More Patan Durbar square

 Intricately carved wood, beautifully ornate bronzes and stone deities, Patan Durbar square is a delight and a real treat. One can spend a lot of time here and not be bored. Unfortunately I'm always running and rushing through every trip. This was my third major site that Sunday, my first day. I arrived the night before, at 10pm and after all the visa and customs rituals, my taxi took me to my hotel. We passed a really dark city, there were no light because of load shedding. We were on dirt roads full of potholes. I said to myself, when morning comes, 'I'd better see more delightful things'. I did. Kathmandu and Nepal, in spite of their problems is a wonderful place. I was not disappointed. In fact, I'm planning to go back to do some trekking.

Patan durbar square

 Every inch of wood and of stone is carved, and magnificently too. Patan is really beautiful. Most of it have retained its original beauty though there is some restoration work going on.

Lunch time in Patan

 I climbed to a roof top restaurant to have lunch, some bottled water and mango juice. I ordered the vegetable curry with rice. It was delicious, the vegetables were fresh and crisp. The view was spectacular.

Patan Durbar square

 An UNESCO world heritage site. The alleys harbor some great and talented wood carvers, all hard at work carving Hindu masks. The traffic leading into the square was horrendous, with bottle neck everywhere. The roads could hardly be called roads. But every one is so patient. Kudos to all who have to live under such conditions.

Patan, continued

 Hinduism is wonderful because it has a pantheon of deities. The king builds his palace and the royal baths. He builds a major temple to the major god, in which case, it could be Shiva or Vishnu depending which he deems more influential in his life or he could have one temple for each. Then he builds other temples for other deities. Patan is a conglomeration of temples, wooden ones. Nepal has the reputation of having some of the most fantastic wood carvers in the world. Every part of the exposed wood is intricately carved. Patan is a true sight to behold.

Patan

 After Bhouda stupa, I got into a taxi and headed for Patan. In its early days, there were three kingdoms in the Kathmandu valley, the Kingdom of Kathmandu, of Patan and Bhaktapur, each has its own palace and temple complex. This forms the Durbar square. So there is a Durbar square each in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. The Durbar square in Patan is very intricate and very well preserved. More of it later.

Happy Chinese New Year

The new of the snake. Last year was the year of the dragon, my year. I was born in a dragon year.