Our plans were to hike to Namobuddha (known for its small stupa) and then onward to the slightly larger town of Panauti. Despite most streets in Nepal not having any signage whatsoever, our way to Namobuddha was interspersed with signs directing our way. What a relief.
The route to Namobuddha was via mountain paths and small, dirt roads.
It was so peaceful and the views were great. We got a bit lost only at one point, and a very nice Nepali man led us a short way and then directed us on our way from there.
It took us about two and a half hours of up-and-down hiking to reach the stupa.
Not much is known about the stupa at Namobuddha. Legend states, however, that one of the past Buddhas came across a tigress close to death from starvation and unable to feed her cubs near the location of the current stupa. The Buddha allowed the tiger to consume him, thus transporting himself to the “higher realms of existence.” Mike and I couldn’t really figure out what would be considered a “higher realm” when you are already the Buddha, but maybe someone else can answer this question… (post a comment!)
From Namobuddha, we continued on our way to Panauti. The trek was through tiered farm lands and small villages.
We took a break along the way to eat some oranges that we purchased from a local villager. They were delicious!
After about another two hours of walking, we reached our destination of Panauti. The guidebooks weren’t lying when they said it was a small town! Only about a few city blocks in size, but it had some beautiful temples.
And, lucky for us (as we were very hungry!), we were able to find an open restaurant for a bite to eat.
Despite our initial plans to continue our hike from Panauti to Bhaktapur, we decided we did not feel like “hiking” along a busy dirt road. Instead, we had another adventure – we took a local bus! As opposed to paying a comparably hefty taxi fee, we decided to test our luck with a local bus. Nepali buses are a two-man operation. One drives, and the other yells out the destination of the bus every time the bus slows down or passes a person on the side of the road. The shouter also bangs on the side of the bus in a Morse code-type of language that is as indiscernible as Nepali itself. It was not as difficult to navigate as one might imagine, and it was very convenient. After only about an hour, the bus dropped us off just outside of our final destination for the day – Bhaktapur.
Our only goal in Bhaktapur was to find a hotel with hot showers. After hiking most of the morning in the heat and dust, Mike and I both felt pretty disgusting! The first place we went was very nice – the rooms were very clean, and they promised lots of hot water – both from solar and gas heat. However, to our dismay, this last statement did not turn out to be true. So after finding a slightly more seedy (though much cheaper!) guesthouse, we packed up our stuff and moved to our new room, only a few short minutes away. The hot shower felt amazing! And the bed was actually not rock hard, either! We both slept well last night and woke this morning rested and excited to explore Bhaktapur.
Apparently none of our readers are enlightened enough to know what would be considered a “higher realm” when you are already the Buddha, Libbs...
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