Day seventy-five – Peace

A different outing – or pilgrimage – today: down not up, and instead of the noisy, colourful temple to Shiva, the silence of the Peace Pagoda.  Given the choice (by Val), I rejected the rocky path down the mountain, fearing for my knees, my balance, my life, and elected to take the road, winding its way down; longer, but gentler.  (And it proved, given both hindsight and a view of the path from the Pagoda, a wise decision.)

There were “Silence!” signs on the entry to the grounds, though I had serious doubts as to whether such an instruction would be, even could be, enforced.  There are signs demanding Silence all over the SPA buildings, and these are permanently ignored, even flouted.  More pertinently, as we approached the Pagoda, there were signs insisting “No video!” and, more precisely, “No Tik Tok!”, a response to the constant incursions made on important cultural and religious sites throughout the world – Angkor Wat, Macchu Picchu, and the rest – by those seeking the post that would attract all the likes.  But my cynicism was misplaced; a policeman was stood on the highest platform of the pagoda, issuing stern “sshhes” to anyone who ignored this instruction.

The pagoda itself is impressive, occupying a site which ensures it stands out, as well as offering fine views over Pokhara and  of the mountains beyond.  We discovered it is one of a network of such pagodas around the world, intended to total one hundred eventually; it may be that number has been achieved by now, for the sign  said this was the 71^st, and the sign itself was perhaps twenty years old.  There is a pagoda in London, near Battersea, so I imagine that is one of the same series.

Extraordinarily, we also discovered that, though this one was begun in 1973, it was destroyed the following year by the Nepalese authorities for failing to observe planning regulations.  It does seem like the most appalling bureaucratic officiousness, but I suppose even temples need to be erected with permission.  But it was re-started in the nineties, (presumably this time having obtained the necessary permissions, since it had the backing of the Nepalese government), and was completed in 1999.  And is now a great draw for the city, attracting visitors (and their money) from all over the world.

And it is undoubtedly a most impressive building, pure white, with golden panels around the upper level depicting various aspects of the Buddha’s life.  With silence enforced, it also created a sense of contemplation and… well, peace.

In the afternoon, while Val got on with online meetings, I took myself up to the terrace for cocktails (a margarita or two) and then some socialisation with a group of about eight Germans, of my age or thereabouts, members of the Lions (an international charitable organisation) who had donated funds for a mountain school, and were on a tour to see the positive outcome of their contributions, as well as having a general tour.  Their guide and interpreter was an interesting chap, a Nepali man, and chatted with me (especially when he discovered I was a volunteer with a particular skill to offer), as he runs an educational charity, so has contacts with Nepali schools.  It does seem a little churlish to say that actually I look for variety in the various projects I undertake, so am unlikely to want an immediate return to Nepal, even when this project is over.  But one never knows, it may be that I do not have that luxury of choice, so I took his name and contact details.

Ther Germans were very sociable, and offered me a small piece of the cake they had brought with them (from Pokhara, not Germany), and we exchanged some platitudes about Nepal, the children and welcome they had received, the joy of such travel… all of which I agreed with most readily.

Later, Val and I got chatting with Greg, an American traveller (in his forties?) whom we got on with very well, as we have so much in common.  Like Val, he is running a business while still taking the opportunity to travel – after Nepal, he is off to Bhutan and then Taiwan – and with whom we had a lot in common, especially in terms of the places we had both visited: Portugal, Peru, Myanmar…

And then Val and I took ourselves off to our room.  Since we had stayed an extra day here, we had had to rebook, and had taken advantage of the opportunity for an upgrade, giving ourselves a jacuzzi hot tub on the balcony.  Once we had worked out how to use it, and to make sure it was not so hot that we boiled, it was very pleasant… for about twenty minutes or so.  After which the pleasure faded.  After all, it’s really just a bath.  I was pleased we had had the opportunity to try one out, for now I know I am not especially interested in one (and most certainly not in owning one of my own – jacuzzi, hot tub, whatever.)