Namaste from Nepal !

Namaste is the universal greeting for the Nepali people!

It means good morning, good evening, good night, hi, bye, how are you, see you later, whatever greeting you can think of! HAHA!

Thandervaa is thank you/ your welcome ! haha!

Around 40 of us went to Nepal last week; including Mr. Keith, Mr. Charles, Mr. Tony and Ms. Alina! It was a 8 day 6 night trip and we managed to cover 4 of Nepal's major cities; Kathmandu Valley (Patan), Nagarkot, Bakhtapur and Pokhara. Differ from the cosmopoliton Tokyo, this trip is more cultural based; observing the people, their traditions, rituals, religion and culture. As this is a study trip, we were given a "travel kit" which we had to sketch and take notes in it, which we had to submit to our lecturers on the last day. Honestly speaking, this "travel kit" aka sketch book really did help us observe and analyse in details of the building and architecture in Nepal. It prompted us to sketch and when we sketch, then do we realize the essence of architecture. The fine wood carvings on almost every structure, be it residential areas, monuments, temples, stupas and monastries. As architecture students, not only do we want to capture breath-taking moments, but bring back memorable experiences too. We talked to the locals, played with the kids there and oh how lovely they are!

The four major places that we went were~~

Kathmandu 'City of Temples' The capital of Nepal, Kathmandu valley, is the biggest and the most cosmopolitan city of Nepal.

Bakhtapur "City of Devotees" This divine, ancient town is famous for its multi-storeyed pagodas. It is one of the most peaceful cities of Nepal where the surrounding is calm, soothing and has a spiritual atmosphere!

Pokhara "Center of Adventure" A mystical city with sky touching mountains and dazzling waterfalls; indeed a visitors' paradise. In close proximity to nature, this beautiful city of Nepal offers the most esthetic panoramic view of the Himalayas. Patan "City of Fine Arts" This city is blessed with beautiful temples and stupas! Not forgetting, its traditional handicrafts and carpets factories. We also had the chance to experience carpet making!

Cultural Sites

Astonishing enough, seven out of the ten world heritage sites in Nepal are termed cultural by UNESCO. Thus, the stupas, monasteries, temples and architecture are all representatives of the rich cultural heritage of Nepal; as following:

» Kathmandu Durbar Square

» Bhaktapur Durbar Square

» Patan Durbar Square

» Changu Narayan Temple

» Swayambhunath Stupa

» Bouddhanath Stupa

» Pashupatinath Temple

» Lumbini Starting off...

Kathmandu Durbar Square is a cluster of ancient temples and palaces, courtyards and streets that dated back to the 12th and 18th centuries. The "square" is known to be the social, religious and urban focal point of the capital city.The Palace Complex was the royal Nepalese residence until the 19th century and is the site of important ceremonies, such as the coronation of the Nepalese monarch.

Bakhtapur Durbar Square "The Land of Devotees" is a cluster of pagodas and shikhara-style temples grouped around a fifty-five-window palace of brick and wood. The square is part of a charming valley as it highlights the idols of ancient kings perched on top of stone monoliths; guardian deities looking out from their sanctuaries; done in very fine wood carvings.

One of Bhaktapur's Pride; its Golden Gate (Sun Dhoka) which is considered the most beautiful and rich specimen of its kind not only in Nepal but the entire world. The door of this monument is engraved with a figure of the Goddess Kali and Garuda (mythical bird) at the top of the door; assisted by two heavenly nymphs. It is also the entrance to the main courtyard of the palace of fifty-five windows, in Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

Pashupatinath Temple "The Holiest Hindu Temple" with its astonishing architectural beauty, stands as a symbol of faith, religion, culture and tradition. Also regarded as the most sacred temple of Hindu Lord Shiva in the world; aka 'The Temple of Living Beings'.

Swayambhunath "The Most Enigmatic Holy Shrine" is a buddhist temple situated on the top of a hill and is one of the most popular and instantly recognizable symbols of Nepal!

Annapurna Range is placed as the tenth tallest mountain in the world; located right in the centre of the Himalayas! When we were at Pokhara, we woke up at 3.45AM to hike up a mountain! Reached exactly at 6am to catch the sunrise..awww! There, we could clearly view the entire Annapurna Range where one of it looks like a fish tail! Awesome-ness! Too bad Everest is on the other side :( Bouddhanath Stupa is one of the biggest and oldest stupa in Nepal.

Talking about culture..........

Nepalese are among the most hospitable hosts. Local Nepalese are generally rural people who welcome the tourists to their homes for tea, coffee or supper. Nepalese are culturally warm, hospitable and affectionate hosts who place their heart above their head. Furthermore, they speak many languages! Chinese, Malay, French, GERMAN! WOW..! Impressive!

We had to switch hotels everyday as we moved up north from Kathmandu city to Nakargot (coldest!), then down to Bakhtapur, Pokhara and then back to Kathmandu! The hotels were not as run-down as we thought they were. The residential areas on the other hand were mostly made of timber but they were not really in bad conditions. They're doors are considerably shorter than normal height, plus their building are mostly made of wood. Nonetheless, the weather was great as it was cooling all the way!

Another great trip~

Whats up for next year? haha! I can't wait xD!