Beautiful Nepal - Day two

Is Vic really that tall?!


Wandering the streets


The architecture of Durbar Square


Siobhán watches over Durbar Square


Lunch over the roof tops


Corn on the wayside


Steps, steps and more steps


Women at prayer


The all seeing eye


View from the heavens over the valley

We headed for a breakfast of Muesli and masala tea early the next morning before heading off to explore the city. Wandering through the streets towards Durbar Square, our trip got its official name - 'The Short ass version of Dhaka'. Before you judge you must understand that it was highly amusing to us both that everything seemed to be just that bit smaller than Dhaka apart from the people which made it even more amusing to us. It felt wonderful to be walking down the streets of a city that I heard so much about from both my parents who had both visited it over thirty years ago, as well as many friends who had been here more recently.
Durbar (meaning palace) Square was fascinating with its cross between Asian and an almost Tudor like architecture. We sat and watched the world go by for a short while, its been quite a while since I have been the one doing the watching rather than being the object of fascination, it was almost a forgotten feeling. Lunch at a rooftop restaurant overlooked the old hippy hangout of Freak Street, and in the distance we could see Swayambhunath (Monkey) Temple, which was our destination for the afternoon. The legend has it that the temple rose out of the waters of the lake which once covered Kathmandu Valley. The walk to the temple took us through side streets and back alleys. The mix of physical features, the simplicity of it all made me catch my breath.
The temple was amazing, and as we drew closer it seemed to take over the entire sky. We climbed the endless steps to the top, stopping briefly for a chat with a palm reader - I know I know I always do, but it is so interesting to think that somewhere out there things have already been decided for us and that we can just sit back and enjoy the ride. The first thing that stuck me at the temple was the large group of women canting in front of an incense alter - a none existent sight in many of the countries I have lived in. We had tea at DiDi's tea shop before heading back down from the heavens to the valley below.
This was our evening for Tibetan food and what a treat it was. We found Utse restaurant, recommended by the trusty book as one of the oldest Tibetan restaurants in Kathmandu. The Tibetan noodle soup was thick with vegetables and tasty noodles and the momos (Tibetan dumplings) where certainly something designed by the gods. My taste buds could not take the euphoria as the waiter laid down the most amazing Tibetan bread. Our fill eaten we stopped for a glass of wine and a cup of ginger tea before retiring for the evening.