Nepal Vacation

We recently returned from a lovely vacation in Nepal. Mark has previously travelled to Nepal for both work and pleasure, but this was my first time to this beautiful country.

We spent half of our time in Kathmandu, enjoying urban Nepal, and half of our time outside of the city in the small village of Nagorkot. Prior to our arrival, I had done some reading in the Lonely Planet guidebook. It describes Kathmandu as a, "a shock - the sights, sounds and smells can lead to sensory overload". I can understand that this statement would be true if we were arriving from Vancouver, but coming from Dhaka, we found Kathmandu to be a breath of fresh air. We found that the people were friendly & genuine, the traffic and noise was significantly better, the temperature was more reasonable, and there was a generally more peaceful feeling...
There is so much to see in Nepal and Kathmandu, that we had to decide what we were going to see, and what would have to be left for another time. Clara is a wonderful little traveller, but we need to work with her napping & eating schedule in order for any of us to have fun! We had windows of sight-seeing opportunities of about 3-4 hours before we had to return to the hotel. Definitely different than Mark's 3 month trekking odyssey, but definitely rewarding and fun.One of our first stops was the ancient Buddhist stupa of Swayam bhundath (the Monkey Temple). This temple is dramatically set on a hilltop within walking distance of central Nepal, and attracts a constant stream of tourists and worshippers.


































On another day, we went to Patan, the second largest town in the Kathmandu valley. The Kathmandu valley was originally made up of 3 cities - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. These 3 cities have since merged together as the population has grown, but each has their own 'city square'.

Patan's central Durbar Square is packed with temples, with a far greater concentration of architecture than I have seen anywhere else. It is a beautiful, awe inspiring and quietly spiritual place.
















We saw a sadhu (holy man), or, rather, he saw us. A sadhu has no earthly possessions, and exclusively pursues his spirituality. This particular sadhu also happened to possess a great head of hair, and asked if we would like to have a photo taken with him...for a certain price, of course....I don't think I was too impressed, do you?















There are some challenges and constraints when travelling with a young baby, but people don't often talk about the rewards. We loved to see how people would smile at us when they saw Clara peaking out of the back-pack, and it was wonderful to see how much she enjoyed our sightseeing.















After a couple of days in Kathmandu, we headed 30 km north east to Nagarkot. We stayed at a lovely resort, and enjoyed quiet valley views, clean air and quiet (did I mention that we enjoyed the quiet?).
















We spent one of our days in the hills walking from Nagarkot to Changu Narayan, which is a beautiful temple important to both Hindus and Buddhists. The walk was about 4 hours, and Clara seemed to enjoy the perspective from her backpack.
















Our last night in Kathmandu we splashed out, and stayed at the Hyatt...we agreed that should NOT become accustomed to the lavish lifestyle.

The boudhnath, with is the largest stupa in Nepal, and one of the largest in the world, was a short walk from the hotel. The bodhnath is the religious centre for Nepal's considerable population of Tibetans, and there are many small shops selling Tibetan artefacts. This is one of the few places in the world where Tibetan culture is accessible, vibrant and unfettered.

We saw many monks walking clockwise around the stupa releasing prayers on prayer wheels. It was a profoundly spiritual place, and inspiring to see so many devout, peaceful people resiliently, quietly following their beliefs. This is in sharp contrast to the sharp noise and jostling associated with worship in Bangladesh.





























Clara loves music, and bounces up and down when she hears something that she likes. On our last night in Kathmandu, there were some musicians playing music in the lobby of the hotel. At first we sat down and enjoyed the music from a distance, but soon she was in the midst of it, and loved participating!















All in all it was a wonderful vacation. We would heartily recommend a visit to Nepal to anyone. Clearly, the type of trip will depend on who is going, and the interests of the individual. Regardless, there is something for everyone - shopping, trekking, historical sights, excellent restaurants, and colourful cultures and people. We would not hesitat to go again, although, perhaps when Clara is a little older so that we can see a bit more of the countryside on foot.

We hope that everyone is doing well, and love hearing from you all,

lots of love from the Boltons in Bangladesh!