On the way down to Chitwan two days ago Bhim had pointed out a cable car going up the mountainside — "The only one in Nepal," he said. I had asked that we stop and take a ride on the way back and he had agreed. So on our return he kept his promise, and we rode up in the cable car known as the Manakamana Cable Car because it goes up to an important Hindu temple of the same name.
As I've previously written, I'm in Nepal during part of Dashain, the 15-day Hindu holiday. We were going up to the Manakamana Temple where prayers and incense were being offered and sacrifices of goats were taking place. (There were some tell-tale marks of blood on the floor of the cable car — a previous rider's plastic bag had apparently leaked a bit.) Before the cable car had been installed, people walked all the way up. I asked Bhim how much time it took to walk. "About three hours," he said. Unbelievable, really! Just look at the size of the "hills!"
The temple area was jammed with people. Some people were sitting with offerings of incense and flowers; some people were reading religious texts; others were giving and receiving the tikka blessing (the red mark on the forehead), and family groups were talking and taking photographs. Many people were standing in line with their goats, waiting to go into the area where the animals would see their last minutes. Other people were going into another area of the temple where incense was burning and bells were being rung.
