Deserted Streets Make Dasain a Wonderful Holy Day!

Laughing Buddha below the Monkey Temple

Pictures speak louder than words today… another 2 hours of uploading and here they are.  We took advantage of no traffic, like Christmas Day in NYC (I know, cause I’ve been there), and went to Swayambunath Temple, Durbar Square, and then by rickshaw, topped it off in Thamel at an Italian Bistro.  I almost cried I was so happy to be in a very hip, western setting eating food that was delicious, though I think my taste buds might be warped due to deprivation.  Pukar had a lot of fun, but then melted down totally later that night.  Another mom wrote and said they really do best with low stim days, and today was definitely high stim, so I get it.  Gosh, it must just be SO MUCH for him.  Since Dasain is almost over my investigation should be moving along which makes me happy.  Every day there is at least one thing that makes my jaw drop, and at least ten things to write about:  The stench coming off the river, the biggest, most unbelievable pile of garbage along the river, the utter filth everywhere, the red puja pile on people’s foreheads, the merging of Buddhism and Hinduism at the temples, the angry monkeys and mongrel dogs (scary with a little kid), the close calls in the taxi, the ‘how many people does it take to buy a banana’ experience, the guy who repairs my shoe in the rain, and the Sadhus, holy Sadhus.

Chasing pigeons at the Monkey Temple ~ Swayambunath

Monkey Demon

Buddhism and Hinduism merge

Thousands of Prayers on the Wind

Infamous Sadhus at Durbar Square

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

Young monks being...well, kids!

Thoughtful boy

Buddha Boy:  see the similarity?? Seriously!