December 28, 2000 - December 13, 2001 14 Days in Nepal The holy city of Changunarayan
Changunarayan was our first stop after we left Nagarkot. We hiked there in about four hours or so. Maybe more. It wasn't bad though, because I was sitting dormant on a plane for so long, I had a lot of energy stored up. So this place was a holy city that housed an ancient temple. It was in a courtyard, with the main temple in the middle and other holy things surrounding it. We had to make sure to walk around the temple clockwise. That's just the way that you have to walk around holy places.
	Just look at the detail on this temple door. I'm not sure if it's made out of copper, or what, but it's very impressive. There was so much to look at here that I didn't know where to begin. I was almost in awe while looking at the center temple just because you could see how old it was. We're talking thousands of years old. It's just incredible because nothing in America is close to being that old. Everything is comparatively brand new. I don't know why I associate age with mysticism, but I do.
Here's another picture that I really like. This is looking up at the main temple. Look at all the detail and keep in mind how old this is. Think about the technology that was available to create this back then. It all has to be hand made. Makes it even more impressive. I remember enjoying a MetRx bar in this temple. I was hungry. We ate right after we left here. I had some chapatti, which is: A traditional flat, disk-shaped bread of northern India, made of wheat flour, water, and salt. That was courtesy of one of the best internet sites- Dictionary.com.
	This is a picture of an everyday street. That thing that everbody asks me about looking like a clothes-line is actually a string of prayer flags. All the holy places have these prayer flags strung around. Each flag contains a prayer on it. You'll see them in a bunch of other pictures. But this picture is great because it shows what these villages are like. The hotel we stayed at that night was very similar to the building on the left. Not exactly the Ritz-Carlton, but my mantra thoughout the whole trip was- I can do anything for two weeks. =)

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