No matter, the food was great at the farmhouse lodge we stayed in, and it was nice and quiet. In the afternoon, we took a three-hour walk to a nearby village where a new year's eve celebration was on. Once per year, the locals transfer images of four deities from one temple to another on big wooden carts. Since two images were of a children's god, the first two carts were carried by kids, who raucously celebrated each 50 feet of progress up an endless stairway.
We decided to stay in Nagarkot only one day though, and returned to the MiCasa Hotel in Kathmandu to end our journey. A hot bath, good restaurants, and a king size bed were too much to resist. The volume was turned up on New Year's Eve 2072 (Nepali calendar), but that's what earplugs are for.
For our last full day in Nepal we hired a driver to take us to Namo Buddha, a temple and monastery where a previous incarnation of Buddha is said to have offered himself to a starving tiger and her cubs. It's an important site to Buddhists all over the world. On the way we passed a giant statue of the Hindu deity Shiva, the Destroyer. Not sure what to make of that on this winding mountain road.
From Namo Buddha, we walked about two hours through village streets and potato fields to Paunati, where our driver met us.
After dozens of Nepali meals, it'll be a while before I'll crave rice of any kind or can look another potato in the eye.
You'd think we'd be templed-out, but we stopped in Panauti to take in this little complex beside the river. Like other waterways in populated areas, you do not want to know about the river.
Before heading back to the hotel, we visited a weaving shop where Tibetan refugees make rugs. We thought about bringing one (rug) home, but didn't find anything that went with the house.
It's hard to believe we'll be flying home soon, but after all of these amazing adventures, it will be great to be in the comfort of home again. For a while.
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