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Hi. We have been off the air for a day or two due to WiFi issues.
We have still managed to cover a fair bit of ground though.
Update points:
1. Desley's legs were still sore when going down stairs five days after our Dhampus adventure. Much Dencorub used to no avail.
2. I was crook for about 5 days when we were in Pokhara. In the end I tried a 'crash or crash through' remedy - a massed infusion of ice-cream and beer. This did not work out well at all. Happily a few days on antibiotics did the trick.
Over the last couple of days we wandered around Kathmandu. By chance we came upon the famed Toothache God. This is a twisted old tree stump of indeterminate age. Devotees with a toothache simply nail a coin to the stump as an offering to the tiny image of a deity that is secreted within the stump.
Based on the number of dentists in the surrounding streets this homage to the God must not always work. I can see why the locals would give it a try though - the windows of the Dentists shops are often full of bowls of extracted teeth, charming looking false choppers and other dusty exhibits.
Des organised a pair of prescription sunglasses for $24.00. We pick them up on the 21st and if they perform as advertised will be a bargain.
I have for some time been fascinated by the interesting stuff that the Nepalese (and Indians) have fixed to their car dashboards - incense holders, images of various Gods, Flags etc.
Well I will now be able to join them as I have acquired a gold (plastic) Tibetan Prayer Wheel which has a little solar panel fitted to it, causing the Wheel to spin and send off many Om Mani Padme Hum's into the infinite heartspace. I am very pleased with it and can't wait to attach it to my car.
We had a pretty big day today with a visit to Bhaktapur (Sth East of Kathmandu) and to the Sleeping Vishnu at Budhanilkantha (Nth East of KTM).
Bhaktapur was once a separate Kingdom (similar to Patan and Kirtipur in this respect) and therefore has its own Durbar Square. Apart from the lack of traffic within the inner city and the $15.00 AUD each it cost to enter, the main talking point of Bhaktapur is the five roofed Nyatapola Temple, the highest in the Valley - see the Photo section for pix.
The Sleeping Vishnu is a very large image of Vishnu, asleep on the coils of a huge snake. The whole lot resides in a water tank and appears to float. The story goes that this image was created so long ago that it was ultimately buried (don't know why but probably due to a war) and forgotten.
Many, many years later a farmer was ploughing his field and uncovered it - much to everyone's surprise!
There is another Festival gearing up at present and a number of lady singers, dancers and musicians were on site and put on a very good show - not for tourists as such as we were the only obvious foreigners there. See the photo's of this too - it's a beauty.
- comments
Allen I think you should get another prayer wheel to attach to dug dug!
floppyboot Good idea - I'll probably need it too.
Pokey I'm heading to khatmandu next week on a dental mission trip! Sounds like our group should visit the toothache tree when we get there! I have learned a lot from your blog! Thanks!
floppyboot Thanks Pokey - our pleasure and we are sure you will enjoy your visit.