Happy Birthday Buddha!

Last night we met up with out friend Nabin who lives here in Kathmandu. We went to the Boudhanath World Heritage Site to celebrate Buddha's birthday. Buddha does not have an actual birthday date but his birthday is when there is the full moon. Bhuddists believe he was born on a full moon and died on a full moon. Most of the holidays in Nepal don't actually have specific dates for the same reason.

Nabin brought us to a super good rooftop restaurant so we could enjoy a few drinks and some good food as we looked down on the crowd. I am very happy that we went despite the traffic jams and the crowds around the Boudhanath. It was absolutely beautiful. The Boudhanath (also known as a stupa) was lit up with lights and decorated in flowers as offerings. As well, practicing monks and nuns were doing their prayers.

The Boudhanath is one of the most important place of pilgrimage for the Buddhist.  Way back when, the trade routes to central and western Tibet were fully open, traders and travellers and pilgrims would seek blessing at the stupa for safe asssage over the mountain passes.  It is the principal centre of Himalayan Buddhist worship.

The crowd was huge and everyone walked in a clockwise formation around the Boudhanath. At the bottom of the Boudhanath there are hundreds of prayer wheels that the people spin as they walk in the clockwise formation. According to Tibetan Buddhist belief, spinning a prayer wheel is just as effective as reciting the sacred texts aloud. 

I enjoyed several 7 319's (7-up) while Sandy and Nabin enjoyed Everest Beer. We laughed a lot because i was amazed that all the soda sold in Nepal comes in the classic glass bottles but the bottles have the Nepali translated brand on them. The Nepali 7-up bottles look like they say say 7 319 but really say 7-up in Nepali. We spent a few hours upstairs and even got Nabin drunk by accident since Nepali people are so tiny :)