The Cube

For a week long in Nepal, it is not possible to venture deep into the high Himalaya. So I make do with a short hike into the hills of the Kathmandu Valley. I decided on this Panauti to Namo Buddha hike day hike as it is not far to get to from Kathmandu, I can do it without engaging a guide and description of hike that includes culture, nature and views.

There are direct buses to Panauti departing from Ratna Bus Park area every 15 minutes or so. These buses stop in Banepa but a transfer is not required. The same bus will contiue to Panauti bus park. If there isn't a direct bus, then option is to take one to Banepa and change from there. I paid NPR 90 for the approximately 1.5 hours ride. 

What happened when I needed to take buses were - walked to Ratna Bus Park and on getting there, asked any of the drivers or bus conductors if they were heading to where I wanted to go. If they were not, they would very kindly let me know where to find those buses. During my trip, buses to Panauti were bigger buses (not minivans) and departed from the main road. I got on a direct bus to Panauti. 

I find that this page was very helpful in both getting to Panauti and the hike. 

I got off the bus stop and walked to a random shop to have my breakfast before starting the hike. Of course with intention to find gwaramari (round bread in Newari) as mentioned in the page above. I didn't see any but had my breakfast. Not sure what they are called though. I tried to ask especially the one in a long roll as that was the tastiest among the 3 but they told me, "roll". Ok. 

The Panauti temple complex is conveniently at the start of the trail. Indreshwar Mahadev temple is one of Nepal's oldest and largest surviving wooden mandirs. This temple is dedicated to Shiva Mahadyo and said to be built in 1294 and possibly re-built from 16th century onward. 

This part of the hike is on asphalt paved roads. There were construction sites nearby so there were trucks passing by fairly frequently nearer to the temple complex. One can see villagers working in the fields and children playing in the courtyards at this stretch. 

 

After this, the hike gained elevation from here and ascended uphill to northeast till Namo Buddha monastery. One of the tuk tuk driver even stopped to offer me a ride for free. Must've taken pity of my slow struggling steps uphill. I did wish I had a motorbike at this point. 

This monastery is also known as Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery, is a Tibetan monastery about 40 km southeast of Kathmandu. It lies at the top of a hill in Namobuddha Municipality. 

After checking in to the guesthouse in Kathmandu, itinerary for day one was Patan. 

Patan, also known as 'Lalitpur' is the second major city of Nepal, after Kathmandu. Both cities are separated by the river Bagmati. The original dwellers of Patan are known as Newars and speaks Newari, a member of the Tibeto-Burmese Language family. 

Patan is the city's modern name which was derived from a Sanskrit word, 'pattan' which means 'city'. On the other hand, the other name, Lalitpur means 'city of art'. Patan is the home to the valley's finest craftsmen. 

By van/minivan: I stayed in Thamel near Ratna Park, which is a bus hub. If you are staying near there too, most of the vans going towards Jawalakhel will get you to Patan. Get off the van at Labim Mall and walk to Patan Durbar Square from there.

By taxi: I read that one way taxi ride will cost around NPR 500 from central Kathmandu and get you to Patan in about 15 minutes. 

By foot: I decided to walk to Patan, and it took about 1 hour 15 minutes from the guesthouse I stayed at to Durbar Square. 

I had half a day in Patan and time was spent at Patan Durbar Square. Entrance fee NPR 1000 including entry to the Patan Museum. Tickets came in the form of 1 entrance ticket and a tourist entrance pass that I was told needed to be displayed so that the guards know that the visitors have paid. I was also given a map and a booklet on the attractions around Patan. 

Patan Durbar Square is declared as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and located in the heart of the city. It was once the palace of the kings in Patan. 

Keshav Narayan Chowk, one of the courtyards, has been converted into a bronze artifact museum. 

The other popular courtyard is the Sundari Chowk. It houses a sunken bath of Tusha Hiti and showcasing the exquisite woodcarvings and sculptures of stone and metal. Tusha Hiti is a structure that features an ablution spout adorned with stone carvings and a bronze spout that features the Hindu gods Vishnu and Laxmi on a Garuda, the mythical bird Lord Vishnu rides on. 

The Patan Museum is located within the Patan Durbar Square. The exhibition in the museum covers Nepal's history, culture and religion. On the top floor of the museum, there are seats overlooking the square. 

Not sure how I managed to spend all the time in Patan just at the square. By the time I was ready to make a move out of Durbar Square, the sun was setting. I had Bara (lentil pancake) for dinner. I'll post up a separate post on food. 

On my return journey back to Kathmandu, I walked back to Labim Mall area and waited at one of the bus stop. I can't read Nepali and wasn't sure if I was waiting at the right stop. I asked one of the locals there and she was extremely helpful. Coincidentally she was also heading back to Ratna Park so we got on the same minivan and off at the same stop. She even pointed out the most straightforward way to walk back to Thamel before walking to the next stop to get her next ride. I paid NPR 20 for my ride. 

See the title of this post? I'll be upfront - I went to Nepal and didn't do any trekking. I felt kind of being judged for visiting Nepal and didn't hike. Especially when anyone knew that I flew to Nepal for a week from Australia, which wasn't a short flight. 

I am saving my annual leave for a longer time off work later of the year but I was told by my manager that I should cut down my annual leave earlier of the year before being told to be put on some annual leave management plan. Annual leave management plan means randomly take a day off every week till the annual leave allocation are reduced to an acceptable level based on the company policy. 

I had a look at the calendar and thought I can take the days off before or after the Good Friday - Easter Sunday long weekend. I haven't been to Nepal and I saw a good timing flight to Kathmandu, so this week long holiday happened. 

As a Malaysian (as well as citizens for many countries except India citizens), I needed a visa for entry to Nepal. Malaysians qualified for visa on arrival but to avoid any hassle on leaving the country or when entering Nepal. I chose to get a visa before my travel. There is a Consulate General of Nepal in Melbourne but on my visit, I was told to apply for an e-visa to avoid another visit as the person in charge of processing visa was out for lunch. 

I was asked to show a copy of my visa to Nepal on checking in at the Melbourne Airport so I was glad I have applied for it prior to my travel. Flight was with Sichuan Airlines which would get me to Kathmandu in the afternoon of Good Friday, maximising my time in Nepal. The return flight to Australia included a 8-hour transit in Chengdu. 

I withdrew cash from ATMs this trip. Unfortunately all ATMs seemed to charge a fee, ranging from NPR 500 to NPR 700. The ATMs I encountered that charged NPR500 were Global IME Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. 

There is a Standard Chartered Bank ATM amongst a row of ATM machines just next to the exit from the airport. After passing airport security check, walk straight on and through a passageway and go walk down the staircase. 

There is a sim card booth just opposite the last security check and you would probably see many people queueing there. I didn't have any cash at that time so I walked towards the passageway. There were 2 ATMs along the way but there were more ATMs further up (see above). 

I went to the Ncell booth and got the Tourist Plan B (main balance NPR 50, 50 minutes local calls, 10GB and valid for 7 days) costing NPR 500. I forgot to bring passport sized photos even though I have read that I would need them for sim card registration as well as for Kathmandu Square and Bhaktapur entrance tickets extension. As I didn't have any photos on me, Ncell took a picture of me using their mobile phone. 

The prepaid taxi stand is just across from Ncell booth and I was quoted NPR 850 to the guesthouse I've booked in Thamel. I read that if one walk out of the airport to the main road (about 5 minutes walk), the taxi fare might be cheaper around NPR 500-700. I went with the prepaid taxi and the price quoted seemed reasonable and my haggling skill is non-existence so I might pay the same amount anyway. 

There was a man who stood around the prepaid taxi stand (not the person who manned the counter). He walked me to a taxi and said that he will get someone to go with me Thamel to introduce me to his tour company. I declined his offer but someone still got in the taxi, sitting next to the driver. Interestingly, then a policeman spoke to this person and he got off the taxi. I am still unsure what verbal exchanged happened then.

28/03, Day 00 - Overnight flight from Melbourne

29/03, Day 01 - Patan. Overnight in Kathmandu* (Mount Annapurna Guest House)

30/03, Day 02 - Panuati to Namobuddha hike. Overnight in Kathmandu*

31/03, Day 03 - Fly to Pokhara. Overnight in Sarangkot* (Sarangkot Hotel New Galaxy)

01/04, Day 04 - Pokhara* (Harry Guest House & Restaurant)

02/04, Day 05 - Bus to Bandipur* (Bandipur Samira Homestay)

03/04, Day 06 - Bus back to Kathmandu*

04/04, Day 07 - Kathmandu*

05/04, Day 08 - Bhaktapur* (Hotel Bhaktapur Inn)

06/04, Day 09 - Flight out of Kathmandu, transit in Chengdu

07/04, Day 10 - Arrived back in Melbourne

We reached Macau in the evening, unexpectedly it was quite tricky to find dinner at around 8 PM by the time we got to the hotel. We had an afternoon flight out from Macau Airport, so that gave us 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners and 3 lunches. We had a late breakfast on day 2 and skipped lunch. On the last day, we did take away from a small shop for lunch and ate at the airport. 

Overall, we enjoyed our meals in Macau. Total cost were for 4 adults and 2 kids. 

We didn't visit the store in Hong Kong but had a late breakfast here in Macau. I had a basic luncheon meat egg instant noodles. We also shared the steamed milk dessert. From memory, we had the steamed double layer milk and the other ginger milk. Total MOP 378. 

We wanted to try a different pork chop bun, plus this was near to the hotel and the initial shop we said is only a takeaway store which we got for lunch. We ordered Ovaltine crispy toast and peanut butter pork chop polo bun. This cannot be daily food. Even when I read the menu I could feel that it is cholesterol inducing. Total MOP 178.

There are a few branches

We wanted crab congee and found this eatery. We didn't know they were popular when we went especially since it was a late lunch and the shop was fairly empty. The noodles were made with traditional bamboo noodle pressing techniques and melded with fresh duck eggs. Total MOP 484. 

26 R. de Nossa Sra. do Amparo, Macao

We were lucky to find this shop for dinner. Most of the shops seemed to have stopped dinner service by the time we got to the hotel and dropped our luggage. The owner is a Portuguese who has been living in Macau for many years. He noticed that we wanted to try all the food so he served them as 'petiscos'. Total MOP 274. 

This was a fairly small shop and there were no empty table when we got there. The service was very prompt though. There is a menu right outside the shop and the owner came out, gave a piece of paper and pen to my sister and asked her to write down our orders. He knows his stuff because among all of us, sis' command of Chinese is the best. We got a steamed, fried and pan-fried dumplings - one of each and deep fried mini mantou. Total MOP 125.
 

This was our last dinner in Macau. Total MOP 382.

MacaoR. de Camilo Pessanha, 28號, 號地下

This was initially our choice for breakfast but on arrival we noticed it was only a takeaway store. So after breakfast, we came to takeaway. I borrowed these photos from my sis' FB. We spent all our cash here which wasn't a lot left after saving what we needed for the bus fares. 

There are a few branches but we got this from Taipa Village. This was inhaled very promptly. MOP 109 for a box of six. 

There are a few branches as well. On our walks we saw a bakery and wanted a snack and got 2 egg tart and 1 coconut tart. What we didn't know was that this bakery is famous for Pastel de Chaves, yes, dumb mistake given the literal name but I didn't notice any Chinese signboard. The tarts we got were tasty though. Total MOP 30. 

28號 R. dos Ervanarios, Macao

We came out of the Food Truck Company and saw dessert in coconut yoghurt. Total MOP 95.