Nepal: Day 5 (11/09/19)
Today was my last day of adventure in Nepal, since my flight leaves tomorrow morning for Chengdu. Saajan said he had a surprise for us today, which had me very excited. We got up just after sunrise, rushed through breakfast, and then proceeded to stand by the main road for an hour until a bus finally showed up. Now this particular bus was hands down the most pack vehicle I have ever been in. No contest. I’m talking luggage stacked 3 rows tall on top, people sitting on each other’s laps, the isle packed shoulder to shoulder and butt to butt. We had to squirm our way in and make room by shoving people out of the way. Then the bus started moving and the entire world was thrown into bouncy mode. Everyone was slung side to side, back and forth, and launched into momentary free falls as the bus made breakneck speed along the dirt roads and up into the mountains.
I was in the middle of the isle, scrunched in on all sides by people and with nothing to hold onto, except a small metal ledge on the roof of the bus that was just wide enough for me to grip with the tips of my fingers. So when the bus bounced or violently rocked to one side, as it did every 30 seconds, we would all be thrown into each other and I would have to pull myself back upright using my one arm with a fingertip death-grip on the ceiling. Not gonna lie, it was absolute misery and one of the longest 40 minutes of my life, full of sweat, pain, and the occasional brief respite as the bus stopped to let someone off (or on, I honestly don’t know since I turned around towards the back of the bus to change my grip at one point).
After 12- 15 business days we stopped and Saajan called for us to get off - cue squirming our way back off the still packed bus and collapsing onto a nearby pile of bricks to breathe. My hands and arms felt like death and Sonya was shaking her legs out while swearing in French, but L strolled over and asked if we “enjoyed the dance” and loudly proclaiming “SALSA!” to the sky, which looking back was objectively not that funny but Sonya and I cracked up and it took our minds off the soreness. Once Saajan had retrieved L and Sonya’s bags we all just sat for a minute to catch our breath before setting off up the mountain towards the day’s destination which was now in sight - Namobuddha Temple (and Monastery).
It was quite the impressive building to approach, its golden roof always in sight as you climb to it. The view was incredible too, mile after mile of valley walls and mountains, all a blend of terracing, towns, and forest. I’m pretty sure it was a solid 15 miles, and the only reason you couldn’t see further was because there wasn’t anything to see. The farthest mountains form the border between the Himalayas and the Indo-Gangetic Plain, so the landscape would have dropped away from view. (Thanks google maps.) I probably spent a solid half hour just taking in the view and watching the day’s mists meander over the landscape.
Once we entered the temple grounds everyone split up to explore at their own pace. Besides a couple monks, the wasn’t a soul around - very different from the jam-packed temples in Kathmandu - and it was a powerful experience to wander the temple grounds and admire the exterior. I felt very centered or reverent or spiritual or whatever your word of choice is. It was the same feeling I get when sitting on a mountaintop admiring the sunrise, or enjoying fresh seafood after a day spent diving. Something I associate with being in nature after a day’s hard work.
Still having a moment, I went inside the temple, took off my shoes, and continued walking around with my mouth hanging open. And while the inside of the temple was beautiful, the shrine room blew me out of the water. It was completely covered in decoration: dozens of handmade rugs, hyper-complex mandalas painted onto the walls, layer after layer of colorful banners, mountains of embroidered cushions, 20 foot tall Buddha statues, offering tables piled high with everything from candy boxes to jewellery, and dozens of others. The memory of wandering that room is one of the core scenes from my travels. It is burned into my brain and when I try to describe it i feel like I’m not doing it justice. Even if I had taken pictures, which was a very big no-no, I still feel like they wouldn’t have done an adequate job.
We spent a while at the temple. Even after leaving the shrine room I kept wandering around until Saajan eventually gathered us up and led us to a set of stone engravings of a Sutra in four languages: Hindi, English, Mandarin, and one that I didn’t recognize but looked similar to Hindu so I’m guessing another Hindi script. Sonya and I spent some time reading it and then it was time to part ways. Sonya and L still had a few days left in their trek while Saajan and I were headed back to Dhulikhel and then Kathmandu. We all shared our goodbyes and then the two of us loaded back onto that godforsaken bus and started down the mountain. Fortunately a seat cleared up in the rear and we were able to sit this time, saving my fingers from what would have surely been their demise. Upon returning to our hotel from last night we ordered lunch and I demolished a plate of noodles and a dish listed as “Momo C”, which I assumed meant momo as in the dumpling by that name in some specific style. Turns out I was spot on, and it was like a veggie stir fry with deep fried dumplings thrown in the mix. It was fantastic of course.
After that the rest of the day was a car ride back to Kathmandu, a much needed nap, some planning for travel in China, and an incredibly spicy dry noodle dish I really should have written down the name of because oh my god was it good! Tomorrow its off to Chengdu, capitol of the Sichuan of China. Known for pandas and extremely spicy food!
