With less than a week to go we've given ourselves a two day holiday to catch up with some of the places we'd planned to visit.

So on Thursday we went to Patan, a city to the south of Kathmandu. With the growth of both cities, they have joined together with just the holy Bagmati river separating them. We firstly visited the Catholic church there with a message from a couple of St Peter's parishioners. What an oasis of calm in the midst of all the hubbub. What a contrast with the Hindu temples which are often dirty, run down and surrounded by trinket sellers and touts. Then we went to Durbar Square in Patan with all its temples, stupas and shrines. We've already seen enough temples to last us a lifetime but there was an excellent museum. It had nicely displayed objects and an interesting theme explaining Hinduism and Buddism but we still don't get it. I know these religions have millions of adherents around the world but we don't understand the multiple Hindu gods in various hideous and changing forms and a Buddha who made it clear himself that he was not a god but who is now worshipped as one. Made us think of what St Paul was confronted with when he arrived in places like Ephesus.

On Friday we went for a walk in the country about 25 miles to the east of Kathmandu. And we saw yet another face of Nepal. Once we turned off the main highway the road was absolutely awful and could only be used by a four-wheel-drive, we were told, but we met a packed bus bouncing the other way. We cannot imagine how it manoeuvred round the tight hairpins and steep gradients and when we say packed, we mean packed like sardines, sitting, squatting and standing. At least there was nobody on the roof of this bus. The big thing we feel we've missed on our trip is spending time in a real Nepali country village, so many of which are many miles from any road. The arrival of roads, even ones like ours today, and of electricity is changing them for ever. We saw just a little of country life, and it's pretty backbreaking, and of the poor conditions people exist in. But things are looking up and people seem happy with their lot. The population of the village our guide came from is falling and this is usual. Young people are leaving for the excitement and opportunity of Kathmandu but we found the cleanliness, peace and quiet absolute bliss compared with the chaos of Kathmandu. But, then, what young person wants cleanliness, peace and quiet?

The Nepali people are so welcoming and often say "Namaste" (Hallo or Welcome) as we pass by. As we were resting along the way and mopping our brows we were passed by some elderly women carrying those enormous baskets on a strap round their foreheads. One spoke to Kathie and we gathered she was asking her if she would like to carry the basket for her. Kathie's decline was greeted with much good natured laughter. On the way we got talking to a Nepali man about his local junior school. It was built by an English woman who had made friends with local children as she trekked by. She now provides money each year for books and the Nepali government provides teachers and maintenance. Each year she also pays for the child with the highest marks in the end of school exams to go to senior school for the two years. There are so many situations like this and we think they can only come from travellers who fall in love with the Nepali people and realise that so little can go so far here, like at DNC