Kathmandu: the beautiful and the terrible

After a safe return to Jomson via horse and jostling all-terrain bus, we spent the night and woke to another spectacular view of Nilgiri on Tuesday morning.

We were delighted to see clear skies and boarded an old De Havilland DH-6 to fly back to Kathmandu via Pokhara. The airport seemed to be back to normal, and a hotel driver met us for a ride through the traffic of Kathmandu. After the pristine solitude of Lo Manthang, the big city was a shock to the senses.

Out on foot that afternoon, we visited Durbar Square and the palace of Nepal's last kings, which has become a museum in their honor and, with the surrounding temples, is a World Heritage site. The architectural details were fascinating.

Dodging the endless flow of motorbikes, scooters, and cars reminded us of our death-defying street crossings in Saigon, and we hired a tuk-tuk to our next destination, the Garden of Dreams, which was near our hotel. It's a pleasant retreat from the busyness of the city.

Whoever designed this gate had imagination and a sense of humor. The yellow is from a shop across the alley.

We hired a driver and were off at 9 a.m. the next morning for an all-day tour of more of the city's landmarks. Patan Durbar Square is the old capital, and part of the palace has been converted to a really excellent museum.

The artifacts include these gold figures of the Tibetan saint Milarepa and the Hindu deity Vishnu riding Garuda.

We ventured down the street to the Golden Temple, which dates back to 1409.

Our next stop was Boudanath, one of Buddhism's holiest sites. Though in the middle of the city, it is on the ancient trade route from Tibet, and because of the influx of refugees from Tibet, about 50 Buddhist monasteries have been established around it.

A visit to a school for Thangka artists resulting in taking home a beautiful small painting.

The final stop on Wednesday was Pashupatinath, another World Heritage Site on the banks of the Bagmati River. It's not a spot for the squeamish: this is where the deceased are cremated and the remains swept into the river, which eventually joins the Ganges. It's a real production line--four cremations were in various stages while we were there.

Animal sacrifices are also featured, this a water buffalo.

Holy men, or sadhus, also hang out here. We were told they are happy to just do yoga and smoke ganja, for which they gain the privilege of not having to reincarnate. They apparently don't disavow materialism entirely, because they wanted 1000 rupees ($10) for Judy to have her picture with them (I'll not embarass her by posting it).

Thursday morning we were off to see some of the local Hindu temples. To say the least, the immersion in Hindu ritual was an authentic experience, and we were the only Westerners at most of the sites.

Dashinkali

Pharping

Kokana

Karya Binayak

Karya Binayak

Tomorrow we're up at 5 a.m. to catch a flight to Lukla and go trekking near Everest. I hope to get some more photos of the Himalayas and the great peak itself. It'll be a few days until the next post, but more adventure is coming.