Swayambunath Stupa

ABOUT SWAYAMBUNATH

Swayambunath is a Buddhist temple (stupa) in Kathmandu. It is one of the seven monumental zones that make up the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site. It is also called "Monkey Temple" because there are a lot of monkeys in the temple.

ENTRANCE FEE

The entrance fee for foreigners from non-SAARC countries is NPR200.

GOING THERE

We took a cab from Thamel and the same driver drove us back to our hostel for NPR700. I'm not sure if there are buses that go to Swayambunath.

Vajra

Kathmandu as seen from Swayambunath

That baby monkey suddenly crept up the balcony where I was leaning... I was so surprised!

My last sunset in Nepal

Now, this concludes my series of posts regarding my trip to Nepal last April-May 2013.

Shivapuri-Nagarjun and My Bumpiest Ride Ever

After the Everest flight, I went back to the B&B and had breakfast. A couple of hours later, one of my travel companions asked me if I wanted to go with them to Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park. The original plan for that day was to go to Swayambunath and Bouddhanath stupas and therefore going to Shivapuri-Nagarjun meant not going to one of the aforementioned stupas. I had wanted to go to both stupas but eventually decided to tag along (to Shivapuri-Nagarjun) as I didn't want to take the taxi alone in Kathmandu or be left in the B&B alone lol.

We hired a 4WD (a Toyota Land Cruiser) from the travel agency in front of the B&B for NPR 7500. Expensive, yes. However, I think the price would be more manageable if more people ride this big vehicle.

We also paid NPR250 (rate for foreigners) to enter the national park.

That's our ride, yo!

There were no paved roads, just a forest trail (that's why a 4WD was needed). It was the bumpiest ride I've ever experienced! It was impossible to take a nap during the more-than-one-hour-ride as we were practically thrown around inside the car haha. 

Finally, we arrived at the top. It was so windy! The sun was high up as it was almost noon but it was cold.

The stupa in Shivapuri-Nagarjun

We relaxed a little, enjoyed the view and waited for the clouds to part even just a bit.

Eventually, we got a little peek of the snow-capped mountains. Try to look between the clouds.

Of course the ride back down was another [bumpy] story. I say, if you're going to Nepal and will be going to Nagarkot or Pokhara, I don't think going to Shivapuri-Nagarjun for the view is required especially since it's very expensive to take the 4WD (our taxi ride to Nagarkot and back only cost 5500 for four people). Unless, of course, you're going to take a hike (which, I think, Shivapuri-Nagarjun is also known for). However, if you're stuck in Kathmandu but you want to see the mountains, since the ride to Shivapuri-Nagarjun only takes an hour or so from Kathmandu, it could be an option.

The City of Patan

ABOUT PATAN CITY

The City of Patan, also called Lalitpur: The City of Fine Arts, is an ancient city in Nepal located eight kilometers south of Kathmandu City. It's also one of the seven monumental zones that comprise the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site.

ENTRANCE FEE

We paid NPR500 (around PhP250) to enter. It's cheaper compared to Bhaktapur (though to me that's for good reason.) Those who come from countries that are SAARC members pay a lot less.

GOING THERE

From Thamel, we took the taxi to Patan which cost us around NPR500. It didn't take long despite the traffic because Patan is pretty close. The driver dropped us off at the ticket entrance where we were given maps and then we simply walked inside the city. I believe you can also take the bus from Kathmandu City to Patan (which is a lot cheaper).

GETTING AROUND

Unlike Bhaktapur which is closed to most vehicles with four or more wheels, Patan is open to traffic. It's quite a challenge to walk around the city with many vehicles honking around but I think it's manageable. Also, compared to Bhaktapur, Patan is much more crowded (not just with foreigners but also locals).

Anyway, I'll let these photos do the talking.

The following photos are from the Hiranya Varna Mahavihar also known as The Golden Temple:

Here's Patan Durbar Square

I took a photo of this shop because I was amused that they sell solar panels in local hardware shops! Nepal has energy problems and as a result, they get frequent power cuts. I think their main source of power is hydropower, which is not very reliable because droughts or simply lack of water in the rivers would mean less power production. That's why they compensate with solar power. Actually, I saw a lot of houses in Kathmandu equipped with solar panels so that they have electricity and hot water even during power cuts. (And this is me being an Energy Engineering major... on indefinite leave lol.)

This is Mahabouddha temple where thousands of images of the Lord Buddha are engraved:

After all the walking, everyone was tired (plus, we just came back from Nagarkot that morning) so we decided to go back to the B&B.

Unfortunately, we had a bad experience with the taxi driver who drove us back to Thamel. He suddenly shot up our fare to NPR1000 and we were like "What? But we only paid 500 to come here by taxi." We were foreigners who didn't know much about the ins and outs of the country and I'm not gonna say any more but it was quite scary for us. In the end, we decided that we didn't want to stress ourselves out so we just paid him the NPR1000.

Durbar Marg lined with trees with purple flowers as seen from the taxi

Patan was a good experience albeit a little stressful because of the crowds and that taxi driver. Like what most people say, if you're not a huge fan of temples, it becomes quite redundant after you've gone to Bhaktapur. However, because I like temples and architecture, I didn't really mind. I kind of wish I listened more to our History classes in high school, though. Haha

Cafe Mitra in Kathmandu

While researching about Kathmandu, I chanced upon Cafe Mitra. Seeing that it's one of the highly-recommended restaurants on Tripadvisor, I decided that I will eat there when I got to Kathmandu.

After the trip to Nagarkot, my friends and I decided to eat lunch at Cafe Mitra in Thamel. The entrance is small and we actually passed by it without noticing and had to turn back to find it. The interior is quite big though. The place is tastefully-decorated and cozy.

They offer both outdoor and indoor dining but because it was noon, we opted to eat indoors. I would say it has a different feel from the other restaurants I've been to in Thamel as most of them are not this modern-looking.

There's an iPod classic and a speaker if you want to hear music.

The menu was limited and the food was kinda pricey compared to other restaurants in Thamel (from NPR500 to above NPR1000 or ~USD12 to above~USD24).

We were the only customers that time.

Surprised by the price range and being the cheapskate that I am, I ordered one of the cheapest items in the menu: goat cheese with mashed potatoes and vegetables (NPR550).

The goat cheese was quite strong and sour to me at first but eventually, I got the hang of it. It was really good. 

This photo makes me really hungry.

My food may not look like much but it was very filling and super tasty. Even my friends who tasted it loved it. It may also be one of my most expensive meals in Nepal but I think it's really worth it! At first, I even felt a bit guilty about dragging my friends to an expensive place (not that I'm aware of it) but even my friends said the food is worth it!

If you have money to spare, I say you should try Cafe Mitra at least once during your stay in Kathmandu.

Bhaktapur City left me at a loss for words

Bhaktapur City. It's one of the places that I was truly excited to see while I was planning our trip to Nepal so when I finally saw the place in person, I was lost for words. I don't know how to describe the place. Beautiful? Breath-taking? To me, those words are understatements. 

I don't know if it's because of my fascination with architecture/engineering that I feel this way about Bhaktapur City. Not everyone probably feels the same way as I did. 

ABOUT BHAKTAPUR CITY

The Ancient City of Bhaktapur is one of the seven monument zones that comprise the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site. It is located around 12 kilometers away from Kathmandu City.

ENTRANCE FEE

We paid NPR1100 (around PhP550) to enter. It's quite a lot but I think it's worth it. Those who come from countries that are SAARC members pay a lot less.

GOING THERE

From Thamel, we took the taxi to Bhaktapur which cost us NPR1200. It took around an hour to reach Bhaktapur (the traffic was a bit bad in Kathmandu.) While going down the taxi, the driver offered to wait for us and bring us back to Thamel for the same price and we took his offer. (We could have bargained but we just didn't.) He said we can pay him when we get back to Thamel. We're totally not used to that kind of arrangement in the Philippines. I mean, come on, a dishonest person could have gotten away from Bhaktapur (as there are other exits) and not pay the driver but I guess that's not the way things run in Nepal. It was probably the other way around. He didn't take our fare immediately because he wanted to make sure we'd come back to him to drive us back to Kathmandu. Coming from the Philippines, I'm truly amazed at how strangers can trust others and be trusted as well.

You can also take the bus from Kathmandu City to Bhaktapur (which is a lot cheaper).

GETTING AROUND

Aside from motorcycles and some vehicles, there aren't many vehicles around Bhaktapur. It's easy to walk around as the city is not too big and there is less pollution and less honking.

Anyway, I'll let these photos do the talking.

Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Vatsala Durga Temple

Golden Gate which leads to the Taleju Temple (which is only accessible to Hindus)

Pashupatinath Temple

Siddhi Laxmi Temple

Nyatapola Temple in Taumadhi Square

Taumadhi Square as seen from the Nyatapola Temple

Dattetraya Square (quite underwhelming compared to the Durbar and Taumadhi Squares)

Despite the heat that we had to bear (which is a lot more bearable compared to the humid Manila heat), I think Bhaktapur is my favorite place in Nepal. :)

Garden of Dreams: An Oasis in Kathmandu

ABOUT GARDEN OF DREAMS
In the middle of the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu is a European-style garden called the Garden of Dreams. It was created in year 1920 and then renovated in year 2000 with the help of the Austrian Government.


GOING THERE
Garden of Dreams is a good walking distance from Thamel (the tourist hub of Kathmandu where a lot of hostels and B&B's are located). However, since we were carrying a lot of stuff that time, we took the taxi for NPR200.


ENTRANCE FEE
Entrance fee is 200 rupees for foreigners. I think it's worth it if you're going to stay inside for a while. Unfortunately, we didn't have such luxury because we were headed to Nagarkot that day as well. 

It's like an oasis in the middle of a busy city. It's not very big and you can hear vehicles outside honking most of the time though the sounds are already toned down. There's also a number of noisy crows around but it's a good place to rest and to breathe (as Kathmandu is pretty polluted). It also makes for an ideal spot to read, to meditate, or for couples to cuddle. 

This vine-covered building reminds me a lot of one of my postcards from France

You can lie on the cushions.

There are many flowers around because it's spring.

Flowers floating in water on a singing bowl-- you will see them a lot in Nepal

A rose

Before leaving, we had some dessert in Kaiser cafe inside the garden. Cost me 260 rupees.

Lime yogurt cheesecake