Similar to India, the Ganges River in Nepal is a sacred place where Hindus want their bodies cremated and their ashes spread, so they can ascend to heaven for rebirthing. Above is the Pashupatinath Cremation Complex in Katmandu, where a typical cremation ceremony is performed in public daily. Travelers are invited to watch from across the banks of the Bagmati River, which ultimately joins the holy Ganges. The ceremony starts with the coffin or body carried on a stretcher to the temple for its final visit, blessed, and then carried down the steps to a plank on the river bank. The clothes are removed, the body washed with the water from the river by family members, redressed, leaving only the head exposed, before being carried back to the final pyre. The body is carried to the pyre up to a kilometer away, then body is carried in a clockwise direction 3x, placed on the pyre, before the oldest son sets the kindling nearest the head on fire. The body is burned there, which may take several hours. The ashes are then removed and spread into the river.
Katmandu Durbar Square, a former royal palace, is an important site for Buddhist and Hindu rituals. Our guide explained the four faces of Buddha, each facing a different direction, east, west, north and south. Each hand gesture is significant. For example an open palm facing downward signifies generosity.
Buddha was born in Nepal, and his teachings included “Be a lamp unto yourself”. Buddhism in Nepal lost its popularity to Hinduism when Nepal rulers passed laws making conversions to Islam and Christianity illegal, and promoted Hinduism.
The National Art Museum of Nepal is the largest museum in the country, and houses weapons, statues, artwork, murals and collections of Nepal’s cultural heritage. It is well preserved and worth a visit.
The Newari artisans from Katmandu Valley are tremendously gifted with carving intricate designs onto wood, stone and metal. They make masks, sculptures, doors, furniture, puppets and jewelry. In Bhaktapur, two ornate royal coaches with wooden wheels are still brought down the narrow streets during major celebrations (middle). We were going to a restaurant, but the 4 entry steps had been removed to allow these coaches to pass. There were lots of young kids everywhere in Nepal.
The art of Nepal is heavily influenced by religious themes. For the paintings, it may take years to learn to properly make the strokes. A skilled eye can spot the paintings that were created by students vs masters. It relies on skill of the paint application, not creativity, as a student cannot deviate from the folk stories and scenes. An apprentice may work for 7 years to learn the craft before they can graduate to a master level.
The Nepal flag is the only flag in the world that is not rectangular (bottom right and bottom left).
As a side note, we overdid the travel this past year. Burt spent 3 days in the hospital in Katmandu as he was allergic to dust (pollution) and could not recover. Evelyn was suffering from extreme hip pain, so for the first time, we cut our trip short. We envisioned Nepal to have clean air and clear skies because of so many trekkers, but it turns out that Katmandu is one of the most polluted cities in the world.
Heavenly Himalaya, the tour operator we used, and our guide Dipak (top middle) who normally guides trekkers, were flexible and modified our tour to accommodate our health issues. We also cancelled our tour to Bhutan, where we had intended to attend two major festivals.