Catching up on Nepal: Sleeping With Monks
Well o.k. – not conjugally IN BED with them, of course. But do read on…
Goodness, but I need to get crackin’ here and spit out my many remaining tales of Asia (stray Nepal, Borneo and boatloads of adventures in Myanmar) before…
I – uh, did I happen to mention?
MOVE TO ECUADOR!
(O.k. – settling back down to earth here, from over-the-MOON excitement!)
But seriously. In just 2 weeks, I’m headed first for a few days in Vietnam (to see my good chum Hang, as well as my dear friends in Dalat), then fly to D.C. (yup, OMG, imagine me – touching toes down on U.S. soil again after more than *800* days here in Asia) to visit my dear friend (30 years and counting!) Chuck, and then… (yet another) ONE-WAY ticket to el pais de Ecuador (just getting back into the hang of speaking Español!)
Ah but meanwhile… if you’ve not been following along here at TL lately (shame on you!) 😉 Do check out my preceding blather on my many adventures in “The Land of Everest”:
Drizzly Nepal (a.k.a. All Is Not Always Rosy for We Wanderlusts)
Catching up on Nepal: Bhaktapur
Kathmandu: Sardine-fest with 20,000 Nepal Soccer Fans
And for these final chapters, I waded through my 1,000+ Nepal images and STILL ended up with more than *80* keepers that I’ve not yet posted, so… I’ll just plop them all here among 4 remaining posts – each with a little gallery of its own.
Sleeping With Monks
Yep, among one of my most memorable single travel nights ever – was an overnight stay at the Namo Buddha monastery (one of three major Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal). I wish I could share pics from the adrenaline-packed bus ride from Kathmandu to the monastery perched waaaaay up on the tippy-top of a mountain with the most AWESOME 360 degree views. But alas, I was too busy hanging on for dear life to even THINK about pulling out my camera.
As you can see from the pics – (but for the rising at 5 am for morning prayers!) my overnight at Namo Buddha was both amazing and incredibly serene. I opted for the “basic” accommodations (at just 500 rupees – about $5 per night including meals, and definitely most comfy!) There were a handful of other travelers there as well (mostly far more hard-core yoga/meditation devotees than yours truly) and we all enjoyed (?) morning prayers and meals with the monks. But that wasn’t really the best part. The very BEST part of the adventure, was… hitchhiking back to Kathmandu in the back of a pick-up truck filled with MONKS!
(Click on any of the thumbnails to start the slide show)
Now don’t go ‘way ‘cuz I still have a few more Nepal tales, plus of course plenty of Borneo and Myanmar adventures still to share. Not at all sure I’ll get to them before my exodus out of Asia – likely I’ll be pecking and posting them from some g-forsaken mountain top in ECUADOR!
About the Author
Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!
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Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:
I regret not reading your blog when I was in Nepal. I will surely gonna try it when I returned Nepal.
Yes David, do try to stay a night or three at Namo Buddha should you return to Nepal. It was a tad difficult to arrange a reservation (some stray telephone number I unearthed, a lad who spoke no English, an interim to the monks at the monastery), and the local bus connections were a bit convoluted, but the end reward was sublime!
Whoa, that monastery was outrageous, that is beyond cool to have stayed there!
Yes Sue, it was among the highlights of my time in Nepal. Sitting here now on the other side of the Planet in Ecuador, remembering that single night (and especially that hitch-hike back to Kathmandu!) makes me want to be/go back and explore Nepal further.
I want to sleep with the monks! But seriously I need to get to Nepal stat! It must have been amazing staying in a monastery!
Yes, it was a most extraordinary travel experience, Stacey. And no doubt one day you’ll get to Nepal too. But…
I dare say… as to your present plans… uh, you do realize that Beijing is in the opposite direction, yes? 😉
Good luck and safe travels on your EFL adventure in China!
Great photos!, and what a fun ride back that must have been.
Yes Nancie, that pickup ride with the monks was among the highlights of my visit to Nepal. Second only to… uh, pushing a tuk-tuk to the Kathmandu airport! Stay tuned! 😉
How exciting and colourful. I think I will be rattling around your site a bit from now on 🙂 I bet it was uncomfortable in the back of that ute 🙂
Yes Jan – do “rattle” yourself around these many pages all you like, and let me know if you have any question.
And yes – bumping down a mountain from Namo Buddha to Kathmandu in the back of a pickup – not exactly a First Class seat on Cathay Pacific. 😉
Wow, I’ve always wanted to visit Nepal…this is truly an exotic experience for me, one of these days it will happen. I wanted to also invite you to come join us and link up to Travel Photo Mondays, the link starts on Mondays and runs the whole week, hope you can make it?
Yes, yes Noel – one day you WILL visit Nepal b/c you will MAKE it happen, yes?
Love the way you’ve told this story and your photos are gorgeous. We lived in Nepal for 2 years when my son was only 5 weeks old. I bet it’s changed since then. Can’t wait to read future posts 🙂
Thanks Johanna. 2 years living in Nepal, eh? That must have been QUITE the adventure. Don’t know how old your son is now, but yes, no doubt it’s changed a good bit since then. I found Pokhara to be too crowded with tourist trappings for my taste – I imagine it used to be much more serene and charming.
Beautiful photos… I wish to visit Nepal someday…
Thanks Muza – yes, Nepal is a most unique place. As you’re already in Asia, hopefully you can visit one day.
What an amazing story you created. The pictures are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Neva, my single night at Namo Buddha was indeed remarkable.
I thought I was a pretty hale traveler, but overland travel in Nepal really tested my fortitude… I’ve heard Laos can be even worse, but I honestly don’t see how it’s possible!
Yep Steph, bumping along those narrow hairpin roads in a rickety local bus surely gives one pause, but I must say, I think it was precisely the rubble that passes for roads in Nepal, along with the daily electric outages, etc. that actually endeared me to the Land of Everest.
And though I only traveled overland on one local bus in Laos (from Luang Prabang, 4 hours to the annual Elephant Festival in Sayabury), I can tell you that getting around Nepal was far tougher than my experience in Lao (though there WAS that trepidatious river crossing…
In any case, would we really want it any other way? I mean, please just shoot me, when they asphalt every blessed road on the Planet, yes? 😉
Fantastic photos and a fun story to go with them. Glad to know that you haven’t messed up your karma by actually sleeping with monks.
Yup, Michele, while I didn’t actually sleep with any of the boys – I dare say my karma may still be a bit tarnished ‘cuz I took a photo during morning prayers – shame on me!
Unbelieveable! You just never stop! I love it.
lol Amy – waa? stop? Why my dear, I’ve only just begun! 😉
And I thought I was going to die just on our tuk tuk ride from the Siem Reap airport to our hotel…. No photos of that either. You can’t really take a photo with your eyes closed—as it sounds like you well know.
Yes Suzanne, sometimes it’s better to just not look. 😉
So your tuk-tuk ride in Siem Reap was a bit of an adrenalin rush? lol, take a look at my post “The TL Looks Back on 2012: The Movie” – there’s a snippet of video I took from my tuk-tuk as we were speeding around Angkor Wat, dodging flooded streets in an absolute DELUGE of rain:
http://www.travelnlass.com/2013/01/11/the-travelnlass-looks-back-on-2012-the-movie/
Another excellent gorgeous post. This armchair traveler appreciates 😉
Thanks Gai – I shall continue to try my best to traverse the entire globe for the both of us! 😉