Without a doubt, one of my favourite places that we have traveled to was Nepal. It was absolutely stunning. We stayed at a small resort (called Namo Buddha Resort) owned by this German guy who had purchased the property with some buildings, started to make the resort, and then had Maoist rebels take over his property during their uprising. The Maoists are gone, and now there is an absolutely wonderful small resort there that grows all of it’s own food organically and employs locals. It sits on a ridge looking down over a small village and a grand valley. On the other side, you can see the Buddhist Monastery complex. It’s only a short walk to Namo Buddha from the small cabin we stayed in.
Just before you go up to Namo Buddha, there is an ancient stupa ringed by small, rough hostels and hotels. The complex itself is large, with the main part being new and modern. But, there are various parts to it that have been built at different times. Young monks walked the grounds with shaved heads and red robes, oftn wearing expensive sneakers and listening to iPods. This is the part I couldn’t understand. Out in the seeming middle of nowhere, perched high above villages that were clearly very poor, is a giant religious facility where everyone is well dressed and a lot of money has been invested in buildings. It seemed almost wrong. There seemed to be a complete disconnect between the religion and what it preaches and what I saw, which was Buddhist Monks living in prosperity while in the shadows, villagers lived in poverty.
Regardless, the experience of being in this area of Nepal was just incredible. I would go back in a second and would love to see more of the country.