Well today was uneventful up until just now.

We slept in and had our hotel breakfast of two pieces of white bread and a hard-boiled egg. Must say we were grateful and ate it but don't try it at home, at least not without water. It's dry and you are apt to choke on it.

After breakfast we laid in bed and relaxed. The television was working and Office Space was on! Oh the little things.

We went for a walk in the day, headed toward Pashupatinath, an open cremation site on the river. I suspect it to be very busy at present. Unfortunately it started raining heavily about twenty minutes into our journey. After standing under an awning for a while, it didn't let up, so we took a taxi back to the hotel and read, and watched X-Men. Unfortunately the electricity went off after that, and since it had stopped raining, we went for another long walk.

We headed towards Durbar Square, curious to see the damage from the earthquake. Durbar (meaning royal palace) Square is an ancient area of Kathmandu, with the buildings over 500 years old, and is the site of the palace of the Kathmandu Kingdom, first constructed in the 3rd century. There are three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley and all are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

On the walk there we truly witnessed first-hand the devastation in Kathmandu. Completely demolished buildings, telephone poles fallen, cars and rickshaws crushed from fallen walls, and again, every shop and restaurant was shut. People lying in every open space with tents set up, and makeshift camps with kitchens in place in courtyards, away from the prospect of a falling building, should another large tremor occur. The sound of helicopters and planes over head buzz constantly. Sirens in the background and police, military, and rescue personnel abound everywhere.

There were a few large water tanks on trucks, with dozens of people lined up to fill their dirty jerry cans with drinking water. There were people bathing in fountains that were no longer running. And I wonder, where are these people relieving themselves? I dare not ask.

Since all shops were closed, there was an abundance of rickshaw street stalls set up using small gas burners. We decided to have a degustation feast of street food and I truly hope I'm not writing tomorrow with a case of severe v&d. We had tea (obv dirty glasses), boiled eggs, peanuts, roasted corn, a chapati and egg "taco", and indian sweets. Yum...and so far, so good.

Our somewhat joyous mood during our evening stroll was terminated immediately upon entering Durbar Square. We were not prepared for the destruction which had occurred in this spiritual place we had only visited three weeks ago.

Most of the buildings were demolished.
Debris and rubble was everywhere. The square was filled with military and rescue teams working to clear the bricks and wood scattered in massive piles. I found it particularly interesting because in the US there is NO way this disaster zone would be open to the public. In truth, there were barricades blocking the entrances to the square, but no one standing to enforce a no entry policy, so we easily went around them. Damo climbed up the tallest of buildings still standing (it was mostly demolished, but still had about six levels to it) to photograph the dozen or so military men and women who were digging through rubble. Suddenly a commotion was occurring and people were shouting and whistles blowing and people yelling at us to back up. A military 4WD vehicle comes racing in the square and stops. I search for Damo and he is nowhere to be seen.

A dozen or so military personnel dressed in camouflage run up with shovels, call for a stretcher and, several minutes later, return to the truck with the lifeless body of a young teenage girl. They drove away in a hurry and all I could see were a pair of small, pale, dirty feet, sticking out the back of the vehicle.

Turns out Damian was in the middle of the action, saw it all from close, and after the event was over he came down from the building, ashen-faced, traumatised,and silent. He said the volunteers were digging through the rubble and saw part of a body. He said it took many minutes to dig it out and he said he saw up close the face and body of a young girl, her mouth red with blood. On the walk home we wondered who she was, and what she was doing up in the building when the disaster struck. Someone's daughter, sister, granddaughter, and niece. Like the thousands who have not survived this dramatic disaster, she died far too soon.

Damo read today that they found someone alive yesterday in the same place. Forty-eight hours after the collapse! I'd like to think they may still be alive now, but unfortunately it's highly unlikely.

The devastation is real here, and it's really sad.

Tomorrow we hope for good weather, and good health (after our street food eating adventure), so that we may do a bit more wandering before we leave on Thursday.

Till then.