Saturday, April 1st, Kathmandu, Nepal

Greetings!

This morning, we flew Yeti Airlines from Pokhara back to Kathmandu.  Our earlier stay at the Radisson Hotel was useful, as we were able to leave one bag of gear and lighten our flight load on the small plane to Pokhara.  Returning to the same hotel, we were able to get one last glimpse at the magnificent Himalayan range before boarding our plane.

Our walkabout today consisted of a couple of hours in Bhaktapur's Durbar Square.  A former royal palace, it housed the Malla kings of Nepal from the 14th to the 15th century and the kings of the Kingdom of Bahktapur from the 16th to the late 18th century until the kingdom was conquered in 1769.  

The Square hosts a nine-day new year festival in spring called Bisket Jatra, dating from the fifth century.  For it, images of Lord Ganesh, Goddess Lakshimi, Goddess Mahakali, and a chariot dedicated to the God Bhairava are towed through the very narrow streets.  Good fortune comes to those patrons of successfully navigated streets, and the route is often fought over. 

This is probably the last post of the trip.  Tonight, our group will have its farewell dinner, and tomorrow we'll head home.  Our path takes us to Delhi around 11am, and we'll hang out at a hotel near the airport until 4am on Monday.  An Emirates flight will then take us through Dubai, and over the pole to SFO at 2pm.   

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Saturday, April 1st, Kathmandu, Nepal.