Thunderbolt



Swayambhunath_Prayer wheels (after a good spin to take the shot)


Last, but not least, Patan or Lalitpur (City of Beauty) as locals prefer it. Once an independent city-state, is now almost a suburb of Kathmandu. The city’s durbar square (something like the high street) includes the finest collection of temples and palaces in the whole Nepal. Amazing Newari architecture, very well preserved. I wondered around for hours, and then sat and watched the world-go-by from the terraced platforms of Vishwanath temple. I had my mp3 player with me and tuned in to some relevant music and tripped away. Again, it seemed to me I am in a time and space far away from 2010, from the busy streets of London or Athens. The world here is different, mysterious.


Patan_ex Royal Palace now museum



Patan_Biyam and Binit (got their emails and promised will send them the photo)



Patan_Amazing wood carving



Patan_Royal Palace internal



Patan_Dancing Kali on sale



Patan_Local street leading to the Golden temple



Patan_Artifacts on sale



Patan_The Golden temple (didn't see gold, probably is hidden:)



Patan_Kids playing at temple



Patan_Please join the queue!



Patan_Proud-to-be students



Patan_Amazing Krishna temple



Patan_Durbar square(1)



Patan_Durbar square(2)



Patan_Autofocus at durbar square



Patan_Off we go! (photo taken by a local miniature statue seller)



Will post news again when back from the village! Real adventure starts tomorrow!

Keep in touch!


Nektarios
+9779849557550





‘The Nepali view of the world is dominated by prayer and ritual where gods are not remote, but present beings that can influence human affairs in very direct ways. The divine is everywhere, from the greeting Namaste which means ‘I greet to the divine side of you’ to the spirits of gods present in trees, passes, sacred rivers and mountain peaks!’ Lonely Planet, Nepal, 8th Edition.