Namobuddha Trip

After this first day visiting the city with my guide, I decided to come back to the gest house in Freak Street and chill for the evening. I was feeling overwhelmed of ingesting so much information and was suffering a little bit from jet lag.

       I needed rest. I asked to my guide to drop me to my place and he asked me if I wanted to stay visiting with him the next two days I had left in the city.

      I actually already had another plan: go to Pokhara for a Yoga trek in the Himalayas on first december, so I had little time to see all the wonders of this place.

      I mentionned in a conversation with him that I heard in Nepal people used to make paper and silk-screen printing with organic natural pigments, all hand made, and this was my main interest. He answered me that for a relative amount of money he could arrange to show me all this in two days. I accepted without questionning and gave him the money. He told me he was coming to pick me up the next morning at 7am with his motorbike to go to visit Namobuddha monastery in order to meet an artist monk that was known for his paintings with natural pigments. It sounded great, so I accepted, we said goodbye, and I entered in my two bedded room.

      At this moment, when I layed down on my bed, I suddenly felt a heavy feeling of loneliness, emptiness and cold. Maybe a hot shower would remedy to this. As a novice tourist in this country, I wasn't aware yet that it was not so easy to get hot water - tato pani in nepali - in the country. Even in the city center. Nevermind, I decided to go outside and buy a bottle of local beer to drink in the rooftop of my guest house, maybe I would meet some people.

       Now it was totally dark outside and I started to feel paranoid. Of course there was no danger, but I was alone in a new and different place, for the first time.

      When I finally reached the rooftop, I saw three european people chilling in the dark. I took a seat next to one of them, a blonde german girl, I opened my beer and started to drink. In the conversation I understood that most of them where also solo travellers, but used to stay together to visit and spend the days. By the way, they invited me to visit Patan with them the day after. Confused, my paranoïa was increasing. I told them I had already arranged everything with a local guide I had met at my arrival. They looked at me astonished to hear that I had made this decision and already paid him. Seeing this reaction I really started to wonder if I had made the right choice. It was too late anyways. At this moment, an indian guy from Goa arrived with a huge bag full of weed and told us to feel free to serve ourselves, I was like OMFG. As being a massive stoner at that time, and even if I really felt like trying it, I decied It was too much emotions, politely said good night to everyone and left. I had to wake up early the morning after...

       November 28. 7 am : Distrustful, I went down the stairs and saw my guide, already waiting for me at the reception. We looked at each other and he said hi. He asked me if I was hugnry. I was, but as I just couldn’t speak, I mimed ‘no’ with my head and went on the motorbike. We started to ride in the busy and dusty streets of Thamel to find the way out of the city and finally reach the "highway".

     My pananoïa was slowly dissipating as I was discovering for the first time those wonderful nepali landscapes, on this clear morning. Flowers of all shapes and colors were passing before my eyes, and as we were moving forward, we could see appear the Himalayan range floating far in the middle of the sky. This trip was definiely becoming very interesting. I started to relax.  And it was only the very beggining...

       Namobuddha is actually a magnificent stupa situated at around 40 kilometers at the south-est of Kathmandu city. In the way we pass through the amazing Kathmandu valley and, if the weather is clear, we can see astonishing lansdcapes. At around noon, we reached a small village called Dhulikhel, where we stopped to eat and rest a little bit.

       I couldn't believe the natural beauty of this place. The village was small and silent, and just passing through the entrance door leading to the main street, we could enter to the authentic nepali countryside, and take part of their everyday life. Calm and serenity was reigning everywhere. This atmosphere made me tune in a semi-meditative state, so I could observe better how detailed and colorful the traditional bouddhist drawings on the house’s walls were. I suddendly realized that I had no regret of having given my trust so quikly and intuitively to that local guide that I attracted in the first time. I was sure now that the experience I was living in that precise moment couldn't have happened If I had chosen to go with my fellow western people I had just met the night before in the rooftop. This thought gave me goosebumps.

       When I came back to meet my guide, he told me he had ordered two dhal-bats for lunch, but the family was eating before us, so we had to wait. It didn't matter, I was already visiting the surroundings. Meanwhile we were waiting, chatting and taking pictures, a friend of my guide joined us. We were suprised to see that we were wearing the same jacket color! He explained me that one of his occupations was to make malas. A mala is the mantra necklace that in bouddhist culture is used for meditation. But this special mala is made from a fruit that only grows in this forest which he used to pick them himsef there. That fruit is also called "eye of the buddha" because its shape really looks like an eye. True story. He showed me his workspace and I told him I wanted to buy two of them. He explained me that a mala was made on 108 dryed "fruits" and we were suppose to chant one time per fruit the universal Om Mani Padme Um mantra to reach a full effective meditative state. I was discovering a very ancient culture and I thanked the universe for giving me this unespected opportunity. 

      Time of Dhal-bat finally came, and it was a releaf because I was starving and my guide too. To be more precise, the Dhal-bat is the national dish of Nepal. Nepalese eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Although it can be prepared in different ways, it  basically consists of rice and a mix of side dishes such as lentil dhal, boiled potato cooked with curry and gundruk ( a fermented leafy green vegetable originated in Nepal. ). We can always hear them saying " Dhal bat power 24-hours" as this is a super energtic meal, perfect for what was awaiting us.

      After lunch we went on travelling with his motorbike and shortly thereafter, reached the incredible Namobuddha monastery. What I discovered there exeeded my expectations.

      This imposant and colorful monastery was perched in a high hill. It was sourrounded by small guest-houses for people coming there to stay overnight or for a few days retreat. Namobuddha is one of the most sacred monasterys of Nepal. The story tells that in this precise place prince Siddharta Gautama met a starvig tigress. He felt so much compassion for her that he gave his whole body and flesh to feed her and her five babies.

      I felt so lucky being there, and much more when my guide told me he had booked a room to stay there overnight. He planned to meet an artist monk and made us arrangements to take dinner with him together with other monks. This dining room was inside the monastery, exclusively  for monks, but he requested if we could join them and exceptionally they accepted.

     Later I learned that all the patterns from inside to outside of this monastery where hand-painted by all artist monks. Colors were made by organic home made pigments extracted from plants. The result of all this together was just stunning.