Kathmandu, Nepal

We started the morning by taking a flight to see the Himalayas.

What we saw. Fires in the area have resulted in limited visibility. The airplane company guarantees that passengers will get to see Mt Everest. Consequently, we will try again tomorrow.

So, after we finished breakfast, we moved onto Patan and visited what the Hindus celebrate as The Living Goddess. She is chosen to bless the people and serves from the time she is selected by members of the community until her first menstruation cycle. A new Goddess is then chosen to take her place.

The Goddess leans over and places a red dot of dye on each celebrant’s forehead to denote the blessing.

We went to our next stop in Patan which was the historic temple grounds. This complex includes some stupas, temples, and royal quarters that date back to the 1600s.

A 7.8 earthquake several years ago destroyed some of the buildings. There is an ongoing effort to repair the damage.

From the historic site, we took a side street to visit a family owned meditation bowl making factory.

One of the owners gave an explanation of the process of making the bowls and a demonstration of the uses.

Our final stop for the day was a visit to the home of a family who has lived in Kathmandu for generations. The father is an architect and the mother a teacher. They told us about the family history and how the area has changed throughout the years.