234: Kathmandu Valley from the 1000 places to see before you die

Some 1m live in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal and the main city in Kathmandu Valley which is a 15 by 12 mile mass of towering mountain ranges and two sister cities- Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. While the flight in was pretty spectacular passing Everest outside the window, I decided to go the following day on the mountain flight which involved a small 20 seater plane doing a lap around the mountain ranges for an hour. Given that Seta airline had just crashed outside of Kathmandu after hitting a bird and 19 people had died I was rather nervous. However, what must be the best pick up place in the world, Kathmandu departure lounge, which is full of fit men in their North Face gear about to take off on mountain range treks, took my mind off the issue …and I got up and down safely.

thats everest- the triangle at the back

 Kathmandu has seven UNESCO world heritage sites- the Durbar Square, Patan, Bhaktapur city, the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Bauddhanath and the Hindu temples of Pashupati and Changu Narayan.

The next day we toured around Pashupati , one of these UNESCO world heritage site which is very sacred to the Hindus who come here to burn their dead.

Cremation grounds...yes the river is that filthy- everything goes into it

Stoking the dying embers

Ready for cremation

Washing the feet of the dead tradition before cremation

holy men

The Hindu temple in the background- no admittance to non Hindus

 Then onto Bauddhanath temple, another UNESCO Site, which was rather relaxing despite all the tourist shops around the stupa, it was pleasant to while away a bit of time watching the Buddhists go round all the prayer wheels.

Followed by a hubby bubble and drinks with new friends at the very cool Buddha Bar in Kathmandu.

Not wanting to leave Kathmandu without hitting as many of the UNESCO sites as possible it was over to Swayambhu

 

view of kathmandu valley

After that a not so quick trip (the traffic here is hellish!) we visited Durbar Square  built between the 12th and the 18th centuries by the ancient Malla kings of Nepal and containing old palaces, temples, shrines and the ubiquitous “holy” men all wanting their photos taken for cash.

fumari devi's house

Sadly, Kumari Devi, the poor child removed from her family at the age of 5 to become the reincarnation of the goddess Taleju didn’t show her face. She obtains this position if she demonstrates 16 internal qualities and 16 external qualities, and then is subjected to a life where her feet can not touch the ground, she is only allowed out (and then on a litter) for 13 times during the year at festivals, and only her immediate family can visit her. And so, in her little 2 storey “palace” she lives until she gets injured or has her period.
The final UNESCO Buddhist stupa visited was Bauddhanath, also known as monkey temple.

A short hour drive away we headed to the town of Bhaktapur with its amazing architecture, cobbled streets and the nightly power failures for a few hours. Here woodwork rules the day and the old houses, walls no longer straight, are framed by highly designed windows and doors. After the noise of Kathmandhu coming here was a blissful respite.

sunrise

heading off to the market

Should Kathmandu Valley be in the 1000 places to see before you die book. A resounding yes

233 Gaudi and La Sagrada Familia, Spain from the 1000 places to see before you die bo

La Sagrada Familia

Im a great lover of all things Gaudi...Miro a close second. What was amazing on this roman catholic cathedral is that I first visited it 15 years ago. At that time I can't recall work being done on the unfinished shell...but now, what is probably Gaudi's greatest work, is being finished.

Sadly, probably not for some time. The site has actually been under construction since 1882 until Gaudi died in 1926. That is not a typing error!! Its not expected to be completed any time before 2030...everyone has different views as to actual completion time and this is Spain.

Unfortunately, Gaudi didn't leave clear details as he was constantly changing the building design and plans subsequently got destroyed in the civil war. Consequently we will never know whether the interpretation the architects are now giving to the plans is what Gaudi would have done.

Opened in 2010 to visitors (there is a small museum inside and Gaudi's crypt) the site is still, as you can see from the photos- one big building site. When finished, if it is true to agreed views on how Gaudi planned it, the church will be about 100 by 60m and hold 13,000 people. Four towers in each of the three facades representing the 12 apostles , four others- the evangelists, one tower dedicated to Virgin Mary and the tallest- some 170m- representing Jesus will form the 18 towers in total. 

After that ...a quick visit to the cool and quirky Parc Guell, another Gaudi creation. Ive loved this park ever since i first saw it so many years ago. Its whimsical, crazy, fantastical and reminds me now of that second fabulous but not in the 1000 places to see before you die  book northern Indian garden that sadly has nothing on the web about it...I should sort that out!

entrance to parc guell

the view from parc gull

So, worthwhile inclusion in the 1000 places to see before you die book...a big resounding yes!!