Today started off at another stupa - Boudhanath - which is the most important Buddhist site in Nepal and an area where a large number of Tibetan refugees live. After being in Tibet it was sad to see the Tibetans as refugees and a reminder of their difficult past. On the way to this site we witnessed the "blessing" of cows with thikas, garlands around their necks, and the braiding of their tails as this is the Diwali festival day of the cow. The Diwali celebratio...

Today we left town for the old capital city of Bhaktapur - called the cultural capital of Nepal which dates back to the 7th century. It is a clean, peaceful, city with a wide open public square surrounded by architecturally interestung temples and religious buildings. The area apparently demonstrates the peaceful coexistence of Hindus and Buddhas over the centuries. We were fascinated by the beautifully carved windows which are still being made in the traditional...

Kathmandu - whew!! What a crazy, chaotic, fascinating place! We have spent the day exploring and are exhausted by the energy and commotion of this place. We are so fascinated by what we see - the colourful streetside markets, the people carrying imagination-defying loads on their heads, and the non-stop and death defying traffic of cars, rickshaws, and motorbikes. The streets are narrow and lined with shops, all things that the shopkeepers would like to convince ...

A whole new world! We can't believe how our world has changed in 24 hours! From waking up yesterday in -10 to -15 degree temperatures in a small Tibetan town at 3900m (almost 13,000 ft), here we are in the huge city of Kathmandu at 1300m (4300 ft) and 30 degrees! And everything else has changed as well - the culture, from Buddhism to Hinduism; the geography, from bleak hills with barely a blade of grass on them and icy roads in the passes yesterday, to lush, semi...