Goodbye to India and Hello to Nepal - Kathmandu
A few days ago, I packed up after my two month sojourn at the Anamay Ashram in Kausani, Uttarakhand India and headed to New Delhi as part one of my trip to Nepal. I treated myself to two nights at the Holiday Inn near the Indira Gandhi Airport. There was great Wifi so I caught up on work for the yagya service.
I also am not shy to admit that I reveled in the comfy bed, sparking white sheets and towels, and great multicultural food. I even went swimming in the outdoor pool. The heavy air pollution of New Delhi marred that experience somewhat however. (story continued below photos...)
If you can imagine being in a closet with no air circulation at an oppressive 95-100F degrees, then add the aroma of an open container of diesel fuel and faint overtones of burning cow dung- this will give you an idea of the air quality of New Delhi. I did enjoy watching the pigeons come for a drink at the pool while I swam. Due to the high heat of New Delhi, the pool seemed to be a haven for the birds to catch a quick drink.
It was a quick plane trip to Kathmandu, Nepal next day. As you descend from the clouds to Nepal, you experience a distinct shift in the architecture. Although, the buildings are still made of concrete, they are more decorative, more oriental looking. My first visit to Nepal was in October 2018. I fell in love with the country at that time.
First of all, the main income of the country comes from tourism so you feel very welcome here. Most people speak some English and there is a definite effort to make Western foods available. I am enjoying some great multi-grain bread, my favorite protein staple- tofu and even some corn chips. On the local culinary side, I love the yak cheese and the Nepalese Thali meal (more on this later).
I took an apartment at $10 a day. I have a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Clean and nice. I am in the area of Kathmandu called Bouddha. It is in the Tibetan Buddhist area of Kathmandu and it is A BIT quieter than the rest of the city. I am located around here. There is a lot of hustle and bustle of family life around me which I quite enjoy since I am traveling alone. And it is mostly quiet at night. It is currently monsoon season so there are fewer tourists and at least several rain outbursts a day. There are outside markets for produce and yesterday I stocked up on staples at a 5 floor Megamart about 2 miles from me.
I also am not shy to admit that I reveled in the comfy bed, sparking white sheets and towels, and great multicultural food. I even went swimming in the outdoor pool. The heavy air pollution of New Delhi marred that experience somewhat however. (story continued below photos...)
Getting my hair cut in New Delhi. Haircut came with 20 minute head and neck massage and two stylists working in tandem!
New Delhi is very cosmopolitan and these young ladies were happy to pose for me
If you can imagine being in a closet with no air circulation at an oppressive 95-100F degrees, then add the aroma of an open container of diesel fuel and faint overtones of burning cow dung- this will give you an idea of the air quality of New Delhi. I did enjoy watching the pigeons come for a drink at the pool while I swam. Due to the high heat of New Delhi, the pool seemed to be a haven for the birds to catch a quick drink.
It was a quick plane trip to Kathmandu, Nepal next day. As you descend from the clouds to Nepal, you experience a distinct shift in the architecture. Although, the buildings are still made of concrete, they are more decorative, more oriental looking. My first visit to Nepal was in October 2018. I fell in love with the country at that time.
First of all, the main income of the country comes from tourism so you feel very welcome here. Most people speak some English and there is a definite effort to make Western foods available. I am enjoying some great multi-grain bread, my favorite protein staple- tofu and even some corn chips. On the local culinary side, I love the yak cheese and the Nepalese Thali meal (more on this later).
View from my apartment roof.
I took an apartment at $10 a day. I have a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Clean and nice. I am in the area of Kathmandu called Bouddha. It is in the Tibetan Buddhist area of Kathmandu and it is A BIT quieter than the rest of the city. I am located around here. There is a lot of hustle and bustle of family life around me which I quite enjoy since I am traveling alone. And it is mostly quiet at night. It is currently monsoon season so there are fewer tourists and at least several rain outbursts a day. There are outside markets for produce and yesterday I stocked up on staples at a 5 floor Megamart about 2 miles from me.
"My place"
I am just a few minutes walk from the largest Buddhist Stupa in the world. It is surrounded with scores of Buddhist shops with incense, brass ornaments and items for worship, malas, meditation cushions, etc etc. I will devote a separate blog post to the area shortly. I am in the process of signing up for month long class in Tibetan Buddhist Thangka art. More on that soon as well.
Boudha Stupa Near Me
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