I choose to stay in the Boudhanath area of Kathmandu. This was a separate town for Buddhist pilgrims and a place that welcome the Tibetan exiles when China annexed Tibet. Background. It is an area where there are many Monasteries and monks and people seeking teachings in Buddhism. Plus many Tibetans live in this area and wear traditional clothing and jewelry. I choose this area because I wanted to “know” a different part of Kathmandu.
But first to start the day, I have the most nutritious breakfast. I just love it. The corn is roasted in a pan with a bit of oil, the spinach with the freshest garlic that just excites my mouth with dense mushrooms and the roast potatoes coated with a spicy masala paste roasted until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and simple scrambled eggs! I take one piece of toast which I don’t know yet what it is made out of, it is orange in color. Of course, on the second day the staff had learned what I liked and my tea was served as I sat down and they gave me exactly what I wanted. I love chatting and learning about the staffs hopes and dreams. One has a new scooter she rides to work at 6:00 in the morning and the other likes to learn about different international foods especially different type of momos, pirogis and giozas. Another was attending a training today about the 7 Habits of Effective People. Mind you, the doors are open so there is fresh morning air and the birds singing gaily in the potted bamboo trees outside the entrance and the warm sun greeting the day. The coffee is beyond delicious but I am partial to the Nepali tea with its whole milk, rich spices and sugar. It is served is a small terra cotta cup about a 1/2 cup hot, a bit frothy and inscrutable.
The famous Stupa is not far from my hotel and I was escorted through the small streets that I remembered from the 80’s but now of course they are more commercial but still there is such an exotic feel with the clothing and the colors. In the former days I would see children, with their small hands, filing the rough edges of poured brass deities. But the children are all gone and in their place are the shops still selling the small statues and other Tibetan artifacts. There are many restaurants and coffee shops and a real meeting and discussion place where the world comes together. Bells ringing and dogs barking and the muttering of private prayers, were all around me. Below is a small video I took walking around the large stupa with other pilgrims in front and behind me. Behind the yellow curtains are prayer wheels which as you walk around the Stupa you spin with your right hand, memorializing the continuousness of life.