A WARM GLOW- Dhulikhel and Panauti, Kathmandu Valley

.....more Nepal- Begnas Lake and Bandipur......

The bus ride back from Bandipur to Kathmandu was typically chaotic, but beautiful looking out the window. The final two hours, driving into the western side of Kathmandu was like something out of a apocalyptic film. The dust was so overwhelming and seemed to enter every crevice. Buildings were covered in a thick layer, and it was hard to breathe. We wondered, where did it all come from?? After being out in the country side of the Middle Hills, Kathmandu seemed more noisy, busy and dirty than ever. We found a good cheapie hotel in bustling Thamel, and rested for a few days, trying to rid the colds we had picked up.

Our next destination was the Kathmandu Valley town of Dhulikhel, about one and a half hour's bus ride from the capital. As the bus progressed along the highway, and we looked out the window at the brick mills, building sites, traffic, built up never ending suburbs, and more bloody dust, we wondered if we had made the right move. But after being dropped at the Dhulikhel bus station on the main road and walking a short distance, we found ourselves a world away in a small town with windy back streets and a striking old center.

Drying their hair, Dhulikhel town

Architecture detail, Dhulikhel town

Decorative doorways, Dhulikhel town

Quiet back streets of Dhulikhel town

Basket man, Dhulikhel town

The Kathmandu Valley is traditionally the homeland of the Newari people, a somewhat mysterious tribe with mixed ethnic origins. Most typical architecture we had seen thus far in Nepal, was in fact Newari. The golden age for these people was in the 17th century, and lucky for us, many buildings from this era still existed in the Kathmandu Valley.

We checked into a very daggy guesthouse that boasted 40 years of being open for backpackers. We reckon it was also 40 years since anything had been cleaned or fixed. The upside was a delicious menu in their cafe, and we made the most of items such as chocolate French toast!!!

The town of Dhulikhel was small but very pretty, and we slowly wandered for a day impressed with the style of the place, especially the temple lined village square. Although the Newari buildings here were generally in worse condition than we'd seen in other towns (presumably because of the proximity to the devastating 2015 earthquake), the warm and glowing colour they reflected was quite remarkable. There were some differing designs to the Middle Hills towns, such as ultra-ornate window carvings.

Intent little boy, Dhulikhel town

Decorated streets, Dhulikhel town

Dhulikhel girl

Old beauties, Dhulikhel town

Ornate doorways, Dhulikhel town

Rich's new friend, Dhulikhel town

Lovely warm colours, Dhulikhel town

Waiting for Dad at the temple, Dhulikhel town

Hand painted Everyready signs, Dhulikhel town

Nice old fella, Dhulikhel town

A most atmospheric shop, Dhulikhel town

Carved window surrounds, Dhulikhel town

The down side to Dhulikhel were the dogs. As previously mentioned, there are way too many stray dogs in Nepal for our liking, but up until now they had been passive and non-aggressive. For some reason the dogs in Dhulikhel and around were not only extremely loud and annoying with their barking, but much bolder and threatening, and we took to carrying a stick around for fear of being attacked.

First on the agenda was to a walk to an important local monastery, Namobuddha. We were gutted when we were told the guesthouse there was full all through April. We'd been looking forward to staying the night, exploring the site and having dinner and breakfast with the monks.
Tackling the walk regardless, we found the scenery on the hike was not as scenic as we'd already experienced in other places in Nepal, and the foggy weather obscured any mountain views. But the path was quiet and easy to follow for the most part and we greatly enjoyed the walk. Unfortunately, the rubbish problem was again very apparent around Dhulikhel, as we'd seen everywhere in Nepal. We probably sound like a broken record, but it's so devastating to see such a magnificent landscape so diminished by thoughtless littering.

Friendly village people we encountered on the walk

Lovely old house, Namobuddha walk

Sal on Namobuddha walk

Scenery between Dhulikhel and Namobuddha

After Namobuddha, we started walking to the nearby town of Panauti, but decided to jump on a bus going our way to save our legs. It was a wonderfully bumpy and chaotic ride over the fields in a small bus full to the brim with loud village people and their produce falling around everywhere.

Walking around the country side near Dhulikhel, we again marvelled at the wonderful variety of bright, twittering birds of all shapes and sizes in the forests, and heard our first cuckoos and woodpeckers.This area had spectacular red rhododendrons in flower, and were very happy once more to be active and strolling in the beautiful nature of Nepal.

Beautiful light in the forest near Dhulikhel

We took the bus back to Panauti another day to have a proper look around. Panauti is situated on the sacred confluence of the Roshi and Pungamati Rivers, and is considered an important religious place by the Nepalis. You wouldn't know it, though, by looking at the black slime and horrendous rubbish that cover the "holy" rivers.

Unbelievable rubbish filled "holy" river, Panauti

The town itself, however, was like a living museum, and we were instantly enchanted. The same glowing coloured brick buildings as Dhulikhel were suitably decrepit and full of character. Little shrines, lane ways, walled gardens and falling down mansions were around every corner.

Home made shoes in Panauti market

Chairs and a door, Panauti

Red glow, Panauti

Friendly little girl, Panauti

Watching the world go by, Panauti

Delicately carved window, Panauti

He's spied us! Panauti

Panauti street

Temple carving, Panauti

Keen for a photo, Panauti

Panauti town square

The sacred temple area by the river was particularly atmospheric, and we spent ages there soaking up the early morning ambience. The drizzly, dark day added a spooky element to the spiritual place. A priest sang out songs and blessings, and accompanied himself on a conch shell and bells, and another group of men played instruments and sang songs on the temple steps. People walked around the various shrines making their morning offerings and lighting candles, and it was all quite lovely. The background of the forested hills and rivers made it a place we would have loved to seen 50 years ago when the whole town would have been clean and respected.

Musicians singing, Panauti

Down and out man, Panauti

Priest giving a blessing, Panauti

Temple complex, Panauti

Holy man in a lovely window, Panauti

We were once again fascinated by the easy intermingling of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths in Nepal. It makes sense that over time, saints, travellers and traders coming from India and Tibet would have brought new religious ideas to Nepal. The blend was quite unlike anywhere we'd visited before, and we were intrigued by the temples we saw with Hindus and Buddhists praying side by side. Temple complexes could often have a Hindu shrine with it's red coloured idol, Buddhist prayer flags flying outside, a white stupa in the grounds and perhaps a Ganesh statue next to it. Prayer and ritual is the focus of life for many Nepalis, and we found it compelling, whatever the religious mix.
Another interesting fact was that the Nepali Hindus have there own God, which doesn't exist in the Indian Hindu pantheon. Machhendranath is linked with the weather, especially monsoon, and protects the Kathmandu Valley.

Dhulikhel's famous Himalaya views evaded us, and unfortunately we didn't see the mountain view once due to terrible weather conditions. However, we figured we'd had plenty of luck with clear vistas in other areas, and were more than happy with what we had seen.

A couple of other walks we were interested in doing around Dhulikhel were thwarted by some atrocious weather that suddenly arrived in town. The temperature dropped to coat and beanie conditions, and great swathes of mist covered the town, to be followed by torrential rain. The ground was turned to slippery mud, even in Dhulikhel town, and the incentive to get out to the country side was quashed. Rather than hang out in our rather depressing room, we decided to escape to Bodnath, our next destination, and see if things were better there.

We thought it amusing people could by two cigarettes at a time, and also that it cost AU$0.30 cents!

....last stop Nepal- Boudhanath.....

MAGIC PATHS AND STONY TRAILS- Begnas Lake and Bandipur, Middle Hills, Nepal

....previous post, Tansen times.....

Happy lady, Bandipur

Our brief stop in Pokhara on route between Tansen and Begnas Lake made us appreciate how quiet the town had been in January and February. We were very happy to have had our long stay there during the off season, instead of mid-March when the the town was incredibly more crowded and completely mobbed by tourists.

Our route west from Kathmandu since arriving in Nepal

We swiftly continued the journey a short distance to our next destination- another lake. There are actually two lakes near small Begnas town- Begnas and Rupa, both  much smaller than Phewa Lake. We took a bus up the steep road to the lovely little village of Pachabaiya high above both lakes. A few low-key home stays offered modest lodgings with breathtaking views. We were incredibly lucky the day we arrived to have a dramatic storm in the afternoon, and were then rewarded with the cloud clearing, and the Himalayas coming out to show off as the sun set. We made the most of our terrace to sit and gape at the mountains looming so awesomely close. Of course, it isn't possible to capture the beauty in photos, but we just never become tired of the endless changing mountain views in Nepal.

Beauty after the storm, Begnas

Begnas Lake

The view from our terrace, Begnas

Inevitably, there were more walking opportunities, and we had one tough, but rewarding day in particular walking down to and along the gorgeous Rupa Lake. Rupa is less developed than Begnas Lake, and we hardly saw a soul after we left the high villages. We traipsed down amongst the forest on lovely dirt or stone paths, which led to graded little plantations on the lakeside. We were just high enough to see some blooming rhododendrons in white and pink, as well as hundreds of butterflies and dragonflies.

Taking a rest at Rupa Lake

Scenery around Rupa Lake

Lovely walking, Rupa Lake

Terraced fields around Rupa Lake

Heading back up to our village

Views from our walk around Rupa lake

Elderly local resident, Begnas

Sweet little boy

After a couple of days, we were keen to travel further afield, and a series of bus rides then took us to Bandipur- a village high up in the Middle Hills of Nepal, in between Pokhara and Kathmandu. Arriving in Bandipur was quite a big surprise and we honestly weren't sure what to make of the place when we initially got off the bus. The traffic-free village centre was an incredibly preserved series of heritage buildings covering several streets. Complete areas full of 18th century tall wooden Newari buildings in an intact state were unexpected yet marvellous. Some buildings seemed to have been unchanged, but lived in for hundreds of years, and others had been conserved and renovated. The shutters and balconies on the houses and the cobble-stoned streets really did give a slightly European feel- we never expected to find that in Nepal!

Early morning Bandipur streets

Main street, Bandipur

Close up house detail, Bandipur

Red is the colour, Bandipur

Love how this toddler is so round!

Fruit seller, Bandipur

On one hand, this was wonderful. The other side was the means of being able to achieve this. Almost every structure in the centre of Bandipur was given over to a guesthouse, hotel, or restaurant. There were dozens of such places of varying luxury in a small area, and as a result of the town's prettiness and the plethora of comfortable accommodations options, the place was completely mobbed with tourists, many of them on tours. It was all a bit confusing for us, but we found a cheap room in an old house, and upped our food budget for the week we were there, and managed quite well! We had to adapt to the tourist-weary high street businesses and kids asking for chocolate and pens. But we also felt sorry for Bandipur's residents constantly having massive camera's stuck in their faces by day tripping Chinese tourists and thinking about what the changing town must mean to their lives.

Bandipur back streets

Hanging out by the temple, Bandipur

Enjoying a treat, Bandipur

Shy little one, Bandipur

Gathered on the front step, Bandipur

Street scene, Bandipur

We were extremely happy to discover a wonderful selection of walking trails around Bandipur. One advantage of being somewhere with many tourists was that places and tracks were relatively well sign posted and labelled- at least at the outset of the walk. By the time we were along the trail usually the route was obvious (although not always!). Mostly we had a destination in mind when we set out, easily found where we wanted to go, and knew when we got there!

The countryside was even more lovely than Tansen, if that's possible. Much of the area surrounding Bandipur was forested, and we loved the little tracks meandering through impossibly quaint villages.

The walk to Ramkot was delightful, especially when we left the larger newer track and wandered along the shady tree-lined original path with fragrant wild flowers and colourful birds along the way. The village was traditional and very basic, but perhaps soon will become more developed, as more and more tourists head that way. There is already a kind of "hotel" there. For now, the inhabitants are used to visitors, but don't seem to mind the mini invasion and having pictures taken. Most of the houses were mud brick with sturdy-looking slate roofs, and we were lucky to see one of the last standing round houses, which in the past Ramkot was famous for. A few places had picturesque thatched roofs, stones walls surrounding gardens and high structures for the corn to dry.

Ramkot village house

Two little cute kids, Ramkot

Ramkot village

Lovely old houses, Ramkot

LOVE this old round house, Ramkot

Close up wall construction, Ramkot

Lovely face

Could she get any cuter?!

Another walk was the knee trembler down the steep hill to Dumre along the charming old walking trail. The ancient-looking stone steps were beautifully crafted, and Rich, in particular, appreciated the immense amount of time and work involved in constructing them, having experience in stone work in the past. Who made them and when, remains unknown to us, but it must have taken years. What a shame they are seldom used these days, as the new road is much easier and quicker.

Stunning old trees, Bandipur to Dumre old road

Tiny villages, Bandipur to Dumre old road

Curious village girl, Bandipur to Dumre old road

Ancient steps, Bandipur to Dumre old road

A couple of days of bad weather coincided rather well with some slight sickness, and we were able to rest up comfortably and watch the world go by from our new favourite little cafe.

Magnificently, on our last day, the clouds cleared somewhat, and we were rewarded with the widest Himalaya view yet on a wonderful walk to a nearby gompa. The mountains disappeared far into the distance as far as we could see east and west. We made the most of the sunny day, and the locals were also in good spirits, old and young out on the front steps, after the couple of drizzly, cold days.

Sal at gompa, Bandipur

Views over Bandipur

Happy to see on our last day in Bandipur

Gaping at the mountains, Bandipur

In amongst the prayer flags, Bandipur

Beautiful tree, Bandipur

Famously, people in Nepal carry all sorts of things on their backs with a strap attached around their heads. Although we weren't high up in the mountains, where the practice is more prevalent due to lack of roads, we still constantly saw such things as crates full of drink bottles, sacks of flour, large full water bottles and in one instance, a filing cabinet being carried around town on heads. Rural women are constantly carrying feed for the animals or collecting water from a communal tap and transporting it strapped to their heads. Incredibly strong.

Tough Nepalese women

We found the hiking around the Middle Hills to be extremely scenic, challenging and rewarding. For us, it was far more satisfying to use areas such as Gorkha, Tansen and Bandipur as bases for day walks, and enjoy the culture of the interesting towns as well. It seemed unnecessary to pay a lot of money to hike the same trekking routes most other travellers to Nepal take. We enjoyed doing something different, and it had the added bonus of being much cheaper!!

Sal was quite happy to leave the room in Bandipur. Unlike our relaxing early morning wake ups in Tansen, in Bandipur we were without fail woken super early by departing tour groups and their wheelie suitcases, as well as the dulcet tones of the man over the road hocking his guts up every five minutes and spitting it onto the road.

Leaving Bandipur, our bus driver said a prayer to his several Hindu gods on the dashboard (surrounded by a Buddhist prayer flag- you can never be too protected!), and we then sailed off down the narrow twisty road, and were on our way back to Kathmandu to continue the adventure.....

What a face, Bandipur

Caught up in Holi celebrations, Bandipur

Thank goodness the pink washed out!

Nepal's unconventional flag

....more Nepal- Dhulikhel and Panauti here.....