February 4, 2015
From Bhaktapur we rode higher into the Himalayas to the little village of Nagarkot at an elevation of 6,000 feet elevation. We were greeted by Buddhist monks who, outside a small temple, pasted a leaf on each of our foreheads and placed a scarf around our neck and shoulders to the background music of chanting coming from within the temple. The temple chant, however, was soon drowned out by the drum beats and singing of three Shamans who danced for us in the yard outside the temple.
Then into the intimate temple we went to witness a Buddhist service with incense, drums, mountain horns, chanting and the offering of fruit to the Buddha. When we emerged from the temple service, the monks extended their religious and cultural sharing with us by engaging in several different circle dances in the yard under the colorful lines overhead of Buddhist prayer flags flapping away in the mountain breeze against a backdrop of forested ridges on a spectacular blue-sky, 72-degree day. It all seemed surreal. We could only look at one another and shake our heads with a sense of “Where are we?” or “Pinch me. Is this for real?”
To further our sense of other-worldliness, the Shamans picked up again with their energizing dancing and drumming and singing. In response, we decided to make a humble offering in return to all the monks, Shamans and villagers who were present. We joined our voices in “Now thank we all our God”, and then, to give them a taste of Americana culture, “She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain!” And we brought smiles to their faces as they had to ours.
After enjoying a home-made lunch served within the village, we took our leave, drove higher into the mountains to the lookout point where the snow-crested peaks of the Himalayas were warmed by the light of the setting sun. It was, literally, a peak experience and a fitting close to an over-the-top day.