Hi from Nepal

We are loving it here as it is so much quieter and more relaxed than India so far. Last night we had to sit in the dark for 2 hours as the electric had gone off in town (a common occurence here, twice a day!!) But we did get to make some good shadow puppets for a while.

We got up and hiked to Swoyambhu Temple (Monkey Temple) about 3km out of the city centre. Although we did not know when we arrived that you then had around 200 steep steps to climb to the top.The effort was rewarded with some great views of the city and a magnificent Stupa. It is nick named the Monkey Temple as there are lots of them that live here and run around taking food and playing.They slide down the handrails and bounce from tree to tree and are funny to watch.

The walk back down was much easier and once back in town we headed to Durbar Square where there are lots of temples but we were a little disappointed with it, Mel found us the Toothache God on a street packed with dentists, where you can nail a coin to the wood and say a little prayer before you visit the dentist!!!

Had a look around the shops and I purchased a new fleece as mine had shrunk in the wash, or maybe I had eaten too many currie in India!!!!

Tomorrow is the highlight of our time in Nepal as we have our flight around Mt Everest, visibility permitting and we also see some other mountain ranges too, it should be magical. Although we have to get up at 5.30 again but it will be worth the effort.

Happy Mothers Day to all you Mum's out there and also to Mel's gran.

Lots of Love

M & M

xx