after a long day to Mankamna, we were all set to start at 6 AM , with a packed breakfast – as we needed to cover the swayambhu temple complex, with its central stupa
we also visited the Guhyeswari temple, an old temple and a heritage site – where no photos are allowed.
through a connecting path that took us through more archaeological heritage locations, we reached the pasupathinath temple.
the cremation area adjacent to the temple was not crowded, but very dirty.
we then set out for another long ride on a narrow road which was in a pretty bad shape – btw, i thought that this road [as with many others in this region could have been the reason the metric system had to be invented.
you needed a smaller measure than an ‘inch’ to make roads that were just wide enough for two vehicles that needed a lot of patience and skill to manoeuvre slowly to make progress!
after the initial apprehensions in the group related to whether the trip will go as per plan, most of the members were now feeling more comfortable – to the extent that there were discussions of being ‘one large family’ and about how adjustments will be needed to make sure that all of us complete the tour happily!
Tatopani – meaning hot water – is just before the border town of kodari, where we needed to cross over to China.
to beat the rush at the immigration line and be there early morning, our plan was to halt at tatopani – on the banks of the Kosi river – overnight, at a guest house overlooking a school on the banks of the river have a refreshing hot spa bath in the morning before crossing the border.
that, we were told, could be our good refreshing bath for the next few days – possibly till we got back!
the leisurely stroll along the road in the evening and the parroting girls , who seemed to be amused at the term ‘saappadu’ that they kept repeating that loudly as they did other phrases that they could hear, were some other diversions and gave us the ‘local’ experience of tatopani.
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