Debra Kooy

We arrived back at our Blue Mountain Homestay in Thamel, khathmandu. We packed our bags to get ready to head home in 2 days. We had to walk the extremely busy, chaotic streets to get to dinner and back. We have to be so aware of traffic and not getting hit. The pollution from the cars and motorcycles is awful. Tomorrow we are touring a few Stupas ( temples):

Hiraṇyavarṇa Mahāvihāra (Nepali: हिरण्यवर्ण महाविहार), also Kwa Baha: (Nepali: क्वबहा:) informally called The Golden Temple with literal meaning "Gold-colored Great Monastery", is a historical vihara (Buddhist monastery) situated in Patan, Nepal. There are 3 types of Buddhism and this temple is considered to have higher enlightenment .

The Pashupatinath Temple (Nepali: पशुपतिनाथ मन्दिर) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Pashupati, a form of Shiva. It is located in Kathmandu, Nepal near the Bagmati River. The temple was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1979. This "extensive Hindu temple precinct" is a "sprawling collection of temples, ashrams, images and inscriptions raised over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati river", and is one of seven monument groups in UNESCO's designation of Kathmandu Valley.[1] The temple, considered one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Hindus, is built on an area of 246 hectares (2,460,000 m2)[2] and includes 518 mini-temples and a main pagoda house.
Nepal?
Pashupatinath Temple, on the banks of Kathmandu's Bagmati River, is the holiest Hindu temple in Nepal. Many Indian, as well as local Nepali pilgrims, visit. Devout Hindus come here to die and be cremated on the banks of the holy river (which is, unfortunately, very highly polluted).

Boudha Stupa (Nepali: is a stupa and major spiritual landmark seen as the embodiment of the enlightened mind of all the Buddhas,located in Boudhanath, within the city of Kathmandu, Nepal. Built in the northeast of Kathmandu Valley in a Tamang village surrounded by rice paddies, the stupa gave birth to the origins of Tibetan Buddhism. It is filled with consecrated substances, and its massive mandala makes it the largest spherical stupa in Nepal and one of the largest in the world. In 1979 the Boudha Stupa became one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in Nepal.

Pashupatinath Temple was a really interesting experience and overwhelming on so many levels.. On one side of the river there were families gathered with their deceased loved one to say their goodbyes and final blessings. They wrap then cover the body with marigold wreaths before burning/cremating their loved one further down the river on beds of wood and straw. On the other side of the river are the families gathering on the one year anniversary of their loved ones cremation. People gather to watch the blessings and cremations. Amongst all this are 100's of monkeys, extremely poor people, some with leprosy, begging. It was an intense, eye opening experience.Okumaya devam et