We are sitting in our bedroom in Neydo Monastery. It's cold and there is no heating. I am not going to treat anyone to a selfie cos you can imagine me wearing polyprops, covered in duvets and scarf and my head topped in a woolly beanie. And I feel really privileged to be here. It is here I sit writing my blog. We got to the monastery via a very windy and rocky road (another earthquake fatality). A one lane road often saw trucks, bicycles, motor bikes and our bus vying for position. I decided not to look as we got rather too close to the edge for comfort (at this point if Harry were here he would make some comment about my spatial awareness). The monastery was built in 2008, rather a magnificent building on the hill overlooking the village. The monks range from all ages with a school for the young ones who are here for seven years and then can decide if they return to village life or stay on at the monastery. I heard one sad story of a mother who lost her whole family in the quake except for her son. The villagers ostracized her (bad kharma) and so she sent her son to the monastery to redeem themselves. Apparently hecis happy here but I felt for her. Certainly when I saw the young ones playing a version of handball they looked as though they were having fun.
Probably the highlight of the day was our early morning flight over Mount Everest. I got a great seat up front and had an amazing view over the foggy country side (little villages built along the ridges) and then just as the sun hit the mountains we flew back. Great views.
We left our 5 star accommodation and headed into another square where we saw more temples (some being rebuilt), an 11th century palace (huge outside bath for king), amazing wooden carvings. I am too comfortable to get out from under the duvet to find the names of the square and temples at the mo. We lunched in an outside cafe in a courtyard and I have never had such an experience. The owner came up and said today's special was chicken and chips or fish and chips. Some of the other kiwis wete satisfied with this offering but I asked for a vegetable chop suey. The little man screwed up his face and said 'long time to cook'. My question of well what vegetable dish would take a short time was met with another frown and then he agreed chop suey it would be. When Valeria beside me asked for a feta salad her order was met with verbal disapproval as well. Needless to say our meals came out first with a much longer wait for anything with chips.
We also stopped at the monkey temple, where dogs, monkeys, pigeons and humans mixed companionably in the incense filled air. I reminisced about our visit to Gibraltar as there were a number of similarities.
On the way back to our bus we stopped at the meditative and healing center where they talked about the making of the bowls and how they are used to restore health. By moving the stick around the side of the bowl little vibrations can cause bubbles. These vibrations can similarly be used to cure headaches and backaches or any other ache for that matter.
We then stopped by a temple of the Kumari (the living goddess). I found this visit very disturbing. At 5 young girls are chosen to be a living goddess until they reach puberty. They are not allowed to leave two poorly lit rooms and their feet are not allowed to touch the floor. In the morning they bless anyone who comes to visit them and in the afternoon they have lessons and friends can come and play. The memory of a shivering sad little girl will remain with me for a long time.
We also visited another charity that is supported by g-adventures. Apron making from sheeps wool. Beautifully finely woven and brighly coloured. Bright pinks, greens and blues all from the buck wheat plant at different times of the year.
Signal at the solar powered monastery high in the hills above Kathmandu is to weak to upload any photos. So
Probably the highlight of the day was our early morning flight over Mount Everest. I got a great seat up front and had an amazing view over the foggy country side (little villages built along the ridges) and then just as the sun hit the mountains we flew back. Great views.
We left our 5 star accommodation and headed into another square where we saw more temples (some being rebuilt), an 11th century palace (huge outside bath for king), amazing wooden carvings. I am too comfortable to get out from under the duvet to find the names of the square and temples at the mo. We lunched in an outside cafe in a courtyard and I have never had such an experience. The owner came up and said today's special was chicken and chips or fish and chips. Some of the other kiwis wete satisfied with this offering but I asked for a vegetable chop suey. The little man screwed up his face and said 'long time to cook'. My question of well what vegetable dish would take a short time was met with another frown and then he agreed chop suey it would be. When Valeria beside me asked for a feta salad her order was met with verbal disapproval as well. Needless to say our meals came out first with a much longer wait for anything with chips.
We also stopped at the monkey temple, where dogs, monkeys, pigeons and humans mixed companionably in the incense filled air. I reminisced about our visit to Gibraltar as there were a number of similarities.
On the way back to our bus we stopped at the meditative and healing center where they talked about the making of the bowls and how they are used to restore health. By moving the stick around the side of the bowl little vibrations can cause bubbles. These vibrations can similarly be used to cure headaches and backaches or any other ache for that matter.
We then stopped by a temple of the Kumari (the living goddess). I found this visit very disturbing. At 5 young girls are chosen to be a living goddess until they reach puberty. They are not allowed to leave two poorly lit rooms and their feet are not allowed to touch the floor. In the morning they bless anyone who comes to visit them and in the afternoon they have lessons and friends can come and play. The memory of a shivering sad little girl will remain with me for a long time.
We also visited another charity that is supported by g-adventures. Apron making from sheeps wool. Beautifully finely woven and brighly coloured. Bright pinks, greens and blues all from the buck wheat plant at different times of the year.
Signal at the solar powered monastery high in the hills above Kathmandu is to weak to upload any photos. So
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