Just a little update here. We are still in Kathmandu, in Boudha, hanging around. We walked up to beautiful Kopan Monastery last night, winding our way through streets filled with families celebrating the Dasain festival. It was so nice to get out on our own and to stretch our legs. We walked up in the late afternoon after the rain stopped, so while we got to see the setting sunlight over the terraced fields in the valley, we didn't get much time to visit everywhere we wanted to see on the monastery campus. We are going to go up again this week for a visit and to maybe attend a class.

We have also made the acquaintances of four wonderful Australians: a sweet, funny young man who is waiting out a stomach bug before he can leave on his trek, a nun who is in Kathmandu only because she needed to leave in India because her Indian visa had expired and she is negotiating a new one before she can return, and two older ladies. One of them has set up charities and community projects all around Kathmandu and the other one get spa treatments and weeks of beauty therapies. They are so lovely and we have a had a few good dinners discussing American politics and the fact that the young man and the nun could not sing the Australian national anthem between them---I found this so odd. Luke and I actually had a chance to visit the monastery where Drouka, our friend and the nun, normally lives outside of Noosa, QLD where we spent Christmas with Luke's family in 2005. It is a gorgeous place and nice point of connection for us.

It has been a hard shift into Kathmandu for us. We are feeling kinda stuck after having the freedom of the motorcycle in Leh; to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. Here it is taxis and drivers and fighting for prices. It is trying to leave Boudha on foot and being relentless hassled for cash. Luke is also into a big project with work with a very cool client (wink) and we are needing to hunker down for bit so he can knock that out. It looks like we are here for a bit more, though it is unclear how much longer. Getting out for the extra long walk was great and visiting with all the celebrating kids is great too, but we have been confined to our part of the city due to some of the festival events that are taking place and that we are trying very much to avoid. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, they are doing a huge butchering of water buffalo, goats, ducks and chickens. These animals are being blessed and then their butchering is part of the festival celebration. For some of the poorer folks, this will be the only meat that will have during the entire year; for the rest of their days, it is only beans and cheese for protein. It is quite an event and all accounts of it are pretty grisly, even for this farm girl. When my dad and brothers would even de-horn the cattle on my parent's farm, my mom would pack up my brother and me and go to get groceries, basically to get the hell out of dodge. We had home-raised beef in probably 8 out of every 10 dinners, but we didn't butcher at home--thankfully. It is hard to watch all the goats being taken to the market on leashes through the city. And of the ducks and chicken being grouped by their feet in bunches and driven down the road in the hands of motorcycle passengers. Or the lambs, slung across the seat of the motorcycle between the driver and passenger. Luke eats meat so infrequently at home, but here, never. Thankfully we are enjoying all the good veg there is to be had here and Amala's daily apple pie!

We are trying to organize a trip to Mt. Kailash, which is in far western Tibet. We have been in contact with Roger, shooting emails back and forth, but some details needed to still be worked out, as well as some timing issues, to make it a go. We are pushing the end of the season where the passes we need to go over are even still drivable, so it is tight planning from all angles. It is trip of a lifetime though, and making the kora around Kailash is something that we both have been dreaming about for years, so if not this trip, certainly the next. Just in case though, cross your fingers that it goes!

We have some new pictures and a video of some kids swinging on one of those gorgeous bamboo swings. Luke will put them up when he gets a chance. Until then, keep on rocking in the free world.

oxo