these are a lot of pictures from the trip we made driving to manakamana on buddha jayanti day. thought it was day when there would not be too many people visiting this pilgrimage site. we were wrong of course! you will see images of what we saw along the way and back... writing on the back trucks, the state of the river, the riverside, the hills, the roads being built everywhere, the temple premises...amongst others...
'will come back' says the message on this truck.. we surely did!
...just past thankot a view of the new roads carved into hillsides...
...traffic can be tight and dangerous in these winding roads...
... someone who wants the birds to take him along to beyond the distant horizon...
... a nationalistic message in the mudguard of the long istance bus...
while we got stuck at a point due to a stalled truck, i got time to focus on the cracked road surface... of course, much improved after the bijog it had seen when trucks overloaded with wet sand plied on it...
... as we wait huge trucks from india ply by...
... then it was turn for the traffic on the other side to wait while we drove past the back log of vehicles...
.. we can to a dhaat to pay road toll...
... this makeshift toilet at the dhaat...
... and trash thrown from vehciles swept by the spring rain on the wayside...
the pink bus is an impatient one.. honking its horn and weaving in and out of rows of vehicles, blind curves or not... no wonder we hear of traffic accidents so often...
...fresh leaves on the young sal community forest...
...the river banks being mined of sand and pebbles... who is thinking of the ecological impact of this rape of riversides???
...just one sample of traffic accident... lucky that it headed for the cliffside rather than the riverside...
...road king advises to live simply and think lofty...
... driving along this fascinating grassy cliff...
...at manakamanait was traffic of a different kind.. cable cars plying non-stop up and down the hills...
...this lone deer in a covered area near the restaurant at the cable car station...
... many of the people had waitied 2-3 hours to get to this point...
this jungey bokey also had to wait its turn for the open gondola that would ferry it up to be sacrificed at the temple...
... looking west once we're 'airborne'. the trishuli river very very muddy, probably because of all the silt that is being dumped into it all the way upstream beyond dhading...
... looking back at the docking station...
as we climb silently up the mountain.. the prithivi highway, and another local road winding up to a village on the mountaintop also get smaller...
... and smaller...
... and still smaller...
... we swish past a bar pipal chautari midway...
skim over a small hamlet...
and then get carried over the steepest past of the climb...
...at the top a row of goats, whose final destination will be at the feet of the goddess...
... for those who do not offer living beings.. there is the substitute coconut!!!
... that's what we bought!
... in the past couple of years since we'd not been up here... many new and good looking lodges seem to have sprung up... with the roads coming in from gorkha side, transporting construction material to manakamana must have eased the pains of builders!
... finally at the temple where devotees flock to with make wishes, or to thank the goddess for granting their wishes!!
...dhoop deep on the side...
... metal banners cascade down the front of the temple...
bells offered by devotees.. some them with locks too...
... a four-legged animal that can move about confidently and fearlessly in the temple premises, unlike the goats!!
... pilgrims queueing to get into the temple...
... women getting ready to burn lakh batti...
priya, me and baba in front of the temple...
.. the huge chaanp tree that towers above the temple...
... southern tourists get their picture taken by one of the many photographers waiting in the sidelines...
... the leaning temple.. prey to landslips to the west...
our last glimpse of the jungey bokey, who obviously took the cable car ride to the temple...
... a marwadi bhojanalaya tempts pilgrims with vegetarian fare...
...colourful threads waiting to be offered and blessed...
... then priya spotted a guy who printed names on keychains.. he was using letter types from the old letter press.. made me nostalgic of the 'composing' room of jagadamba press...
he uses a lever contraption to emboss the name to the keychain...
a final touch...
... before it's handed over...
... to priya...
... eateries along the way...
.. a theki outlet...
... wall hangings of gods and goddesses (chinese made!)
... lots of naked baby dolls for sale...
... bhaleys waiting to be bought by pilgrims heading towards the temple...
... we take the ride back down.. as an empty animal cab heads up...
... our gondola's shadow on the trishuli.. see how muddy it is, despite the fact that there had been no rain in recent days?
... we come very close to the ground station...
... we head back towards kathmandu... past riverbanks with their rocks...
... and sand intact...
'near' caves on the cliffs...
...kayaker leads a raft over light rapids...
a tuin to carry stones from the quarry acorss the trishuli...
aaah.. some relief for the gasoline-starved kathmandu... tanker pledging to serve 'pure' petroleum product!!!
... dangerous driving without a helmet on the highway... the reason why more pillion riders lose their lives in accidents...
bhaag banda of the river banks.. are local authorities aware of the ecological consequences of 'over' mining of riverbanks??
a recently carved road on a cliff beneath an old water channel...
.. roadside vending of bananas, cucumber and corn...
... further east... a stoner crusher industry.. turning mountain dhunga to gitti
.. further on a hillside being stripped of soil to be washed for sand(the silt dumped into the river)...
... verdant fields...
... one more crusher industry in the distance...
... and up close...
... a fortress of rocks waiting to be crushed...
... a cement 'factory'...
... 'wise' sayings about the futility of breaking already broken girls !!
... and an innovative way to communicate one's love for the country...
... threatening the shoe to anyone who casts a covetuous eye!!
... a little stretch of beauty as we head up the hills of thankot...
... getting our fill of diesel fumes...
'will come back' says the message on this truck.. we surely did!
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