Namobuddha oh how far away you are

Inspired by the blue skies and my brand new hiking boots needing some breaking in before my trek, I decided to hike around Dhulikhel. I didn't really know much of where to go, but there was mention of Namobuddha in my guidebook. It was full day hike there according to Lonely Planet and my 11am start didn't help matters of heat, it was already about 80 F and sunny as any day I'd seen so far. I hopped on the bus up the Dhulikhel from the nearest stop. Thanks to the bandh (mentioned in the last post) the bus was a bit packed and I had to hold on to the side for a little bit till people got out.

I wandered around old Dhulikhel for a while debating on whether I really wanted to do this hike. There were a few old temples intermixed between slightly newer, but not by much, Newari houses. People mostly stayed in the shade and looked at me funny as my very white self wandered aimlessly through the streets. For a while I was followed around by a guy who was trying to be helpful, well mostly so I would hire him as a guide. After I decided to sit in the shade and soak up the streets and multiple "I don't need a guide", he finally wandered back to the bus stop to find another tourist to follow around.

I found my way through town and started up toward the Kali Temple. A combination of Rotary clubs and tourist boards had funded the "1000 steps" stairway up to the top of the mountain. Gallons of sweat later I arrived at a Buddhist statue most of the way up. I took off my shoes and wandered around, thankful for the rest and the views. The caretaker took my picture for posterity.


The views of the surrounding valley were impressive. Apparently later in the year when the cloud clear, you can see the mountains, but no such luck today.


I wandered a bit farther to the Kali Temple. The views were slightly better, but I didn't really see a temple. There were remnants of what looked like it used to be a temple, but it was mostly rubble with a few surviving shrines. From the army's presence I think the temple was probably a casualty of the recently ended civil war.

I had a lunch of egg-veg momos at a nicely located restaurant at the top of the 1000 steps. I realized that the guidebook mentions having breakfast there... whoops. Anyway I continued on through some rural cornfields and through some villages which were not much more than 4 or 5 buildings on a dusty road. I made my way to a hilltop and was met with a great view of Kavre below.


I continued on but had somehow lost the line of signs that said "Namobuddha ->". Oh well, I knew the general direction and could find my way to a road if necessary. Thankfully all the little kids would direct me in the right direction if I needed it.

I walked and walked and finally found a small tiny stupa randomly in a field. Seems like a good place to rest and fuel up on water. Not being able to read Nepali, I didn't really know what the name of the place was, but it was cool nonetheless.


I worked my way up to the top of the next hill and at about hour three I reached the ridge. I figured I'd be close since I knew it was near the top of a hill. Sadly no, I had climbed up a similarly tall, but different hill... Great. I was able to spot a glimpse of the gompa through the fields of corn and trees. It was a long way to go.


I worked my way along the ridge, skirted the Buddhist retreat complex which forbade all non-Buddhist and tourists. At about hour four I made it up the stupa. Surrounded by small tea-shops and on the edge of steep hillside, the stupa had a wonderful location. I was a bit underwhelmed by the size. Thinking I was going to find another the size of Swayambhunath, I was a bit surprised.


I walked around for a while and found the small path going up to the gompa on the hilltop. The trail up was adorned with hundreds, if not thousands, of prayer flags.



I was not allowed access to the gompa, but it was seriously impressive looking. Everything was beautiful designed and crafted.


I made my way back down to the stupa for a nice cold coke at a tea-shop before heading out to where I saw buses earlier. It was getting late and I didn't really want to walk another few hours down in case it started to rain. I got one last glimpse of the stupa before taking off to the bus stop.


After arriving at the bus stop I found out that I was just in time for the last bus which "should be here soon". It was a dusty confluence of the trail to Namobuddha and the road to Dhulikhel, not much besides a tea-shop or two in the way of amenities.



Roaming around the shops were some seriously cute animals - small chicks and some really cute puppies.


A few cars went in my general direction, but after 30 minutes, no bus.


I sat down and had tea with another tourist - a manager from a hotel in Kathmandu. He too was waiting for the bus, which one shop owner said had already come... uh oh.

A good hour after I got to the stop a very full bus showed up. We were instructed to hop on the top. While many might think this would be fun and exciting, I can assure it is definitely the latter, not so much the former. Since everyone except the hotel manager and I take these buses quite often, their butts are quite used to sitting on 1" square steel tubing set a few inches apart. I am not. There are really two configurations which makes it marginally manageable for the unaccustomed. Either you sit facing forward with your sit bones in two separate gaps, or you go perpendicular and have both sit bones in one gap. Either way the potholed, rough dirt road would throw you up in the air, landing squarely on the steel. Definitely not the most comfortable.

I was surprised to see a little girl on the top with a familiar sweatshirt. It read "Alone Across Alaska - Geographic Expedition". So I'm sitting on top of a bus in seriously rural Nepal with a girl with an Alaska sweatshirt on. Now that is small world.