The days are blending together in a lazy ‘Nepali time’ jumble of smiling faces, honking horns, dust and constantly fascinating scenes of Kathmandu suburban life. Well-dressed teens weave through traffic on sweet little 150 cc streetbikes, while women crouch in the fields tending crops of cabbage, carrots, rice, and peppers along the fertile, garbage strewn river banks. Cows and dogs scavenge and snooze in the shade, while the children seem to always playing games in the streets. Soccer, cricket, giant bamboo swings, and there’s always someone flying a kite made of a bread bag and some sticks, either so high it’s difficult so see who’s actually flying it, or running down the road, Charlie Brown style.  The wind is light and variable, so I haven’t flown mine here yet, but can imagine the scene that will develop when I finally do! 

The other day we went to Pashupatinath, Nepal’s most important Hindu temple, and  also for Hindus around the world. It is also a sacred Buddist  shrine, set on the banks of the holy Bagmati river. Kings have been coming here for centuries, the oldest inscription dated to 459 AD. The cremation ghats are the most dramatic aspect to the uninitiated, as non-Hindus aren’t allowed inside the most sacred temples.  Funeral pyres are built in advance, then the funeral procession brings the body in, more wood is stacked on top, and then after, the ashes are swept into the river. A public spectacle, reminding us of the constant cycle of death and rebirth. I’m not sure what the monkeys have to do with anything, besides being  holy as well, but there are 100’s of them roaming and screeching, waiting for hand-outs, and fighting over the bounty. A peaceful, powerful, and provocative place.

We’ve spent a day and half in Thamel, the tourist ghetto near Durbar square. I stayed there last time I was in Kathmandu, as most travellers do, and am so glad to have the opportunity to stay out in Pepsi cola. It’s so quiet in contrast. Not because there are no dogs barking late into the night, or roosters crowing early in the mornings, but because no one is trying to sell bamboo flutes and bead necklaces, or taxi rides, or t-shirts…It’s like the New York city of Nepal. Prices are so much higher! At the same time, splurging on coffee, cheese omelettes, and sushi is sometimes worth whatever it costs! Su and Raven had lists of goodies they had planned to haggled for. I didn’t really have anything I needed, but after looking in trekking stores for a sleeping bag for Raven, I couldn’t resist a knock-off NorthFace jacket! An exact replica, 3 ply Gortex, complete with a full down jacket liner, for less than $50 Can.  We came back with a bag full of clothes, a -10 down sleeping bag with a separate liner, compression sack, polarized glasses for Raven , prayer flags, jewelry, incense, and I’m not sure what else. All for less than what we’d spend on a week’s groceries at home!  If our bags weren’t full before, they are now!

It turns out that we still have nearly three weeks before school in Salleri will start again. We’re going to get out of Kathmandu, and go trek to the Annapurna Sanctuary. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, up at 4100 meters. Surrounded by 7-8000 meter peaks on all sides, a massive glacier running past, it is absolutely stunning. Getting there is the best part, though. Following the valley bottoms through rice paddies, rhododendron forests, and little villages, staying at ‘teahouses’, and even soaking in a hotspring. 14 days with no connections, no traffic, no rush. Nepali time…