Kathmandu

dusty antique shops full of silver and turquoise
holy men in orange robes who pose for photos
monkeys leaping from temple pinnacles
painted eyes staring down peacefully from buildings
bakeries that are half off after 10 pm
tight, twisting cobblestone streets
incense wafts and streaming prayer flags
unexpected open courtyards with small neighborhood temples providing solace
cycle rickshaws and samosa sellers just like India except not quite so insistent
little girls who attatch to you with questions of who you are leading to requests for sweets
conversations with young bookshop sellers about their villages and how Nepal is changing
haggles with crafty women selling crafts
pigeons scattering as children run with arms flapping, sending wings flapping
pomegranites bleed sweetness while mangoes melt in the mouth

what's real? what's fake? what's new? what's old? what's nepali? what's imported?
whether it's goods or temples or foods or culture or fashion... sorting through all of it is delightful chaos- stimulating and exhausting. Still, there is the space and time to connect with people and hear there story- something that seemed impossibly daunting in the madness of Delhi.

Kathmandu- what will I discover in you tomorrow?

(Kirstin is having incredible experiences on the navdanya farm in dehradun, India. Emily and her boyfriend Zak are here in Kathmandu with me, but we lost eachother earlier today at the "monkey temple". Laura, our german friend has arrived in Kathmandu just today, i heard from her hippied-out 50 something year old friend Robert who i met in a jewerly shop randomly- i'll try to meet up with all of them tonight. Adventures, adventures!)