Bodhnath Stupa

I really did make every minute count at the Gokarna Resort today. After wrapping myself in the white down comforter on my king-size bed and laying there until 8:00 this morning, I rolled out, pulled on some shorts, and headed for the gym. I finally got my first real workout since leaving Salt Lake five weeks ago. Afterwards I stood for a half-hour in the steaming hot shower in my bathroom, then went to the hotel's dining room for a complimentary breakfast buffet. I ate two full plates of spicy indian potatoes with chapatti along with baked beans and sausage, and on top of that I put down a two-egg omelet, two fried eggs, two large muffins and a croissaint, and five glasses of sweet pineapple juice. With my belly full I headed for a dip in the pool. While heading back to my room for one last hot shower and a nap I stopped by the reception desk to confirm that check-out time was really at 12:00, then I requested a wake-up call for 11:45.

This afternoon I paid a Nepali guide to take me to the nearby Vhairabnath Temple, which sits on the Bagmati River near the Gokarna Golf Course. I don't know a whole lot about golf, but as my guide walked me across the course to the temple I could tell that it was a pretty good one. If I knew how to golf then that would have been a fun thing to do today, but since I don't I figured I would have just wasted my time shanking the ball into the trees over and over. Years from now, when I come back to Kathmandu, maybe I'll have learned how to golf and I can stay at the Gokarna and play a round or two.The Vhairabnath Temple was fun because it was something to do, but like I said before, I've seen so many Buddhist and Hindu temples during the past few weeks that the novelty has worn off a bit. The temple had a few small Hindu shrines, a few of which had depictions of the famous Hindu elephant-god Ganesh. There was also a ghat that ran into the tiny Bagmati River and a few Hindu pilgrims bathing down below.The Gokarna Resort arranges free transportation to the airport for all it's guests, but since I still had several hours before my flight, I asked them to drop me off at the nearby Bodhnath Stupa instead. Bodhnath is another place that I visited in 2007 but didn't quite feel like I had enough time at. Many of the Tibetan exiles in Kathmandu live near Bodhnath Stupa, and the surrounding area is distinctly Tibetan and distinctly Buddhist. I paid more attention today than I did the last time I visited and I noticed several typical elements of Tibetan Buddhist culture besides just the prayer flags and prayer wheels. I wandered through a couple of monasteries surrounding the stupa and saw silver bowls of holy water, ritual cakes made of colored butter, colorful decorative cloths hanging from the ceiling, and brightly painted images of legendary Buddhist religious figures. Also, as I walked along the lower edges of the stupa I passed by monks and nuns performing prostrations as well as one monk who was studying ancient Buddhist texts.Asia has been a blast but I'm ready to move on. Myanmar felt completely mind-blowing to me. Bhutan's culture was vaguely familiar since I had already been to Nepal. Nepal has been amazing and I've been dying to come back since last year, but I feel like I've adequately covered it for now. I'm ready for something completely different. Tonight I'm flying to Dubai and after a couple of days there I'll spend five weeks in Africa. Africa should feel completely foreign to me, and that's exactly what I want right now. I'm ready for the remaining six weeks of my trip to be completely out-of-control.