After 2 days of
sitting in airports and 26 hour on airplanes, we had finally landed
in Kathmandu Nepal on Monday, June 22. After everyone had gotten their visas,
we made our way through Katmandu international airport. Its funny how much
changes when you go from a first world country like the US to a third world
country like Nepal. I have never been outside the US in my life, so I had no
idea what to expect. We walked through metal detectors on our way out of
the plane, and lights would flash as buzzer would go off, yet no one seemed to
care. Then we walked out to claim our baggage, and everyone held their breath.
We had just gone through 5 different airports and the odds of some bags getting
lost along the way was pretty high. Thankfully we only lost 2 bags out of about
100. We walked out of the airport to our buses and headed to the hotel. The
hotel was located just outside the main circle around the stupa. As we
approached the front doors of the hotel, staff members had scarves covered in
Nepali art and writing to give to each of us.
After we dropped off
our many, many bags, we piled back onto the buses and headed to Pashupatinath
Temple, located on the banks of the Bagmati river. The buses dropped us off in
a parking lot, and all 52 of us piled off. We got some interesting looks from the locals. Since
the earthquake a few months ago, tourism in Nepal has taken a hard hit. After
so long without tourists, I think people were just curious as to why such a
large group of Americans was in the middle of Nepal. It was shocking at first
having everyone stare at us. I am used to blending into the crowd, but in
Nepal, that was next to impossible.
As we finally got to
the temple, there was smoke in the air
and the sun was just starting to break through the clouds. Our tour guides explained why there was so much smoke. People
performed cremations there, right on the river bank. Firewood was piled on
platforms that ran down the river and people were gathered around for several cremations. It
was really interesting to see a different culture so unlike the one I had come
from. One of the most interesting things to see was the different buildings
that were made for different deities on the other side of the river. They had
intricate carvings on the outside and were made of beautiful stone. The tops of
the temples are gold plated and they shine as the sun comes out from behind the
clouds. The pagoda architecture of the
buildings is also very beautiful & intricate. Not only did this
temple have beautiful architecture but it also happened to feature monkeys.
They lounge all over the stairs, buildings & tents. It was like something
right out of Tarzan.
From the very first
day I got to see the incredible beauty of Nepal. It is vibrantly green &
full of life even though the earthquake was devastating. One of the most eye
opening things to see was the extensive damage that the earthquake caused. Many
of the temples have been ruined and many houses have been reduced to piles of
mud & brick. After seeing all the destruction, I think everyone on the team
was eager to get to work & help the people of Nepal begin to rebuild.
Nabin, our in country coordinator, told us once that when people saw us it gave
them hope that Nepal could rise again.
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