Day 3: The Monkey Temple

Weather Update: Sunny with Occasional Showers. High 18c

Elevation Above Sea Level: 4,344 feet (1,324 metres)

Breakfast:

Hopefully, the weather holds today because I will be walking for 2.6 km and the weather suggests showers. I will be walking up to an Elevation above sea level 4613 feet (1406 meters) I'm sure most of you are clever enough to work it out. (90 metres) I had Mo Mo for breakfast which is a dumpling filled with chicken and a spicy soup, local food tastes nice. Photo Added

Leaving the Hostel

I began my walkabout at 11 and you can see from the photos that it looks a lot higher than the 90 metres but from where I am you have to go downhill towards the river and climb up the other side.

Hard to Imagine:

If you do not know about garbage patches in the oceans then please do some research because all the trash that goes into the oceans ends up in these places. Also known as the Pacific trash vortex, the garbage patch is two distinct collections of debris bounded by the massive North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is twice the size of Texas, is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world is located in the North Pacific Gyre, between Hawaii and California also known as the Pacific trash vortex, the garbage patch is two distinct collections of debris bounded by the massive North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is twice the size of Texas, is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world but it's not the only one.

Trash in the Oceans:

Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Located in the North Pacific Gyre ( spiral or vortex)

South Pacific Garbage Patch: Located in the South Pacific Gyre 

North Atlantic Garbage Patch: Located in the North Atlantic Gyre 

South Atlantic Garbage Patch: Located in the South Atlantic Gyre 

Indian Ocean Garbage Patch: Located in the Indian Ocean Gyre 

Shocking Discovery:

You might be asking what has this to do with my trip to Nepal but when I was walking over the footbridge of the Bamati River right below the bridge was a gyre a swirling mass of garbage and it was something I did not expect in Kathmandu. I expected the rivers to be fast-flowing clean and free of garbage. Tourists only see the good side of places and not the bad, solo travellers who walk and look from the ground up see more than holidaymakers.

Swoyambhu Mahachaitaya

The stupa consists of a dome at the base, on top of which is a cube structure, painted with the eyes of Buddha looking in all four directions. There are five gilt Buddha shrines at the base of the stupa, all with a Buddha statue inside them. Equally five Tara shrines can be found here, but only four of them are gilt and house a Tara statue. The shrine of Vajradhatishori Tara, or White Tara, is empty and you are not allowed to photograph them. According to Swayambhu Purana, the entire valley was once filled with an enormous lake, out of which grew a lotus. The valley came to be known as Swayambhu, meaning "Self-Created." The name comes from an eternal self-existent flame (svyaṃbhu) over which a sūpa was later built.

The Monkey Temple:

Holy monkeys are living in the north-west parts of the temple. They are holy because Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning, was raising the hill on which the stupa stands. He was supposed to leave his hair short, but he made it grow long and head lice grew. It is said that the head lice transformed into these monkeys. Manjusri had a vision of the Lotus at Swayambhu and travelled there to worship it. Seeing that the valley could be a good settlement, and to make the site more accessible to human pilgrims, he cut a gorge at Chovar. The water drained out of the lake, leaving the valley in which Kathmandu now lies. The Lotus was transformed into a hill and the flower became the stupa. The stupa was completely renovated in May 2010, its first major renovation since 1921 and its 15th in the nearly 1,500 years since it was built. The Swayambhu Shrine was re-gilded using 20 kg of gold. The renovation was funded by the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center of California.

Reflection on my day:

I enjoyed my walk today but could not help but be disappointed at the same time. You have these sacred temples and pilgrims travelling worldwide to have a close spiritual encounter with Budha. The temples are revered and at the same time they are commercial places that draw tourism and people cash in on the availability of making money.

Christian Comparison:

You have a sacred religious site and yet people are selling trinkets and baubles right at the feet of the one they revere the most. I wonder what Budha would think if he saw what was at his feet today. It's just like Jesus when he came to Jerusalem and overturned the money changers and the markets when he entered Jerusalem into his father's house.

Imagine going to church on Sunday and all along the street there are stalls selling crosses and other paraphernalia. I'm back at the hostel and I hope you enjoyed my journey today in Kathmandu Nepal