This was the first stop we made on our city tour of Kathmandu.
Paul and I actually walked to this temple the day before from our hostel. We kind of saw the sun setting but also missed it because Paul was too nice to the guy who came up to him and started telling him things about the temple. Paul and I basically walked towards the general direction of the temple. We had no idea of how to get there or how long it would take us but we were pumped that we were actually and finally in Nepal. The walk was pretty easy and it was hard to get lost. At one point Paul almost stepped in a big pile of poop. He didn't see it because he was too preoccupied with not getting run over. So I yelled his name and stopped mid-step right above the poop. There was a truck in front of us and I made eye contact with the driver and we both just started cracking up.
Along the streets we saw some interesting things. I don't know why I was surprised to see a taekwondo sign or slabs of meat just chillin outside... We came across a dog watching a butcher slice meat. Paul and I both half-stared to which the butcher threw a small piece of meat to the dog. That was nice of him.
We were both really confused about the STD signs we saw every now and then. We never figured out what it stood for... Some streets were lined with Buddhist prayers flags and this one particular street had these colorful triangle ones.
As we neared the temple we started seeing monkeys on top of the apartment buildings and on the power lines. The insane amount of power lines on one beam freaks me out. Add a monkey to it and you can only imagine what would happen if something sparked...
This random local completely got to Paul. Since people thought I was Nepalese, I was ignored. Times like these, I'm glad I can blend in with the locals. I don't mind chatting but we had to see the sunset and time was not on our side. We ended up missing it by a few minutes because Paul's "tour guide" was walking too slow. And of course he was looking to make some money, which he did.
Once we got to the outer part of the temple, the monkeys came in droves. I like to think they were playing tag because they just kept chasing each other. Some of them got irritated and started punching each other. I sat down on a bench and time-lapsed the monkeys chasing each other. On the same bench there was a grandma and her grandchild watching the monkeys. The grandma saw me recording and I showed her the film to which she hysterically laughed out loud. I must have replayed it 4 times and each time we both cracked up. It's too bad the time lapse video doesn't work anymore...
"Swayambhunath Stupa is the most ancient and enigmatic of all the holy shrines in Kathmandu valley. Legends has it that a miraculous lotus, planted by a past Buddha, blossomed from the lake that once covered Kathmandu valley. The lotus mysteriously radiated a brilliant light and the name of the place came to be Swayambhu, meaning 'Self-Created or Self-Existent'. The Bodhisatva Manjushri was meditating at a sacred mountain and had a vision of the dazzling Swayambhu light. Manjushri flew across the mountains of China and Tibet upon his blue lion to worship the lotus. Deeply impressed by the power of the radiant light, Manjushri felt that if the water were drained out of the lake Swayambhu would become more easily accessible to human pilgrims. With a great sword Manjushri cut a gorge in the mountains surrounding the lake. The water, draining away, left the valley of present day Kathmandu. The lotus was then transformed into a hill and the light became the Swayabhunath Stupa."
"Each morning before dawn, hundreds of pilgrims will ascend the 365 steps that lead up the hill, file past the gilded Vajra and two lions guarding the entrance, and begin a series of clockwise circumambulations of the stupa. On each of the four sides of the main stupa there are a pair of big eyes. These eyes are symbolic of God's all-seeing perspective. There is no nose between the eyes but rather a representation of the number one in the Nepali alphabet, signifying that the single way to enlightenment is through the Buddhist path. Above each pair of eyes is another eye, the third eye, signifying the wisdom of looking within. No ears are shown because it is said the Buddha is not interested in hearing prayers in praise of him."
"Atop Swayambhunath hill is another fascinating, though smaller and less visited temple. This is Shantipur, the 'Place of Peace', inside of which, in a secret, always locked, underground chamber lives the 8th century Tantric master Shantikar Acharya. Practising meditation techniques which have preserved his life for uncounted centuries, he is a great esoteric magician who has complete power over the weather. When the valley of Kathmandu is threatened by drought, the King of Nepal must enter the underground chamber to get a secret mandala from Shantikar. Soon after the mandala is brought outside and shown to the sky, rain begins to fall. Frescoes painted on the inside temple walls depict when last this occurred in 1658. The small temple has a powerful atmosphere; it is mysterious, stern and slightly ominous."
"Swayambhunath stupa is also called the `Monkey Temple' because of the many hundreds of monkeys who scamper about the temple at night after the pilgrims and priests have departed. "
