Boudhanath - Lord of wisdom

I feel a bit more settled now in Nepal although have been waking up at Oz time regardless of the time I fall asleep. Those early hours of the morning seem to be the time when insecurities are most liable to appear and so this morning I lay awake worrying about the trek details - as well as more than couple of thoughts about what am I doing with my life - and whether it is all too much to organise. By sunrise I had got up and done a little yoga  - referring to a book I bought the other day  (The Tibetan Book of Yoga), which together with a bit of daylight reduced the fears. So I was ready to meet the travel agent and my prospective guide and start to make some plans. It is likely I will leave in two days on a 6 hour drive to get to the trail head and head up to Manang with Kalu Bika leading the way – or at least carrying some of my gear and preventing me from getting lost.

With this done I went out with Gerry and Cassidy, two American yogis staying at the same hotel who and also heading to Lumbini. They are long-term meditators so we’ve had some interesting conversations about practice, Dhamma teachers and friends. We went to Boudhanath  - “ lord of wisdom” - a World Heritage listed cultural site. The stupa there is 43 metres high and one of the largest and most venerated Buddhist monuments in the world. It is said to represent the Adibuddha the first or primordial Buddha, free of conceptual emanations.

Today being Sunday and a holiday for many (although Saturday is the main day off In Nepal) as well as a Full Moon Day there were lots of locals and tourists circumabulating the stupa, turning prayer wheels, chanting with their rosaries and making a variety of offerings. Gerry, Cassidy and I bought a roll of prayer flags and writing our own and our family names on them we offered them to be added to the many already festooning the stupa – very auspicious on the full moon. As well as stringing up the prayer flags, a team of workers were whitewashing and painting designs on it with saffron water.

Boudha was a welcome haven of (relative) peace and a respite from the chaos of Thamel and Kathmandu traffic – as very few vehicles have access to the area around the stupa, and the devotion in the atmosphere creates a very different tone. After a walk around and up onto the stupa we headed up a laneway to visit Shechen monastery and its guest house where we relaxed in the sunny garden for lunch.  I felt I could stay around there for a long time and do nothing –I did try to reserve a room there before I left but it was already booked out. Something to look forward to another time.

Arrived in kathmandu

Arrived in one piece at Bangkok at 4 am on Thursday morning and I’m now sitting in Starbucks to wait out six and a half hours before the flight to Kathmandu. It’s a quiet and comfortable place to rest - soft armchairs and iced mochas. - and avoid the innumerable duty free and tourist shops.  

I had such a wonderful week in Melbourne - went to the Princess Theatre to see Hairspray, a great production of this quirky upbeat musical that has an underlying theme of racial discrimination, saw The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second movie of the Millenium trilogy, which I enjoyed as I did the first one and the books (for the intrigue and the theme of the sexual abuse of women– an issue of particular concern to me), caught up with the lovely Faith Teh, who cooked for the 7 week Ariya Nani retreat earlier this year, for iced coffee at Brunetti’s in Carlton, - and of course plenty of eating in and out and general hanging around with my dear family.  Slept like a log and stayed in til latish for me - 8ish – up until the last night when a few travel nerves started to present themselves. I also got into a bit of shopping –buying some more last minute “necessities” for the trip. With the help of Pix I just managed to get my pack closed and it was exactly 20 kilos on weigh-in at the check in counter - the limit. I also had three other pieces of hand luggage, which fortunately went uncommented on.

The flight set off around 11pm and all I wanted was to sleep – not eat an airline dinner at midnight –managed to drop off after an hour or so with the help of a bad movie, a Barrier Reef neck cushion,(a farewell/Christmas present from Pix), and my last sleeping tablet.  But not before a chat with the sweet 22 year old guy in the seat next to me who was heading off with a group of mates to get pissed at a full moon party and being entertained by the restless whingeing of a 2 year old in the seat behind me. Love hanging out in a confined space with 300 people – not! Breakfast came all too soon – 6amish Oz time – followed by a few episodes of old TV comedies to help pass the last bit of time before landing.

Here I am in Kathmandu -it’s foggy and smoggy at 3 in the arvo. Drove through crazy traffic, after the mad scramble of immigration queues and baggage collection at the airport, to get to the haven of the Ganesh Himal – a small hotel set in a back street near to but a bit away from the chaos of Thamel. It has a lovely garden and rooftop sitting space. The bed is comfortable and there’s  a bath in my ensuite – not sure yet if there will be enough hot water to enjoy it.

Blue Mountains to Melbourne

As my first attempt at a blog this is my intro and a test run. Now on the road and homeless, which sounds more dramatic than the reality - although I did have a few restless nights with the thought - after 6 years in the mountains at BMIMC. There was lots of packing, organising and socialising to do before hitting the road. I spent the last weeks catching up many dear friends - lots of eating involved. I have been so fortunate over this time at the centre to have continued my existing precious friendships and to have met many more wonderful people - making me feel supported and surrounded by love and being the recipient of much kindness. 

The  drive to Melbourne over three days was blessed with beautiful weather and two nights spent with friends. In Canberra I went to the most amazing exhibition at the National Museum - The Canning Stock Route. So much incredible and powerful work, moving me to tears  - if I could work out how to, I would include a photo but instead can only provide the website - http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/yiwarra_kuju/. Also I enjoyed the exquisite Canberra Botanic Gardens - which had so many native species in full flower, a mother kangaroo with tiny joey and lots of dragons sunning themselves.

Now I'm in Melbourne and staying with my beautiful daughter, who presented me with a collection of christmas and birthday presents in advance. Of course Melbourne's well into  Christmas mode and while sitting in the City Square having an Italian hot chocolate at Brunetti's - very decadent and yummy - I watched  a giant Christmas tree  being set up in front of Melbourne Town Hall. 

There are four more days to go before flying off to Nepal - with a few more family get togethers and a visit to the theatre to see Hairspray to go  - and lots of sleeping in, hanging out and general relaxing. Everything seems to be coming together smoothly - and I've received so many good wishes to send me off. 

That's it for my first go - hope to improve my blog skills as I go.

Love to all.