Katmandu on tour

Finally, meeting up with my tour group was a relief. We met at Pashupanath, a famous, sacred Hindu temple & cremation site on the riverbank that was rebuilt in the 15th century.

I was the dead receive their last rights before cremation. I was captivated by the process. Out of respect, I didn't take any pictures.

Then we continued to Boudhanath, the largest stupa in the world. I had been seeing it since I stayed at Kopan. It was impressive, and I was giddy when I saw there was a natural hot spring there.

The next day, we went to Dubar Square. My earlier pictures of the place showed massive crowds for the Indro Chowk Festival. This was a normal day. Having a guide explain everything made it more interesting, and I got to do various offerings throughout the day.

The highlight was seeing Kumari, the virgin goddess. She did not look happy nor impressed by the crowds. It must be a drag to have to pop out of a window every 15 minutes for a couple of hours every day. There were strictly no photos, but I took a photo of her poster.

I started making better connections, and Mena, a 59 year old black woman from Washington DC, and I are hanging out pretty regularly.

Most of the group is French and I am triggered by the few who are unwilling to try to engage with us English speakers. Of 21, 2/3 are french speaking. I'm feeling aversion!Read more