The Garden of Dreams and the Monkey Temple

We are back in Nepal! My 6th time and Andrew's 7th.

We only had a couple days in Kathmandu before heading to Pokhara, where we will be paragliding for two weeks, so we went to our favourite places . . . the Garden of Dreams and the Monkey Temple (more formally known as Swayambhunath). And the monkeys are considered holy because "Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning ... 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."

Other favourite things . . . fresh lemon soda, banana lassi, prayer flags, and very friendly people that make Nepal what it is.

Fresh lemon soda at the Garden of Dreams

This sign outside a restaurant gave us a laugh! Anyone who's had to choke down dal bhat for weeks on end on a climbing expedition can relate! 

Any electricians in the crowd that would like to tackle this mess?
It's like this on every street corner! 

Just a couple of the many monkeys on the long flight of steps leading up to the entrance of the temple.

Only half way there!

Prayer wheels

Construction work

Waiting to business to pick up

Climbing up to string a new line of prayer flags.

Culture and Architecture

I'm not much of a history buff but the culture and architecture of Nepal is quite fascinating. There are so many interesting temples, shrines, gods, goddesses and intricate designs.

On the way back from Nagarkot we stopped at the city of Bhaktapur and later went to Durbar Square in Kathmandu. Both are protected heritage areas and both had an entrance fee with money being used for conservation and restoration efforts.

One story I found particularly interesting was Bhairav which "represents deity Shiva in his destructive manifestation. This is the most famous Bhairav and it was used by the government as a place for people to swear the truth." We were told that a person accused of a crime would be put in front and people could ask the person questions about the crime. If the person didn't speak the truth they would start bleeding from the mouth and die.

Bhairav

Edge of carved door in Bhaktapur

Statue of King Bhupatindra in Bhaktapur

In Bhaktapur

A wrestler and the elephants in front of the Five Storied Nyatapola Temple

The famous Five Storied Temple

Small carving in the coffee shop we stopped at in Bhaktapur

Door carving in Bhaktapur

In Durbar Square

There were lots of pigeons in Durbar Square thanks to so many people feeding them.

Colorful carving above the door into the Hanuman Dhoka Palace, Durbar Square

In Durbar Square

All the Animals in the Zoo

Dear Karsten,

I missed you at the zoo! I would have loved for you to see all the different animals. But Uncle Andrew and I took lots of pictures for your mommy and daddy to show you.

There were lots of deer and these two were very curious about us. Or maybe hoping we would have some food for them! Can you see their horns? They are called a four-horned deer but you really only see two of them. The other two are smaller bumps in front of their main horns.

The white pelicans look the same as the ones we see at the weir but are a different species. 

They have a nice big pond to swim in. People can also rent little boats to paddle around the water. The water has lots of algae in it which is why it looks so green. 

First time I've seen a hippo out of the water! Usually all you see are their noses. He has a big mouth! Uncle Andrew got a funny photo of all the hippo's teeth. 

This rhinoceros was having a bath. Can you see his horn?  Another one was thinking about having a bath but then went to play with a stick.

There were lots of very brightly coloured birds. It was hard to get photos of them because of the wire fenced areas they were in.

The ostriches with their long necks are funny to look at.

 I think this giant turtle is bigger than you are!

And the elephant is even bigger! In the afternoon they let people ride the elephant but we were there in the morning so didn't get to do that. You have to climb a ladder to the top of a platform and the elephant walks up beside it so that you can get on for the ride.

 The elephant has BIG FEET.

And a big trunk for gathering things to eat.

All the animals had nice big pens to live in and were well taken care of. There is a children's play area and there were lots of kids and their families visiting the zoo.

I hope you like these pictures!

Love Auntie Shelley

In the Garden of Dreams

Andrew and I found another tranquil little gem amongst the chaos of Kathmandu. Having walked by a large walled area many times on previous visits, we wondered how on earth we could have missed it.

Originally designed and built in 1920, the Garden of Dreams suffered more than 30 years of neglect before seven years of restoration work and extensive renovations. It was opened to the pubic in 2008. Hence, why it didn’t come to our attention until this trip.

The gardens are beautiful and colourful. There are several small seating areas and it seemed as if you could almost always find a quiet place to relax. You can hear noise from the busy street outside the high walls but inside there were few people. 

The Garden of Dreams was originally the private garden of Field Marshal Kaiser Sumsher Rana who won the land from his father (then the Prime Minister of Nepal) in a card game. It’s only about half its original size, having been taken over by the sprawl of the Thamel tourist district and coming very close to being completely demolished before a last-minute save from the wrecking ball. 

We enjoyed a quiet morning here and then came back later for supper and to enjoy the evening lighting. Andrew got some nice night-time photos.

The pavilion that now holds the Kaiser Cafe. We had both morning tea and supper here.

A shaded seating area and water feature with koi.

One of several small seating areas.

The tiered grassy area is used for seating during special events.

This little elephant was originally placed at one end of the pond in the photo above.
During restoration he was moved to be closer to his mom.

Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and abundance.

Design in the walkway.

Our other little oasis . . . the garden and seating area at the Nirvana Garden Hotel.