So where were all the monkeys? I only saw about three. This temple (Swayambhunath) is on a hill overlooking Kathmandu. It is quite grand, but I still liked Boudanath better. The sellers here were the most aggressive.

buddhist temple and monastery in kathmandu. a totally serene escape from the city. i could have spent all afternoon there. the pizza was good too. I am crazy about prayer flags.

Buddhist monk that Deana knows was there blessing little amulets. Nice guy. But the purple umbrella seems to clash.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The fountain in Hyde Park in memory of Princess Diana was probably a good idea on paper, but it just doesn’t give the right impression. Cold and sad.