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Friday, 19 May 2017

Budhia Singh At Nepal - Day 3

Budhia Singh from Bhubaneswar, India, was invited by the Nepal Government to participate in the "Lumbini To Mount Everest Peace Run 2017".

16th May 2017 - Day 3 - Bhairahawa To Kathmandu

Our Buddha Air morning flight from Bhairahawa to Kathmandu was delayed. Ex-VC of Nalanda University, Prof Dr. Ravindra Panth, had been invited by the Theravada Buddhist Academy to deliver a lecture from 8-9 AM in their premises in Kathmandu. As our flight was cancelled the previous night and the morning flight was late, Prof Dr.Panth, Budhia & I missed this classroom lecture. However, we had an invite from World Peace Temple- Vishwa Shanti Vihara that has the said academy in its premises. 

After reaching Kathmandu and checking into Hotel Marshyangdi in Thamel, we got set to explore the heritage sites. Our guide, a knowledgeable, elderly gentleman named Mr. Surendra, is an avid follower of Indian news and a great fan of our PM Modiji. 

We visited the World Heritage Site of Patan. 
L-R- Mr. Surendra, Prof. Dr. Ravidra Panth, Budhia Singh & I

Patan has wonderful architecture and an amazing museum. Movies have also been filmed in this location. However, earthquakes have caused crisis and havoc and reconstruction was on.

From there, it was time to visit the World Peace Temple. 
As we had visited Nepal for the Buddha Flame Peace Torch March Run 2017, this invite from the World Peace Temple was so apt.
Budhia Singh was blessed by Bhikshu Jananpurnik Mahathavira.
Prof Dr. Ravindra Panth presented a terracotta replica of a seal from Nalanda University to Bhikshu Jananpurnik Mahathavira.

Then, we started for the cultural city of Bhaktapur.
We had lunch at 'Sweet Home Bhaktapur' that offered a great view from the terrace.
Many Bollywood movies have been filmed in Bhaktapur too.
Time and human interference has decayed some inscriptions.
Bhaktapur, like Patan and Kathmandu, is a tourist-friendly place.

Next, we visited the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon office that is in Nuwakott GHAR- the same building as the office of the Greek Honorary Consulate General at Kathmandu. We met the chief organizer of this event, Shri Bikram Pandey KAJI there. 

It was evening when we finally reached our hotel at Thamel.
Budhia wanted to shop for sports-wear. We walked through the local-market, but didn't find what he was looking for.
But, we found some members of a Football team from Maharashtra, India.
They were excited to meet Budhia.
Prof Dr.Panth treated us to 'Thupka' and 'Momos' at 'The Burger House'.
While both Budhia and Prof. Dr.Panth could not manage to complete their share, I finished the contents of my bowl with no embarrassment!
We had to retire early as the next morning, the Peace Run was scheduled at Kathmandu sites.

Linking with - Three Word Wednesday

This post has info about the Buddhist Heritage Sites in Kathmandu, Nepal. 
Budhia Singh & Team (including me) visited. We were there for the Buddha Flame Peace Torch March Run 2017. Thanks to Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, Department of Tourism, Government of Nepal. 

You can read about-
"Budhia Singh At Nepal - Day 1"
"Budhia Singh At Nepal - Day 2"
"Budhia Singh At Nepal - Day 4"

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like a rough start, but the rest of the trip went well. Patan reminds me of Prambanan Temple Complex in Indonesia, right down to the scaffolding.
    They have also suffered from earthquakes.

    ReplyDelete

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