Sat, May 10 - Kathmandu

Wanted to get up at 4AM and walk to the Swayambhunath Stupa to catch the good morning light but was just too tired after yesterday's marathon DVD session. Sleep in till 7AM (still the first up at this place).

I walk to Swayambhunath at 11AM to check it out. It's about 30 minutes from the hotel. I see more beggars in the vicinity of the temple than I have seen during my previous 20+ days in Nepal.

The stupa is huge, about eighty feet in diameter and about as tall. Each side has the Budha eyes and nose painted on it. Very well known in Nepal.

There is a Nepali funeral parlour next to the Swayambhunath hill. It looks like a party until you see the funeral pyres. A loud procession with music approaches down the street and I set up to get photos of a marching band. I realize too late that it's a funeral procession.

Next stop is Durbar square, another thirty minute walk. As I go through the streets, which are muddy and covered with much water from the previous night's rain, I wonder how much has changed since Tenzing Norgay walked these streets. All the doorways have carved lintels and door jambs. The amount of craftmanship that went into Kathmandu is enormous. In Durbar Square, there is a huge amount of carved wood on the roofs and roof supports of all the temples. At the base of some of the roof supports, one finds very erotic carvings. They are not a main theme so perhaps it was the workmen having fun.