Swayambhunath

It was a slow day at the office, so Bikrash and I spent the day as tourists, visiting the iconic Monkey Temple and the palace of the late Nepali royal family. Bikrash also works for HSI and is a Nepali veterinarian. He was my tour guide for the day, taking me all over the city on his motorcycle and giving me the inside scoop and perspective of a local, and taking me to his favorite mo mo restaurant, as you saw in the previous post. After being sick last week, it was a much needed adventure. First stop, Swayambhunath. 

First site at the gates to the temple. From here you can either take a very grueling hike with 365 steps to the temple, or you can drive up the hill and still be out of breath after hiking up to the main stupa. 

 Shrines, everywhere.

Used yak butter candles. When full, they are lit and carried to the main stupa by pilgrims as a religious offering.

A HUGE prayer wheel. These can be found everywhere in Nepal, and I am not exaggerating. They are inscribed with prayers on the outside, and always rotated clockwise. Each rotation symbolizing the repetition of a prayer. Biskrash explained prayer wheels to me as similar to church bells. With every revolution this wheel made, a bell rang. They stand upright, but I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video, turn your head 90 degrees and watch it.

There were actually 3 statues with another one to the left. 

I couldn't fit it in the frame.

Wishing well at the temple

Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple. There were hundreds of these guys everywhere! They are adorable, but not that friendly and they will steal things right out of your hand or your bag. I was told to keep a good grip on my camera and to hide my phone.

Prayer flags everywhere! 

Great view of Kathmandu Valley from the top of the temple

 I took this pictures only about 5 or 6 feet away from them, 

so they are approachable, to a point. 

Basically, if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. 

The main stupa with the eyes of Buddha painted on all 4 sides. Although it is considered Buddhist, both Hindus and Buddhists come to worship here. The white dome at the base represents the world. When a person "awakens" from the world, they progress through the 13 phases, represented by the 13 pinnacles on top, to reach spiritual enlightenment.

More monkeys. There were little babies everywhere!

It was a fantastic day and it felt great to be able to check a few things off my bucket list...and not get attacked by a monkey.