Wildlife Catalunya: Nepal: Kathmandu, Part II

After spending a week in Kathmandu, we have moved on to a village approximately 13km to the east, called Changunarayan, so before we start posting about that we're gonna wrap up our visit to the countries capital city.

Without a doubt, it was one of our favourite cities ever, especially from a photographer's point of view. It's full of vibrant colour and activity, with every person seemingly have their own little niche within. Everyone seems to have some kind of skill and there is something happening everywhere you look. To really capture this, I decided I would brave my fear and teach myself how to photograph strangers, without getting shouted at. I read a lot and practiced a lot and I must say I really enjoyed it. Here are some of my favourites to highlight the vibrant and varied character of Kathmandu:

Moped users caught in a heavy shower, Kathmandu

It's very common to see two men embracing or holding hands as friends in Nepal, the opposite seems to true of couples.

A typical street shop, Kathmandu

Early morning read, Kathmandu

The colours of the traditional sarees are so vibrant and eye catching

A friendly Hindu lady smiling, Kathmandu

Another eye-catching red Saree, Kathmandu

A family battle the monsoon rains, near Kathmandu

An old man at the Monkey Temple, Kathmandu

Traditional Nepali women, waiting on a bus, near Kathmandu

A street seller, Kathmandu

Buddhist nuns, Kathmandu

Women builders, Kathmandu. Women work very hard in the construction industry here - often much more so than men.

A man sitting on the corner with tattered jeans and bags of paper, Kathmandu.

A woman looks at a holy cow in passing, Kathmandu

A beautiful pink Saree, Kathmandu

Kathmandu traffic. You've got to learn a few tricks to cross the road here!

A young couple waiting on a bus, Kathmandu

Close to our home-stay, we found an amazing Tibetan monastery, one day when we were going for a walk. The monks were very friendly and invited us inside for the 4pm prayer. It was incredibly atmospheric, with big drums beating and haunting brass instruments being blown throughout the service. Neither of us are religious but we found the whole experience mesmerizing, and even returned to watch it again the following morning at 6am, with another invite from the very hospitable head monk. What the monks do there is amazing, as we discovered the following day. They have their own hospital complete with a free pharmacy, an x-ray room and a dentist, and all of this is completely free to the locals. Below is an actual recording we took on the first day as well as some photos of the temple.

Benchen (Tibetan Buddhist) Temple, Kathmandu

Monks in the middle of prayer service, with traditional horn, as heard in the audio above. The head monk who kindly invited us and toured us around the complex is seated to the left.

Young Tibetan monks head into town after their 4pm prayer service.

Towards the end of our trip, we took two day trips, one to Bhaktapur, home to a UNESCO protected medieval village with old streets, houses and temples, and also to Boudhanath and Kopan Monastery. First of all we went to Bhaktapur, via bus from Rathna Park in Kathmandu for just 20 NPR, which is a bargain. We spent a full day here exploring the streets and temples and would highly recommend it. The entrance fee was a little pricey for Nepal, at 1500 NPR but I think it was worth it. I'll let the pictures do the speaking:

Rathna Park Bus Station, Kathmandu

It's funny what you can see from the bus window

Another colourful Saree, taken from the bus

One of several temples at Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur temple, under reconstruction after the 2015 earthquake

Another temple with extensive earthquake damage

Hindu Shrine, Bhaktapur

Old Door, Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur temple

Bhaktapur shrine

Traditional Nepali Women, Bhaktapur

Street Football, Bhaktapur

Kids playing, Bhaktapur

Men hard at work, Bhaktapur

Alba, Bhaktapur

Women washing clothes, Bhaktapur

Our lunch stop - a local Indian (?) little cafe filled with locals was a good sign.

Two samosas and a spicy chickpea soup for 100 NPR wasn't too bad, considering we were in a tourist hotspot. It was delicious

Early morning read, Bhaktapur

Carpenter, Bhaktapur

Carpenter restoring temple, Bhaktapur

Chilling, Bhaktapur

Fish Shop, Bhaktapur

Best Buddies, Bhaktapur

Boudhanath and Kopan Monastery were a great day trip out of Kathmandu, very affordable at just 25 NPR each way by bus from Rathna Park. If you use MapsMe you can find a free entrance into Boudhanath Stupa, and its free to enter Kopan Monastery. Boudhanath Stupa is one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal, and is very impressive to see. Just make sure you don't get nabbed for the unnecessary entrance fee.

As always the bus journey was full of things to see: here with a holy man.

Another holy man waiting for the bus

A man with Vitiligo - this condition seems to be rather frequent in an around Kathmandu

Alba, Boudhanath Stupa

Boudhanath Stupa

Feeding the Pigeons at Boudhanath

Old Lady, Boudhanath


Man begging, Boudhanath.

From Boudhanath you can get a short bus to Kopan, but we decided to walk. It only took about an hour and you always see so much more. Kopan is a temple complex which hosts lots of foreigners for retreats and offers various Buddhist, yoga and meditation courses. The grounds were beautiful and so relaxing. It was a nice break from the madness of Kathmandu for an hour. We also had a beautiful lunch there. I can't remember the price, but it wasn't anything more than 2 dollars per person which isn't bad at all. The combination of Boudhanath and Kopan Monastery is certainly another recommended day trip from Kathmandu.