More photos from Nepal

A Common Myna bird (Acridotheres tristis) eyes some tasty morsels.



Cows crossing a river


Rickshaw-wallahs awaiting fares




A tangle of wires


Bryan Adams concert!


Indian curry flavored snack!




Notice the date in the "Star of David"!


A tasty cup of masala tea!

Miscellaneous Photos from Nepal

swasthya: it means "health" or "well-being" in Hindi. Derived from Sanskrit svasti, it ultimately analyzes into su- ("good" or "well", akin to Greek heu-, eu-) + asti ("to be", akin to Latin est, German ist, English "is"). The Thai greeting sawatdee (spelled swasdi in their script) is directly derived from this word, as is the word "swastika."

स्वास्थ्य


Flame Vine (Pyrostegia venusta), a popular decorative


Always a welcome sign!


To deal with Nepal's infamous rolling blackouts, many hotels employ the use of generators for power.



Indian Big-Leaf Fig (Ficus auriculata)


And its fruits


Traveling by ox-cart


Turmeric (Curcuma longa) drying in the sun


A baby in a cot at a local orphanage


A cold beer at the end of a long day

Changu Narayan and Bhaktapur

Today, after leaving Nagarkot, we first hiked to a famous Hindu temple called Changu Narayan.









Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare


Narasimha (4th avatar of Vishnu) kills the demon Hiranyakashyap


A religious ritual


Then we went to Bhaktapur, which is about an hour's drive from Kathmandu. It's a UN World Heritage Site, and is a fascinating historic site and living community with surprises around every corner.

Durbar Square


Nyatapola Temple, the tallest temple in Nepal


Video of this plaza





Big wheels (for a ceremonial chariot)




At the well




This area is filled with traditional Nepali carved windows







And the Peacock Window


We encountered a festival in which boys taunt the goddess Kali, who chases after them and tries to catch them.



Kali chases the children


Woman spinning yarn


We soon passed by a Hindu temple by a river. This temple was filled with Shiva linga, which are stylized representations of male and female genitalia. These are found throughout regions of the world heavily influenced by Hinduism, including Angkor Wat in Cambodia.



Lots o' lingas


Big linga. Size matters.


Potter's Square


A ritual in which young girls are married to a Hindu god. It's just a rite of passage: they will still be allowed to marry a real human man when they grow up.


Proud mother and twin daughters, after the marriage ritual, in Potter's Square

Nagarkot

Tourists flock to the village of Nagarkot, an hour and a half from Kathmandu, for one reason: spectacular views of the Himalayas. From certain vantage points you can even see Mt. Everest peeking up from behind other mountains.



Nice views into the terraced fields down in the valley below.



Most tourists arrive here in the afternoon, get up early to see the sun rise over the Himalayas, and depart.



A pity... this place offers some decent hiking. We stayed and hiked. Great views on the hike:



Kids going to school (which starts at 10:00 sharp in this country):



Interesting sign we saw on the hike:



We hiked to the top of a hill above a military training ground. There's a viewing tower there.



We climbed up, and could see Mt. Everest, though very far away. My 18x zoom could barely make it out, but it's the white triangular point in the center of this picture:



Lots of eagles in this area.

Steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis)




Tomorrow, Bhaktapur and then back to Kathmandu.

Then the next day, back to Taiwan. I don't think I'll have the chance to post any more updates until I return to Taiwan.