First Day in Kathmandu: Swayambunath

The first place I planned to visit in Kathmandu was Swayambunath Stupa, a very old and revered Buddhist temple also known as the "Monkey Temple." Not being used to the city yet, it took me half a day to make my way there. It gave me an opportunity to enjoy the city's quaint beauty. But once I got to the Stupa, I was in awe.

It had rained all night while I slept. To my delight, my first morning in Kathmandu I was greeted with a magnificent full rainbow.

These are the lovely plants on my Kathmandu host's rooftop.

Everywhere you look in Nepali cities, you can find unique architecture, often with spiritual themes. the buildings are mostly built by locals on an individual basis, making for a great deal of variety compared to the cookie-cutter repetitive designs that we often find in modern American architecture.

Before going to Swayambunath, I first needed to get a Nepali sim card in order to be able to use data without Wi-Fi. The power went out at the sim card shop at the airport the day prior, so I had to take care of this today. Having no luck in the area around my hotel, I decided to wlk to the bus stop and get a ride over to the large NCell Centre on Ring Road, where I could get more professional assistance. I got to have my first glimpse of the streets of Kathmandu as I made my way to Ring Road.

On my way to the bus stop, I came across a random flock of chickens roaming the street.

I took a side road going along a little canal. It was pleasant and free of the choking exhaust fumes of the main street.

As I followed this little path, a small group of goats wondered up to me. We had a brief conversation in goat-language.

Could this be where the goats and chickens are coming from? 😉

Colorful flowers and thriving plants are a common sight, even iin a heavily urbanized city such as Kathmandu. While the city has struggled to develop infrastructure to keep up with modernization, these little chunks of nature throughout give it a unique charm.

Don't ask me what "Rock Fuck" means.

I am beginning to think that random livestock animals just wandering the streets are going to to be a very common sight.

This eagle was circling the field I passed by, probably looking for a meal.

I took a small detour to check out a temple of Shiva. This one seemed to be defunct and  and under repair, however. A lot of buildings in Nepal were damaged by the 2015 earthquakes and are still under repair or awaiting repairs.

Along the busy Ring Road, sidewalks like this are a rare sight.  proceeded this way en route to the bus stop.

Every bus in Kathmandu has its own decorations and charms. The drivers play their own music choice. Each bus has character. This one had a lovely statue of Ganesh. Many vehicles in Nepal have some kind of Hindu deity or Buddha on their dashboard.

Finally successful at getting my Nepali sim/card, I took the bus over to the area of town where Swayambunath Stupa can be foundm and proceeded the rest of the way on foot.

Another pretty little side path leading me directly to Swayambunath, the perimeter of which you can see as I emerge from this alley towards the end of the video.

More charming architecture off to the side.

These were memorials to Nepali heroes.

This area of Kathmandu is heavliy decorated with Buddhist prayer flags, possibly placed by locals or traveling devotees. They create a very calming and awe-inspiring aesthatic.

I knew I had come to the right place when I saw these monkeys sitting on the sidewalk.

Mother and baby.

I stopped at a tiny little Chow Mein shop before going up to the Stupa, as it had already been a long day so far. This was some of the tastiest Chow Mein I have had.

The facade of my chosen lunch establishment.

Spinning these prayer wheels spreads the blessings that are carved upon them. These are everywhere in Buddhist stupas. But you must always spin them clockwise -- never counter-clockwise!!

Most holy statues are protected from vandalism with the use of these secured gates.

The motion of the prayer flags in the wind was mesmerizing here, and I think I did a good job of capturing the moment with this walking video.

The path to Swayambunath goes up a big hill wiith many ancient stone stairs. As I rose up and into the trees, the noise of the city was replaced with the singing of birds and chittering of monkeys.

This place is really beautiful and tranquil.

This stone was off to the side of the path. There is no telling how old it is.

These stone carvings feature four different buddhas, with a fifth buddha encased in the middle. In this way they are like miniature versions of the Swayambunath Stupa itself.

Lots of tourists here. The higher up I got, the better the view of the city.

These monkeys are really into their grooming. Here a mother grooms child.

I finally came to the main stairs leading up to the temple. Supposedly there are 365 stairs, one for each day of the year.

These little holy carvings are sometimes tucked into little corners.

I do not know the meanings of these creatures, but different ones are placed at intervals on the way up to Swayambunath.

This tiny carving was hidden in a little hole in the stairs on the way up. It probably goes unnoticed by most passers-by, but I took the time to peek in there.

Swayambunath Supa is a very important holy site for Buddhists, and makes for a marvelous architectural viewing for anyone else as well. Some sources say it is over 2,500 years old, while others say it was built in the th century AD. The legend says that the central dome contains a lotus that is older than the Kathmndu valley itself. One thing that is clear is that this temple has had more pieces added on to it under different rulers throughout the years.

It was difficult to get a good picture from here because of all the tourists posing for selfies. They have as much a right to be here as me, but I couldn't shake the thought that most people seemed to only want to get a selfie for their instagram, and didn't care anything about the actual spiritual significance or history of the site.

This place offers some truly captivating views of the city.

I wish I could read the ancient language that this tablet is written in.

So nice to see lilacs again. Back at home in Colorado, they only bloom in early Spring. Even if these plants are not technically lilacs, they definitely reminded me of them.

What an amazing view of the sunset over Kathmandu Valley!

Monkeys playing atop the Stupa.

Surprise attack!

After sundown, there aere a lot more monkeys out and about. One of them stole an empty can from my backpack that I was planning to throw away!

This was a really enchanting first day in Nepal. I got to learn all about the history and sculptures in this wonderful temple, and got my first taste of the streets of Kathmandu. By the time I got back to my hotel, I was ready for another hot meal and a good night's sleep.