Bicycling to Bhaktapur

On my second full day in Nepal, I had a bicycling adventure with my fellow medical student, Alice and her husband Ben from New Zealand. Being young and adventuresome, they decided to rent bikes to ride out to a rural village called Bhaktapur. And, not wanting to be a stick in the mud, I decided to join them. We rented bikes for the day for 150 rupees (about $2) - not the best equipment in the world, but hearty enough to stand the Nepali roads. My bike didn't change gears at all. Fortunately, it was stuck in the easiest gear! Even so, I couldn't make it up all the hills with the 99-degree, 99% humidity weather. Traffic was crazy until we got a bit out of the city. Even so, it was interesting weaving in and out of cars, trucks, buses, pedestrians and motorcycles. I prayed a lot, and we made it to Bhaktapur and back (at least 12 km each way) safely.

Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur is an old city with 170 temples! It looks like a medieval city even now with dark, narrow streets and people drying chile peppers in the squares. Actually, I found it really dark and oppressive, but fascinating. The streets and squares were lined with hundreds of little shops selling religious items - paintings, incense bowls, figures of gods and Buddhas...

According to my contacts in Kathmandu, Nepal is approximately 80% Hindu with a significant Buddhist segment as well. Tibetans fleeing China in the 1950s moved to Nepal and established many temples and monasteries. Nepal is also home to the supposed birthplace of Buddha, Lumbini, a town located close to where I will be for the next few months.