(L) Typical street in Kathmandu with shrines.  This happens to be in the Thamal district (trekkers district).

(L) Buddhist Stupa showing Buddha's 3 eyes and prayer wheels.

(L) Hindu Temple in the Thamal District of Kathmandu.

(L) Furnerary urns of famous monks in Kathmandu.

DAY 1:  December 6, 2005 – Alive and Well in Kathmandu, Nepal

We arrived safely yesterday after a very long journey.  Jason Burwen (son of family friend and co-traveler) went out last night with a friend who is
here in Kathmandu and stayed late while I went to bed early.  I got up early to get the flight to see Everest and the Himalayas (not a rock group.)

After getting up at 5:30, I got a taxi to the airport.  The flight was scheduled for 7:45 but they said to arrive at 6:45 because they might want to leave early
due to weather (fog).  I got to the airport at 6:30 and they said the flight had already departed, but they had put me on another airline that had
a flight at 8:00 am.  They walked me through the process of getting my ticket changed and I went into the boarding lounge.  The domestic facilities are
very different from international and not exactly modern.  For security, they just pat you down, and there is only one gate for all flights.  Most of the flights go to
Lukla or are of the mountain sightseeing variety, like mine.  When I got into the boarding lounge, I looked out the window, and it didn't look good. 
The airport was really socked in by fog.  Since I had heard of people being stranded in Lukla for multiple days by fog, I had some concern.  However,
after waiting around for almost three hours, our flight was able to go. The flight was less than an hour, but really beautiful.  You don't get really close
to the mountains, but they are magnificent.  It's about a 16 seat plane and you each get to go into the cockpit briefly for better viewing.  I happened to be
there when we passed Everest.  The view was really clear, and I have no interest in climbing Everest or any of the others.  They're magnificent from a distance.

Kathmandu is interesting, like all cities I've visited in developing countries.  It's hard to describe precisely.  It's much larger and more developed than
Ayacucho, and very much older.  It's much less modern than Seoul, but the most modern areas of Kathmandu remind me of the most primitive areas
of Seoul.  Here, the streets are all paved, but are mostly very narrow; two cars can usually pass each other with two or three inches to spare. 
The streets can also be in disrepair.  Cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians (no sidewalks) all contend for space on the narrow streets and
honking horns are a constant background.  There seems to be no center line and I've often found myself in a taxi going directly at a car
coming in the other direction.  They seem to sort it out, because I've seen no accidents yet.  Kathmandu is a dirty, polluted city.  I'm not sure
if it just comes from cars because I didn't see any major industry.  In walking around just briefly, I've seen lots of temples, both Buddhist and Hindu. 
I probably will do my serious sightseeing when I get back to Kathmandu.  Tomorrow, we'll meet with the engineering company that will do the project. 

In talking with Jason's friend Gordon who has been trekking here for the last few weeks with Dorgee, our guide, Gordon says that the hike to Soloban
(the village we're visiting) is really tough, but the experience will be great.  He went there a week ago and was the third westerner ever to visit,
so we'll be the 4th and 5th.

(L) More funerary urns and shrines in Thama District of Kathmandu.

(L)Bodhnath is the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal

(L) Young children play near a small temple in Kathmandu.

(L) Thaleju Temple in Durbar Square, built 1654, in Kathmandu.

DAY 3:  December 8, 2005 – Temple Touring in Kathmandu

Remember how in Europe one castle or one cathedral starts to look just like the next?  Well here in Kathmandu, it's temples.  They seem to have one 
on every corner, and sometimes they have clusters of them.  I've done a fair amount of walking and taken a lot of pictures, and I'm definitely 
feeling "templed out".  Of course they need a lot of temples here because they have lots of gods, and lots of the temples are for different gods.  
Even if the temples are only for the important gods, the important gods have multiple-incarnations and so they need multiple temples for the

multiple incarnations.  I had guides at some of the temples I visited, and they seemed disappointed that I wasn't totally attentive to all of the 
explanations of the gods, their incarnations, their vehicles (the form in which they travel around earth), their representations and their 
relationships.One other thing is that Hinduism and Buddhism are both prevalent, so there need to be temples for both religions, except in one case 
where I saw a temple that had a door for Buddhists on one side and Hindus on the other.  Maybe the Jews and the Christians could get together 
on an idea like that.  Actually, in most cases, you can tell the Buddhist temples from the Hindu temples by the nature of their designs, but they

are very tolerant of religions here and there is a lot of overlap between the practice of Hinduism and Buddhism.

Yesterday, at the end of the day, I went to the largest and most important Hindu temple in Nepal, which sits on a river.  It turns out that the 
river ultimately flows into the Ganges and that they do a lot of cremations at this temple.  We saw a couple of pyres and bodies being prepared 
but didn't stay around for the actual cremations.

One other thing you notice about the large temples that are surrounded by grounds is that there are often lots of monkeys and cattle wandering around.  
In fact one large Buddhist temple is called the monkey temple. Of course, I'm sure you know that when a cow defecates in a temple, the call it holy shit.

In case you're not "templed out", a little more information:  A lot of these temples were built in the 1300's and 1400's, and some go back to the 
600's and 700's.  Most have had significant damage over time and have been refurbished in many respects, but still it's pretty amazing how old they are.

Also there are a lot of erotic images in the temples. Some are pretty symbolic such as the phallic shaped "lingams" and the keyhole-shaped "yonis" 
of various sizes and and variations.  In some temples, these are everywhere.  In one case, I noticed a very small lingam inside a very large yoni 
and pointed it out to my guide.  He said the lingam used to be bigger, but it was now small, after sex. Well beyond the symbolism, some of the 
temples have graphic images of couples in various sexual positions. Many theories exist as to why these are emphasized, but our guide said that 
they were put on the temples because in olden days kids got married very young and didn't know what to do, so the images on the temples were 
kind of a training manual.

So by now, you have heard more about temples than you could ever imagine you would want to.  Tomorrow we leave for Soloban, so I will be out of 
contact for at least a week.  Having a fascinating time, but miss you all.

Love to all, Your Loving Husband and Dad

DAY 12 – December 18, 2005 – Odds and Ends from the Journey Back to Kathmandu

I'm back in Kathmandu and have a little time in my schedule, so I thought I would send a few comments on random topics.

SHERPA PHRASES

Hot shower - means a shower head in the wall sending out water (above 50 degrees, but not much) into a large bucket on the bathroom floor.  I hadn't 
washed my hair in a week so I actually stuck my head in the spray and soaped up, but the rest of my body got just a spritz.  The next day, at the 
Panorama lodge at Namche Bazaar I got a different type of hot shower. They have regular shower stalls and solar hot water, which is hot, but you have 
to let it run for 6-8 minutes to let it get hot.  After this, it is probably about 120 degrees.  The only problem is that there is no cold water to 
mix in, so you have to jump in and out of the shower to avoid scalding.  Still, it is preferable to my previous experience.

CURE FOR ONE OF THE PROBLEMS OF OLD AGE

At my age, I find that I have to get up in the middle of the night to pee.  I know many of my peers, especially men, have the same condition.

I have discovered a cure!  The primary Sehrpa meal is called Dahl Baht. Baht is rice, and Dahl is a salty gravy that is poured over the rice and

frequently also over vegetable curry.  To say that dahl is very salty is sort of like saying the Dead Sea is salty.  On both nights that I had

dahl baht for dinner, I did not pee in the night.  There was so much salt in my body those nights that my system didn't want to give up any

liquids.  I retained all of my fluids.  I'd hate to see what my blood pressure was.

TOILETS

I have seen a wide variety on this trip.  At the top of the desirability list is of course the North American variety that we all know and love.

Next of course is the South American variety, which is just like North American except the paper goes into the trash can next to the throne.

So much for the indoor variety.  The tops in the outdoor variety is the porcelain trough embedded in a concrete floor.  Flushing, if necessary, 
is from a bucket of water placed inside the enclosure.  It's best when there is a trash can for paper in the building.  Otherwise, you have to 
figure out how to dispose of the paper.  Options are:  1) burn it, except the airlines don't let you carry matches or a lighter;  2) bury it, 
except the ground is frozen and I didn't bring a pick axe;  3) find another trash can somewhere.

If you're traveling or the local facilities are not to your liking, your guide can create a "trekking tent".  This is a real tent surrounding a 
trough in the ground.  Everything goes into the trough and when you leave, the tent comes down and the trough is refilled with dirt.  In many 
ways, this is a great solution.  However, it takes some getting used to.  The biggest challenge is the stance.  Pants around the ankles don't

allow too wide a stance, and a narrow stance puts your feet close to the edge of the trough where the sides could cave in.  I survived.

The strangest variety I encountered was a variation of the traditional American outhouse.  The only difference was a built-up seat made from

three pieces of wood in the shape of a triangle.  I don't know about you, but my butt isn't triangular.  Also, the seat wobbled back and

forth.  Another challenge, but I survived. 

As a side note, both David and Adrian have tried to convince me of the benefits of a headlamp, and I always minimized them.  I'm now a 

convert.  When you're resting your arms on your thighs, holding toilet paper in one hand, grabbing your clothes with the other hand and trying to 
aim in the dark, it's nice to not have to hold a flashlight.

TAXI DRIVERS

I may have previously described the streets and driving in Kathmandu, but the taxi drivers are the most amazing (surprise, they are in every

city).  However, the other day, I had the worst.  This guy was a madman.  He was driving faster and crazier than any othe taxi I'd been in.  
We nearly hit a number of other cars, motorcycles and pedestrians.  Then I heard a big thump.  There was a bicyclist who had hit the side of 
the taxi.  The taxi driver and the cyclist exhanged a few words and we went on.  The taxi driver said the cyclist was drunk, but the taxi driver 
hadn't given him any room to get by.  A little later I heard another bump as if something had hit the cab, but we didn't stop.  I was glad when 
that ride ended.

Getting tired of typing now.  See you soon.