Bhaktapur

After visiting Lalitpur, our next heritage site was Bhaktapur. We didn't realize just how many surprises were in store for us here.

Our taxi dropped us off right in front of the ticket booth where we once again got our giant IDs and were quickly approached by some tourist guides. We decided to get some lunch first. With the allure of trying some traditional Newari cuisine, we got whisked off into one of the local restaurants. We ate deeper in the restaurant which was part of a block of other buildings. A dilapidated stupa that once stood in the center now turned to rubble with vegetation growing around it.

After lunch, we finally went inside Bhaktapur Durbar Square, where a myriad of other structures stood waiting to be explored. It was much larger (and much more expensive) than both Kathmandu and Lalitpur but it was very much worth it just from the first sight alone. Nepal's tallest pagoda was here, the palace with 55 windows, and plenty of other temples scattered around. It was like a playground of sorts and I was all for it.

I was quite ecstatic to find a very unique angle to capture the various structures of Bhaktapur and also I was able to finally find a bracelet that passed my aesthetics check. Bhaktapur was quite kind to us!

We went to the pottery square next to see some artisanship in action. We also went to find the famous Peacock Window, apparently known as the Mona Lisa of Nepal.

With most of the sites of Bhaktapur out of the way, I asked Lisa if she still wanted to do anything and she found the Suryavinayak Ganesh Temple right around the outskirts of town. We found a taxi driver who'd take us there and then back to Kathmandu.

A few flights up the stairs led us to a temple devoid of people yet filled with plenty of dogs. Six dogs or so came out to play and be pet, they were quite dirty but the cuteness was irresistible.

We began our hike but my instincts were telling me this was the wrong way, we were going off-road and further off-trail but Lisa said to just try so we went further. But I felt like this route would be taking us deep into the mountain's forest and not really up to get some summit views so we backtracked and found the right path. The views were great but we still had some more time. There was a nearby temple below, the Likha Narayan Temple.

Upon our approach, we heard some traditional music playing and found people dancing inside the temple grounds. It seemed fun so we popped right in and watched them with glee for a while. I was then approached by a woman in red, in fact, all the women were wearing red.

She then introduced herself as Newari. That's when it dawned on me and I turned to Lisa "Oh they're indigenous?" She then invited us to dance with them, and danced we did. I'd say this was one of the highlights of the day, it was just so fun and smiles all around. No language was needed to enjoy each other's company in this moment. After several dance numbers, we sat down for a bit and were given some food and drinks, the same kind of food we had in the Newari restaurant earlier. This was dinner right here too, great times.

We were then invited to dine with the rest of the Newari. They sat on the floor and ate with their right hands, just like in Bangladesh even though they were a Muslim country. So I was thinking it's more of a regional custom than a religious one. They gave us even more food and as we ate, the sun was setting behind us. Coating the temple grounds and our faces with a radiant orange glow.

Realizing it was beginning to get late and that we had to get back to our taxi driver, we pardoned ourselves and said goodbye, "alvida", before beginning the hike back down.

When we got back to Kathmandu, we finally got to meet with Tej, my contact for arranging our trek to the Himalayas as we were going to Pokhara the next day. The adventure continues.Read more