As I planned, today I went to Thamel which is a part of Kathmandu.
It's 4.2 km away from the orphanage so it was the first time that I went by taxi. But this is actually quite easy. I paid 300 NR which is ca. 2.70 euros.
When I arrived in Thamel I actually wanted to visit a tattoo studio which Johanna (a volunteer who was staying at the orphanage as well) recommended.
But I didn't really find it so I asked someone. The guy was quite nice and said he would show me....
Well I thought ok why not and followed him.
I ended up in a tattoo studio of his friend which didn't seem that seriously.
So I was just talking to them and couldn't wait to go back to the streets.
After this the guy asked me if he should show me around because he really wanted to show me his workplace and practice English. Again I thought ok why not I don't care 😂....
So yeah he showed me the art school he attends to and this was quite nice. They are drawing manadals with one hair brushes. So the paintings are very detailed and they really looked nice. Behind
every Mandala there is also a story and this makes the painting even more interesting. Of course.... he wanted me to buy one. And I think it took ages until I convinced them that I won't
buy anything....
I really liked this Mandala because of the bright colours.
It's name is Kalacharkra Mandala.
This means "wheel of time" and it is the name of one of the Buddhist deities which represents aspects of the enlightened mind.
People use this Mandala to visualize the steps along the path to enlightenment during meditation.
In the Mandala one can see 722 different gods which symbolize manifestation of aspects of consciousness and reality.
The Mandala has three palaces which contain five different stories. The first one is the entlightend body then enlightened speech then enlightened mind then enlightened wisdom and the enlightened great bliss.
The rings around the temples consist out of rings of earth, water, fire, wind, space and wisdom.
There are also so many other symbols and things one can find and explain and in my opinion this is great art and very difficult to paint.
The colours are made out of natural things such as fruits or herbs and the Mandala is painted on cotton.
After this he wanted to show me a festival and the temples because apparently today was the festival of the God of protection.
So he showed me around.
This was so nice. I saw sooooo many temples and he told me about all the different gods (ok not about all because there are sooooo sooo many but about some of them). For me it was really really
interesting and I really like this religion and all the symbols and stories behind the temples, trees (some trees are seen as temples) sculptures and statues. He also put Tika on my forehead
which is a mark typically for Hinduism.
He showed me around so many different markets as well. And I love markets because there are always so many nice things one can buy...
Actually the guy was quite nice and he told me so many interesting things and he also wanted me to come to his home (I would definitely never do this😅) but
then he wanted to buy food for his family. I thought ok fine, no problem...
We went to a little shop and he got the things he wanted. When it came to paying he wanted ME to pay for everything...!!!
At first I didn't really understand I was just thinking whaaaat???
It was also 39 euros... But he said for showing me around I would have to pay this in return. I told him that this was way too much and that I didn't even
have that much money with me.... But he didn't stop and was so annoying...
I mean of course I was thinking about giving him some money because he was really nice and showed me around for almost 2 hours but I thought this was quite
unpolitely that he wanted to make me pay for all of this. In the end I just bought him coffee for 700 NR which I think was still too much but I just wanted him to go away.
I was quite angry and he was just saying that I have to follow the main street and then I would be back in thamel.
First I just thought greeeeeat!!! Lost in the middle of thousand little streets, temples and people.
Also my SIM card is not working... So I couldn't use Google maps.
But somehow I found my way back to thamel and I went into a very nice restaurant. It's name was OR 2K. Inside one has to take of the shoes. The tables are very low and one is actually
sitting on the floor.
I had some kind of bread filled with vegetables and two fresh mint lemonades. I also met some new people. On girl from England and two others from Switzerland which was quite nice. The food
and the drinks were also so cheap. In total I only paid 6 euros.
After the restaurant I just went through the streets and had a look at all the little shops which are sooo cute.
Then I decided to go back because the kids were also coming back from school soon.
So I took a taxi again....
The thing is I have no idea of the name of the area or the street I'm staying. So I always have a card with me with the name of the big supermarket because actually everyone knows it.
So I showed the name to the taxi driver. He said he would know were to go..but I kinda had a bad feeling.
Quite soon we arrived at a supermarket. From outside it looked the same as the one near the orphanage. Just the road was differently. But I thought maybe we just arrived from an other side, gave
him the 300 NR and left the taxi. Soon I realized that it was the completely wrong place.
I found my self again in the middle of nowhere and had no idea where I was.
So I just took the next taxi and this time luckily the driver drove the right way. But this was quite annoying because I had to pay an other 300 NR. So today I spent in total 1000 NR for nothing
😂.
But in the end I was quite happy that I found my way back home.
Then I was just revising with the kids the whole rest of the day. I have no idea how they can revise so much, even I couldnt concentrate and listen and sit on the floor anymore after a while....
and I didn't have to revise but just help them...
After dinner I went downstairs because I was just really not in the mood for revising anymore.
And now I'm sooooo tired... And tmr there will be school again...
So good night xxx
Kommentar schreiben