Kathmandu, Nepal

Namaste from Kathmandu!
We arrived here on Friday afternoon and got our first taste of winter since last year's St. Patrick's Day storm. The temperatures here range between mid-40's to mid 60's, depending on cloud cover. After Hawaii, New Zealand, and Thailand, that's quite cold enough for us. A nice hot toombha is just the thing to warm you up at the end of a long afternoon of sightseeing. The drink is a favorite among the Sherpas and Tibetans. It consists of fermented millet, over which you pour boiling hot water, then sip through a straw. Tasty and warming!














It's a little bit of a homecoming for me. I love Nepal, and we spent some time visiting some of my favorite haunts in Kathmandu, including Bodhnath Stupa. Bodhnath is a center for Tibetan culture and Buddhism, with several schools and monasteries. And of course the awe-inspiring stupa.

Kathmandu has long been a trade center on the Silk Road. It's position in a protected valley high in the Himalayas makes it a natural stop for traders heading north to Tibet or south to India. The markets of the valley are crammed with fruit, vegetables and grains from the fertile hills and plains, as well exotic silks, wools, and goods from the Tibetan Plateau and Indian plains.

We're also spending some time trying to track down the family that I used to live with. So far, we haven't been successful, but I'm hopeful we'll be in contact with them soon.
Perhaps most importantly, we're just relaxing a bit at the cozy Hotel Ganesh Himal. After all, this is our vacation.