TRAVELMAN NEPAL: Psst! There’s a back way into the Boudhanath Stupa

On my second morning in Nepal, Matrika took me to the Boudhanath Stupa. It has one of the largest mandelas (platform on which sits the dome) of all the stupa’s and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

From Martrika’s house we took his motorcycle down the dusty streets of Kathmandu. I sat behind him trying to pretend that I felt perfectly safe, helmetless, on the back of a two-wheeled motorized vehicle speeding through the chaotic Kathmandu traffic... Okay fine, we weren’t exactly “speeding.” But there was a lot of sudden starting, stopping, weaving, and giant potholes.

The guy standing in the street is not a lost member of the Village People; he is a Nepalese traffic light. These guys stand at busy interesections directing trafffic. I have yet to see a single traffic light or traffic sign in Nepal, it’s all dealer’s choice, and it’s everyone’s deal...

This is me and Matrika on the motorcycle...

Okay, I’m kidding I’d never wear that color green with that headdress. I took this picture to get a shot of all the dust on the roadside trees. It looks like a volcano erupted volcanic ash all over the city.

Upon our arrival, Matrika informed me that there was an entrance fee to get in to see the stupa that’s an important place of prayer for many of the Tibetan refugees who settled in Nepal in the 1950’s, the same refugees who built a town with many gompas around it. Matrika also said that we can enter through a back way and not pay the fee if I choose to do so. Guess, which I chose? (Pretty nifty how I slipped all that cultural info into this paragraph, huh?) A gompa is a Tibetan monastery.

This is us entering the stupa the way Scorcese’s Goodfellas enter a happening dinner club, through the back, but without the steadicam...

Stupa, stupa, stupa! Isn’t it just amazing, all the parts, the mandela, the dome, the spire, and all the other...uh, the other ...important stuff. I mean what does it all mean???

Here’s what it all means...

I wasn’t sure what was going on with all the guys climbing up to the top of the dome. The guys at the top of it were throwing buckets of yellow paint onto the “vase of great treasure.” The paint formed garland like rings around the dome. I asked Matrika if this was a ritual that pilgrims practiced, climbing to the top and throwing yellow paint. He said, nope, just workers decorating it as the Tibetans like their Boudhanath to be decorated. At that point I was glad I hadn’t tried to climb up there and try to throw the “ceremonial” paint.

The ever-present pack of stray dogs that look freindly enough, but you never know...

An Extra from an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation- I mean a beggar, don’t think he’s a monk...

Don’t worry, nothing nefarious happening here. This is not from the set of the horror movie, “The Stupa Stabber” (direct to video release). -Just some red paint and praying to a god...

This is an area below the mandela where pilgrims can pray on prayer mats. I saw an Asian woman doing a form of yoga. The one that involves a lot of prayer would be my guess...

Wood-fired pizza made by Tibetan monks is DEEE-lish!...

This is a prayer wheel at the entrance on the first floor to a second floor temple. If the prayer wheel stops exactly on “enlightment,” you’re automatically in the Showcase Showdown on The Price is Right....

A view from the second floor balcony...

A better view from the second floor balcony...

The entrance to the beautiful temple in which I was strictly forbidden to take photos. They are not into simplistic, bare-bones interior decorating that’s for sure. It felt special inside that room, that’s the only way I can describe it...

I was filled with questions about Buddhism that Matrika couldn’t answer. He asked if really wanted to know. I said yes!

He said he know’s a guy that knows a guy that went to school with a guy who knows a guy in one of the shops here who can hook me up with some teachings. The next post is about that guy and the Wheel of Life.

Side note: On this morning I found out that in Nepal they eat their cornflakes with hot milk- hot re-heated milk. It was the first and last time I’ve accepted an offer of cornflakes in Nepal. I’m not a picky eater, but if there are options other than that I’m taking them.

...And yeah, I’m posting a lot. I’m trying to catch up, couple weeks behind, plus I’ve discovered how to successfully upload to dtube.

Travelman log, day 179...
!steemitworldmap 27.7213 lat 85.3575 long Boudhanath in Kathmandu,Nepal, d3scr
305 Followers and counting, 852.6 steem earned. Steem price lower today. Travelman out.