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<\/a><\/p>\nWhich is all why I found it doubly weird then that tourists and locals were gawking and pointing, snapping photos, amidst this rite … and a few folks were actually on a picnic. \u00a0Part of that is the temple and surrounding grounds being decidedly multipurpose. \u00a0Some people were washing their clothes up and downstream from where the eventual ashes would be scattered into the water. \u00a0Some prospectors were downstream panning for the gold fillings of the dead. \u00a0Monkeys and cows bathed and drank the water.<\/p>\n
The park itself has other prayer monuments and aspects. \u00a0Shiva Linga, the creator form, had many monuments, guarded by a small bull statue. \u00a0Ari tells me this little guy is Nundi, Shiva Lingua\u2019s transportation in the cosmos.<\/p>\n I never handle death and mortality well. \u00a0And I personally have never had to handle the logistics and details of a funeral. \u00a0My brother bore all that responsibility while I watched far removed on the sidelines. \u00a0And thus I kinda recoiled from the stats and figures that were tossed around:<\/p>\n The traditional cremation takes three hours for the fire to consume body. \u00a0It costs 11,000 rupees all in. \u00a0It also uses lots of wood and the government is on a conservation kick. \u00a0After the 2015 earthquake left 1900 dead in Kathmandu alone, they made efforts to move toward large scale industrial incinerators. \u00a0The government even offers subsidies as an incentive – it only costs the family 3000 rupees and the process takes takes 45 minutes.<\/p>\n I already was uncomfortable and then this just pushed me over the edge. \u00a0I tried therefore to take more photos of the people watching the ritual as opposed to the ritual itself. \u00a0And there\u2019s no way to convey the impatience of the crowd for the mourners to light the prepared body (and I sheepishly and ashamedly admit I am guilty of this as well). \u00a0I refused to take a photo of that, although I did snap a shot of the smoke rising into the air.<\/p>\n One of the interesting details of funeral rites in Nepal is that when father dies, elder son sets the body afire. \u00a0When the mother dies, it\u2019s the youngest son who starts the fire.<\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t say I was thrilled to see this ritual and to ponder and reflect on mortality. \u00a0I guess I\u2019m glad I saw it and it made me want to try and live for the day… but the truth is it left me reeling and contemplative, melancholy perhaps the best adjective. \u00a0And voyeuristically intrusive on another human\u2019s grief.<\/p>\n I\u2019m failing to explain any of this very well. \u00a0When it comes to mortality I\u2019m even more chaotic and sloppy in my prose.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n At the request of a fellow traveler, we detoured to a Singing Bowl and Healing Bowl manufacturer and treatment facility.<\/p>\n Depending on the size of the bowl, the practitioner can adjust the frequencies of the various chakras.\u00a0 A number of my fellow travelers took up the offer to have their chakra harmonized, a process that took a number of strikes on a bowl, the application of the vibration to the body to shake them to their bones, and a bit of chanting.\u00a0 They offered to do this one-by-one but honestly there’s only so much time in the day and we had to limit ourselves.\u00a0 I was tempted I will tell you but figured I wasn’t dying to do it either; why not let folks who really wanted to have their chakras tuned go for it.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Lunch took a long, long, LONG time.\u00a0 It was a touristy spot, one that saw several tour groups trudge through for a meal.\u00a0 And the food, while overpriced, was good.\u00a0 It just took an hour plus to get it to the table.<\/p>\n I had mo:mo, a Nepalese dumpling.\u00a0 As I’m something of a dumpling fiend, well, this was pretty tasty.\u00a0 And the dipping sauce was a tomato based spicy delight.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n The last stop of the day was a walking tour of Patan Durba Square.\u00a0 This has much more recent monuments and structures than other parts of Kathmandu and Nepal.\u00a0 The reason being is that in the 15th Century, the king of Nepal had three sons, each of whom wanted to be king.\u00a0 The old master decided to split his kingdom into thirds so each son could be royalty.\u00a0 The middle child, the one who was granted Kathmandu, cleverly outmaneuvered his youngest brother and took control of Patan.\u00a0 So Patan never had a royal palace or anything king-specific… until the 17th Century when the pampered grandson of that aforementioned middle child declared himself king of Patan (with his grandfather’s blessing).\u00a0 As a result, Patan saw its royal buildings and structures built in the 17th Century, two centuries after the others.<\/p>\n In the 18th Century, Nepal collapsed into hundreds of small kingdoms.\u00a0 One wise ruler sought to unify the lands, realizing that failure to consolidate meant the area was ripe for colonization and subjugation to the British or others.\u00a0 He therefore unified the various kingdoms into one kingdom, the country of Nepal.<\/p>\n Much like Durba Square yesterday, a lot of buildings suffered tremendous earthquake damage.\u00a0 Three years on, there’s still much to be done throughout Nepal, albeit there is clearly progress being made.<\/p>\n Obviouslt there’s a lot more to all of this but that’s the short, short version, hastily scribbled down before I turn in for the night.<\/p>\n Oh, but before I forget — nope, nope.\u00a0 Too late.\u00a0 Shoot.\u00a0 It was good, too.<\/p>\n So instead, here’s a shot of me with the headpiece of the Staff of Ra:<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n