Today I am meeting up with Lee-Ann for breakfast before heading South of Kathmandu to Patan we are of course walking. Patan has its own Durbar Square and is the main area for Newari Buddhists. Newari Buddhism is a mixture of both Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. The integration of these two different faiths is one of the most striking and impressive things about Nepal.
It takes about an hour to get their along busy dusty roads. We enter under a large white arch painted with eyes and the other usual Buddhist iconography after purchasing our tickets and placing our square yellow sticker on our shirts as proof of purchase we head towards the square. On the way there are lots of little shops selling brass and gold statues of Buddha as well as other deities some of which have their faces covered with cloth, I am not sure if this is just to protect the metal or whether it has a greater significance.
Before we reach the square we get chatting to a local man who leads us to the Golden Temple (Kwa Bahal). Once inside we make it clear that we do not want nor require a guide but if he wants to show us around as a friendly gesture we are happy to walk around with him, he quietly disappears. We have a look around the temple and see the priest of the temple. He is a young boy and he is swinging from a nearby rack that holds prayer wheels. He will be the priest of the temple for thirty days at that point another young boy will be chosen. We take some photo's unfortunately the most impressive part of the temple is covered in scaffolding so after a couple of walks around we decide to head off. Just then the local re-appears and shows us the monastery in the upstairs part of the temple, which despite being empty has some lovely thankas shame it is such a dark space.
After we leave he insists on showing us his at workshop and school where he is learning to paint Thankas. We tell him that we wont be buying but that we would love to have a look he he would like to show us. After seeing some people at work he shows us a lot of his paintings, after informing him yet again that we are in no position to buy he starts insisting that we should buy and that the price he asks for is nothing to us, I hate this attitude and the presumptions it makes if I am honest if I would have warmed to him more I might have brought one, but he was far too pushy. We say again that his paintings are beautiful but we wont be buying, as I turn to leave I hear him mumble "No problem, No respect, that's okay" I almost respond but decide better of it and we head to the square.
The hawkers seem to be more pushy in Patan I think they get more tour groups and less individual tourist's so its all a bit more desperate. After having a look around the square we decide to go for lunch we walk past a temple we can see through the doorway that it looks run down and there is a lot of scaffolding up. A man outside yells come in have a look no fee to go inside. "No thank you, we are off to lunch" I reply, "Okay, goodbye forever!" he yells back. They sure like to lay the guilt on thick around here.
We have lunch on a restaurants flat roof about four storeys up, it has fantastic views of the square and beyond. It really feels like you are right in the middle of the valley. We both have veg style curries and rice that are very tasty.
After lunch we head North to go and look at the Mahabuddha or 'Abode Of Thousand Buddhas'. The temple itself is tucked away down an alley you really wouldn't find it if there were no signs despite it being fairly large. It is all built around a huge terracotta tower into which thousands of small Buddhas have been individually carved. It is quite something to behold and in a part of the world that is full of temples it really stands out.
There is an arts festival on today and when we got our ticket for Mahabuddha we also got a ticket for Rudravarna Mahavihor Temple. It is another pretty courtyard temple containing plenty of intricate carvings and impressive statues. On the road between these two temples there are lots of stalls displaying large and impressive brass statues of Buddha's built for temples. The work is really impressive in detail and size. There is also a massive Buddhist flag at one crossroads its bright coloured stripes blowing in the breeze would not be out of place at a gay pride parade. We also come across a man in a small store front surrounded by six inch high tin soldiers in traditional Nepalese uniforms. He pulls on a small lever and their hands move up and down, it is very quaint.
We decide to head back to Kathmandu through an alternate route that will take us passed more temples and stupas. Along the way kids see us taking pictures and start posing for us. After one picture is taken a lad runs up and demands 100R, they are not shy of asking these kids.
We get a little lost on the way back more down to our lack of confidence in where we had ended up more than a poor sense of direction. We still get back well before dark and after saying cheerio to Lee-Ann I decide to do a bit more shopping, before heading out for something to eat and crashing back at the hotel. Tomorrow work begins.
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