woensdag 16 april 2014

Kathmandu, Nepal

We travelled further in Nepal from Biratnager to Kathmandu. We took the plane to Nepalganj (40 minutes) and then took our rental car that we hired in advance to Salyan. We would also use the rental car for travelling in the city.

Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal. It is one of the world’s cheapest cities, which is good for us as tourists. This city is the most developed in Nepal but one of the least developed cities in the world.

Our first stop in Kathmandu is Bodnath Stupa. According to other tourist and websites, this
is a number 1 ranked attraction. It was built in the 14th century after the Mughal invasions. The temple became one of the most interesting centres of Tibetan Buddhism after the arrival of thousands of Tibetans following the Chinese invasion in 1959. From above, it looked like a giant mandala of diagram of the Buddhist cosmos. The five elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether) are represented in the architecture. At the bottom, an irregular 16-sided wall with frescoes in the niches surrounds it.

Kopan Moastery was our second stop. The founders of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition established it for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition. They bought the property in 1969 of the Nepal’s royal astrologer. The name refers to the hill on which it was built. It became famous for teaching Buddhism to visiting Western foreigners. The first meditation course was held in 1971 and became the annual month-long meditation.

We also would see something else than buildings, so we visited the Garden of Dreams. It is a neo classical historical garden. It was created by late Field Marshal Kaiser Sumsher Rana in 1920 and was famous as the garden of Six Seasons. The design was inspired by the Edwardian style. The garden has also pavilions, fountains, decorative garden furniture and European inspired features such as verandas, pergolas balustrades, urns and birdhouses.



Delphine


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