Day 5 - Kathmandu

It is Sunday evening and I am sitting on the base of a large pillar at the Monkey Temple in Kathmandu. Kylie has left and she will meet Michael and tell him I have decided to wait a while longer. There are only the three of us booked on this trip.

Much of what I have seen today I have seen before on my previous visit eighteen months ago. Lunch on the rooftop restaurant overlooking Patan Durbar Square was magnificent. But Patan is similar to Bakhtapur and after a couple of hours I grow weary and indifferent. The Monkey Temple is new and refreshing and the light of the late afternoon conveys a special magic and serenity.

The Temple is on a large hill with two peaks. The lower peak has a monastery with court yards and wonderful views of Kathmandu. Prayer flags stretch from the top of the buildings to the surrounding trees and flutter in the breeze. Several couples are enjoying the romantic setting. Small flocks of large birds circle about. Monkeys are clambering over statues swinging from the trees and sitting by the paths watching the tourists parade by.

On the higher hill there is a large stupa. A white dome with a four sided pillar on top. On the pillar, the traditional eyes with the upside down question mark where the nose would be. (The eye of Buddha.)

I walk clockwise around the pillar spinning the prayer wheels. Where I sit I look out towards a large tree with few leaves, covered in old prayer flags. I also notice some discarded prayer beads hanging from a branch silhouetted against the fading sky. I think of you.Nearby, a man is playing one of the CDs he has for sale - Tibetans chanting "om mane padme om". I feel at peace.

I descend the steep 360 steps to the bottom of the hill. Now it is dark. I ask for directions to Thamel. Turn left at the tee intersection. At the temple descend down. Go across the bridge and ascend. For some of the way I walk with a girl from Hong Kong. Two local children join us and talk with us for several minutes before asking for money. We part ways. I eventually find my way back to the hotel.