Bakhtapur and Dhulikhel

Bakhtapur

The medieval town of Bakhtapur is the third UNESCO world heritage site we have visited in Kathmandu Valley. It’s a stunning, compact collection of temples and pavilions. Our guide described each temple and monument, but little of the detail sunk in. No matter, it was all impressive. Bakhtapur was the capital of Kathmandu Valley from the 12th century through the 15th, when  the valley divided into three kingdoms. Most of the temples date from the 1700’s. (Pur, in Nepalese, is a suffix for town or city.) As has become customary for me this trip, I’ll throw a lot of pictures into this posting in lieu of helpful dialogue.

Several of the temples of Bakhtapur. Lower right: Each figure is of an entity ten times more powerful than the one below it.

The detail, especially the wood carving, is incredible. The wood is difficult to maintain.

The doors are historical, even those into a shop.

Lower left: This pot maker is in his 80’s and has never been sick, according to our guide. Apparently he cannot find an apprentice, younger men and women preferring more modern professions.

The dress, especially (actually almost exclusively) of women, was colorful—but note all three of these examples hold cell phones.

Gurkhas are considered among the toughest soldiers in the world. The UK and India still enlist Gurkha soldiers under an agreement with the Nepalese government.

Reconstruction and restoration from the destruction of the 2015 earthquake is still on-going or, as in the righthand photo, literally on hold.

We passed this Buddha in route to our lodging. The suspension bridge gives access to the statue.

Dhulikhel

Our rest day has arrived. Our resort is another Dwarika property, featuring extraordinarily huge sites built on a mountain hillside and with views of the Himalayas. The resort features Buddhist, new age, and non-traditional medicines and wellness. The skies were too cloudy for viewing the high Himalayan peaks but the weather was otherwise perfect for relaxing. Besides meals and a late afternoon get-together, the day was ours. Frances and I opted for massages and relaxing. I caught up with my blog posts.

Our suite and its private upper terrace. While palatial in size, there are some quirky design issues to deal with. The bathroom floor is river rock with stepping stones, not the greatest to navigate in the middle of the night. And we do wonder about the windows in the shower and toilet room.

Among the amenities and facilities are the crystal house (left) and the Himalayan salt house (right). The former is for meditation; the latter is “cleansing” but visits should be limited to 15 or 20 minutes.

The complex is many acres covering the mountainside. It’s quite a hike from the bottom to the upper facilities. After our first walk up from our room to a spa suite, we used a golf cart transport for the next journey up. It was almost clear enough to see the Himalayas. (I’m still learning to pronounce the mountain range with the accent on the second syllable: Himal’yas.)

We will pay the price tomorrow for this restful day with an early morning departure and a scheduled arrival at our next destination, Agra, 9:00 p.m. or later that night.