We leave the airport and the first smell is incense. In a pinch me kinda moment, I smile and shake my head. I can’t believe I’m here.
Traffic snarls and the cacophony of sounds and sights is jarring after our long journey. There is no sense to be made of traffic, no discernible lanes, everybody competes for road space, buses, scooters, cars, pedestrians, and baby carriages No one is preferred, aggression rules, horn honking becomes quickly meaningless.
We journey to Shechen guesthouse which is next to Shechen monastery. The guesthouse is for visiting tourists and pilgrims. We arrive and the sounds of the city are shut off. We find peace and tranquillity at our first lodging.
We walk in our room and discover a welcome package, fruit, prayer flags, Nepal stickers and pins. There is also a spray to help sore muscles. It’s a nice touch. The room is basic, two single beds, washroom with shower. Someone has deployed several tubes of caulking to fill large gaps in the washroom with much room for improvement. The bed is hard and the pillow is even harder with several lumps. A good cleaning is needed and yet it’s perfect as we breathe a sigh of relief and lay down for the first time in several days.
One of our guides, Kat greets us shortly after. She lets us know about drinking water, and that breakfast is offered until 1000. Momentarily, I think we missed it for today only to realize it’s still very early. Kat tells us to plan to do nothing for the day. It’s nice to have the permission and yet we don’t want to miss a moment.
We eat breakfast and enjoy excellent coffee and a latte complete with latte art, such a nice touch. John heads to bed and I go with the group as we take a trip to the Stupa and learn how to change money and obtain the lay of the land.
Today is Holi, a celebration of love and new beginnings. It’s a special day to arrive in Nepal. Shortly after leaving the monastery, we are decorated with colour.
We walk to the Stupa and learn the landmarks to find our way back.
Boudhanath is the largest stupa in Nepal, likely built in the 14th century possibly after the passing of the Buddha. Buddhists circumambulate to show devotion, pay tribute, cultivate their minds and accumulate merit. Although the practice predates Buddhism, the Buddha mentioned it several times over his teaching career and said it purified negative karma and ensured a favorable rebirth.
We learn to walk around the Stupa in one direction, with the colour white on our right. We see temples, offerings and people lighting candles. We smell incense and see prayer wheels being spun. Prayer wheels are used to accumulate good karma and to purify bad karma. Each wheel is decorated with a mantra, written in a clockwise direction, this depicts the movement of the sun across the sky.
We see prayer flags starting at the top of the stupa and cascading down. We learn prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags do not carry prayers to gods as we would imagine with our Christian background. Rather, the Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space.
We learn the colours are always arranged in a specific order and that each colour has meaning. Blue represents the sky, white, air, red, fire, green, water and yellow symbolizes earth. All five colours together signify balance.
There are many shops around the stupa selling souvenirs, singing bowls, prayer flags, beads. There are also roof top restaurants and coffee shops.
We find the money changer and swap our dollars for many rupees. We feel wealthy for our large stack of cash. Kat explains the relative value of each note. Our money will go very far in Nepal.
We leave the noise of the Stupa and wind our way through the narrow streets we share with motorcycles and pedestrians to find the sanctuary of the monastery, quiet garden and our room. I’m excited for John to wake and share all I’ve learned before jet lag demands sleep.
whatsrightintheworldtoday 