hindu temple

 

hindu temple and premiere open air cremation site. intense. yes the smoke is what you think it is. life and death out in the open.

holy men who pose for a hundred rupee tip.

Kathmandu – first look

Wandered with co-trekkers Steve and Derek yesterday through the old part of Kathmandu. Durbar Square. Sights, sounds, smells were overwhelming. Demonic motorcycle drivers. Never seen anything like this anywhere. This post deserves about fifty pictures.

 

Approach to Kathmandu

After enduring medieval legroom and 20 hours on airplanes we were finally making our approach into Kathmandu. We flew over some small mountains and saw the verdant valley unroll. The trip was about to start as far as I was concerned.

 

Doha, Qatar

Flat, sandy, and hot. Moms in burkhas. Sheiks and sultans. Nothing redeeming in my opinion. Had planned to go into the city center if the opportunity presented itself. It did and I didn’t. A cup of Costa Coffee was all I needed to pass the two hours until the flight to Kathmandu.

second sunrise

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seeing the second sunrise, from a plane, while still underway to the same destination is not a good thing. and qatar air legroom was merciless. but nobody was next to me so i did a cotortionist thing and survived.

Trafalgar Square

They were protesting the 10th anniversary of the West’s involvement in Afghanistan. Something’s always going on in Trafalgar Square. I even like it better now without the pigeons although we have some great memories of Dan feeding the birds back in the day.

What a fantastic public place!

After lunch in the St. Martins in the Field crypt I made my way back to Paddington station and then to Heathrow to kill some more time before the next flight.

Dung Beetle

Brit humor rarely disappoints. Even when applied to machinery.

This little vehicle runs behind Horse Guards and sweeps up the poop. Look closely. It’s called Scarab Minor. Scarab…the Egyptian dung beetle. Priceless.

 

happy to see you, yellow bag

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very happy.
now i have everything to take w me on the qatar air flight.  yellow bag is stashed at the left baggage counter.
americans call it luggage and treat it as if it were an accessory.  americans take lots of it. brits call it baggage, which is exactly what it is on a trip. brits take far less of it.
heading now into central london on a train to kill time before the next flight.