Nepal and Tibet

We have only a morning outing planned today so that we can do some last minute shopping in this, a shoppers' paradise, before we leave Kathmandu to fly to Lhasa tomorrow. Our first destination today is a Tibetan refugee camp in Patan, a city separated from Kathmandu by the Baghmati River. The city is ancient. There are stupas on each of the four corners of the old city that are said to have been built in 250 BC. We are disappointed to find the factories, which belong to the refugee camp, closed for a special holiday. The Tibetans, who fled their country when the Chinese invaded, have lived here since and have built up their cottage crafts into very profitable businesses and in this area are especially well known for their carpet weaving. But we will be seeing no carpets today.

Disappointed, we leave for Patan's Durbar Square. Most of the city's building took place in medieval times so the buildings we see in the Square are similar to those of Bhaktapur, only on a larger scale. There is a smorgasbord of temples here, with the fabulous architecture we have come to expect. The tiered pagodas are shady places where the locals escape the already hot sun. We see an old man fast asleep on the cool stone floor of one of the temples. He is joined by a couple of roosters and an old lady, perhaps his wife, sweeping around him. We wander from temple to temple, trying to escape the hawkers but, as usual, eventually give in and buy little things of interest.

My camera is working overtime here. There is so much to see and therefore so much to remember. I am very happy with a couple of shots I get of people fetching water from the pumps in the centre of the square. Water pours out of the mouths of fierce-looking gargoyles into the waiting buckets of the locals. One very colourful scene is a group of women squatting near some pumps doing their washing, a real community effort. Their colourful saris and plastic tubs make for a great shot. We also see women bathing at one of these pump areas, saris slipped to the waist as they manage to have their daily bath. Here I put my camera away and leave them to some privacy.