technical difficulties

Hi everyone.
Oh, I have so many photos and stories yet to post, but this blog website is not letting me upload photos right now ... I'll keep trying! Just didn't want anyone to think I'd disappeared ;-)

- Kate

Temples and Stupas of Kathmandu

In Nepal, we saw lots of temples, stupas, and statues. (Tim has fare more photos of these at tmgimagery.com)

The largest Tibetan stupa in Asia, Boudhanath (notice the people in some of the photos, to give you some scale):

The temple is indeed large, impressive. There is an air of reverence and respect, as people walk around. The white-washed exterior is striking, as are the eyes looking out from the top.

You enter through a gate that is on a busy street. 

On the inside, once through the gate, the stupa is surrounded (closely) by stores and restaurants:

According to the July 2012 Lonely Planet guide to Nepal (page 9): "The village of Bodhnath is the centre of Nepal's Tibetan community and home to Asia's largest stupa, a spectacular dome and spire that draws pilgrims from hundreds of kilometers away."  "The first stupa at Bodhnath was built sometime after AD 600 ... The first stupa was wrecked by Mughal invaders in the 14th century, so the current stupa is a more recent construction" (p. 120).

When visiting a stupa, you are to always walk clockwise around it.  You are also to spin the prayer wheels in a clockwise direction.

Temples and Durbar Squares (historic areas that are much like an ancient downtown, filled with many temples and statues that we visited included Bhaktapur, Changu Narayan (in the area of Bhaktapur), and Lalitpur in the Kathmandu area of Patan.  All have admission fees that range from 150 rupees to 1100 rupees.  Apologies that I did not keep track of which photos match with which temple areas. I am hoping you will enjoy the photos nonetheless. The temples, in my opinion, epitomize the look and feel of Nepal and Kathmandu.

A sampling of statues at Kathmandu temples

Statues and intricately carved woodwork are abundant at the temples and Durbar Squares of Kathmandu.  The wide range of animals and gods are so interesting and intriguing.

Here are a sampling from places such as Lalitpur (Patan), Bhaktapur, and Changu ...

It was hard to pick and choose a sampling of photos. (Between the three of us, we took a lot of photos! And, there was such a variety of statues and carvings.) As mentioned in other posts, you will be able to see even more photos as Tim uploads images at tmgimagery.com

As always, thanks for reading!

Jungle Safari ... Day Hike In Chitwan National Park

I have a handful of posts still to post for Nepal, and those will come up over the next week.  Tim and I just celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary ... I look forward to posting photos and narrative about our last few days in Liwa (southeast area of the Abu Dhabi Emirate, bordering the "Empty Quarter" -- a HUGE area of desert), 4x4-ing  on gorgeous red sand dunes and visiting the 7th annual Camel Festival.)

* * * * * * *

During our stay in southern Nepal, we did a little half-day trek through part of Chitwan National Park.

I've mentioned the critters of Nepal in another post.

This post is about the beautiful scenery.

And one of the striking things about this walk, was the quiet.

It was just us, until we got to the edge of the river, and ran into Chitwan Park police, explaining to some locals that they could not be harvesting firewood from the Park.

Some of the paths had some wood foot bridges.

They felt sturdier than they looked ... but we didn't linger on them long enough to test our weight against their strength.

In one area, there was an observation tower. Given that it was made of wood, it was a bit wobbly. I wasn't particularly comfortable with every little movement making the tower sway a bit. 

But the view was great.

Lush greenery along the path we walked. Interesting trees and beautiful grasses.

And the intermittent termite mounds.

At the end of our walk, our ride back across the river --

Turquoise waters of Abu Dhabi ... and an upgrade to First Class

A brief detour from our tales of visiting Nepal ... I'll return to that straight away ...

Typical flight times out of Abu Dhabi are 2 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Depending on where you are going.

My flight to D.C. in December was a 10 a.m. flight and the weather was gorgeous and clear.  And we took over the water (instead of inland) ... which gives you a view of the stunning waters off of Abu Dhabi, and a view of the city itself (cluster of buildings toward about a third of the way up), which is fun to see from the air.

As I mentioned on Facebook, I had upgraded to business class with miles. And I was totally taken by surprise when I was upgraded to first class on my DC to Abu Dhabi return flight. They had overbooked business class, and I was fortunate to be upgraded further.

First class involves little private cabins.
And lots of leg room.
And a chef that is part of the first class crew, and no other cabin.
A kick to experience it.

Sunset on the horizon.