"the best way to overcome a temptation is to succumb to it.." once said my English teacher in school.
being assigned the lead for the project, i had the unsaid privilege of.... hush hush... traveling to the installation locati... psst psst...
nevertheless, this time, my work took me for a pleasure ride into Nepal via Patna right across the border at Raxaul, crossing over to Birgunj... phew...
none of the world-class technologies at Google could save me from the suffering that lay en-route Patna-Birgunj... a mere 250 km... Google reassured a 3-4 hour journey... we did it in 9... and trust me when they joked that they can transform Shanghai into Bihar in 10 days... they were damn correct....
anyways, we moved into Nepal did some office work and moved to the next site in Kathmandu - the land of the Gods...
yeah Birgunj's heat and hotel's chilled water did give me a 100 deg fever and i carried that straight into Kathmandu's chill, but that didn't really stop me... somewhere deep down, there were voices which kept me pushing... The Voices of Nepal indeed...
as advised the first thing we did in Kathmandu post work was a visit to the famous Pashupathinath temple... the temple stood in pure magnificence... the evening "aarati" amazingly captivating... the enthusiasm was in the air... psychologically you feel the strength just sitting there for some time... and once again Einsteins Relativity plays tricks with you - you just wouldn't know how the hour hand moved from 7 pm to 8 pm...
the banks of the idly flowing Bagmati river below the Pashupathinath temple, is a gateway for heaven for all the deceased Nepali folk... the cremation process fills one with awe... but the temple bells chiming far away gives all the hope and courage needed...
with time the spiritual visit further metamorphosized into a much glamorous one...Thamel, one of the shopping centers of Nepal was waiting to treat us... you could just find anything here - from the extreme trekking stuff to mild and soft shawls. i got some shawls for home... claimed to be pashmina - i dunno; aint an expert...
some of the weird things the place had to offer to eat included buffalo momo and hot beer called thungba... bon appetit...
Post completion of the work, the next day a brief visit to the King's palace (now museum) was exquisite...took about an hour to get through the palace. it showed what it is to live life king size!!! only one question that lingered in my mind - if the king and queen stayed in separate rooms, then.... never mind....
the final trip of the day was the Darbar Square... 3 hours flat and yet we couldn't finish it all... the place is huge with huge structures and with a huge number of people... there were huge old buildings resembling pagodas... temples, a kumari palace and museum too.... about the museum - built in 1770 it is made of wood and earth and nine storeys high... beat that!!!! tired as we were, we finished the evening with a late lunch and returned to the hotel...
the next and last day was a quick trip to the work zone and then straight to the airport. airport security is funny in Kathmandu... the'll will touch you everywhere to check if you are carrying something that doesn't belong in the flight.... anyways...
all in all, with the fever, with work, the trip went extremely well... we didnt plan any time for any of these places; thought that work wouldnt allow us... but i guess we were extremely efficient...
For more pictures please visit https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4738857992009.193434.1311662017&type=3
being assigned the lead for the project, i had the unsaid privilege of.... hush hush... traveling to the installation locati... psst psst...
nevertheless, this time, my work took me for a pleasure ride into Nepal via Patna right across the border at Raxaul, crossing over to Birgunj... phew...
none of the world-class technologies at Google could save me from the suffering that lay en-route Patna-Birgunj... a mere 250 km... Google reassured a 3-4 hour journey... we did it in 9... and trust me when they joked that they can transform Shanghai into Bihar in 10 days... they were damn correct....
anyways, we moved into Nepal did some office work and moved to the next site in Kathmandu - the land of the Gods...
yeah Birgunj's heat and hotel's chilled water did give me a 100 deg fever and i carried that straight into Kathmandu's chill, but that didn't really stop me... somewhere deep down, there were voices which kept me pushing... The Voices of Nepal indeed...
as advised the first thing we did in Kathmandu post work was a visit to the famous Pashupathinath temple... the temple stood in pure magnificence... the evening "aarati" amazingly captivating... the enthusiasm was in the air... psychologically you feel the strength just sitting there for some time... and once again Einsteins Relativity plays tricks with you - you just wouldn't know how the hour hand moved from 7 pm to 8 pm...
with time the spiritual visit further metamorphosized into a much glamorous one...Thamel, one of the shopping centers of Nepal was waiting to treat us... you could just find anything here - from the extreme trekking stuff to mild and soft shawls. i got some shawls for home... claimed to be pashmina - i dunno; aint an expert...
some of the weird things the place had to offer to eat included buffalo momo and hot beer called thungba... bon appetit...
Post completion of the work, the next day a brief visit to the King's palace (now museum) was exquisite...took about an hour to get through the palace. it showed what it is to live life king size!!! only one question that lingered in my mind - if the king and queen stayed in separate rooms, then.... never mind....
the final trip of the day was the Darbar Square... 3 hours flat and yet we couldn't finish it all... the place is huge with huge structures and with a huge number of people... there were huge old buildings resembling pagodas... temples, a kumari palace and museum too.... about the museum - built in 1770 it is made of wood and earth and nine storeys high... beat that!!!! tired as we were, we finished the evening with a late lunch and returned to the hotel...
all in all, with the fever, with work, the trip went extremely well... we didnt plan any time for any of these places; thought that work wouldnt allow us... but i guess we were extremely efficient...
For more pictures please visit https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4738857992009.193434.1311662017&type=3
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