pilfered photos

So, it's hard for me to put up my own photos because there are few places to get them off my camera, and then few cd drives to upload them from, and terrible internet connections. So I scrounged around for other people's photos to illustrate Nepal a little bit:

This is exactly what Kathmandu looked like when I arrived for the first time, except it was just after sunset then. Traffic was at a standstill. For the last leg of the trip, every bus we passed on the mountain road to Kathmandu looked like the one in this photo.

Not a very good photo, but this is a roadside military checkpoint, a more permanent/established looking one, to judge by the nice roof and meshed-in stone construction.

Om Mani Padme Hum, in Tibetan script. It is everywhere. This photo might have been taken on Swayambunath, the hill where the photo below was taken. It is one of the Kathmandu valley's main Buddhist places. One of my favorite places.

I love fog and mist. The fog and mist is a big reason they say not to visit Nepal at this time (it's rainy and you can't see the highest mountains), but fog and wetness are so perfect for Kathmandu, I can't imagine it without.

This is what the hills I explored looked like. High as the Rockies, but green and lush as rainforests, wickedly beautiful. I did not go to any snow-covered areas. That I hope to do when I return in October or November.

The ubiquitous Buddha eyes, on Freak Street signage. If Kathmandu had a single symbol, the Buddha eyes would be it.