On arrival at Kathmandu from Singapore on 27 Oct 2013, we checked into our hotel, took half an hour to refresh ourselves and were off on a half-day city tour. We visited the Swayambunath Stupa also known as the Monkey Temple after a 20 minute drive through dusty traffic. Our guide took us on a tour of only half of the temple grounds thinking that we did not know better. When we found out during the course of our trip we decided to return to Swayambunath on the second-last day of our trip where we had a free day to enjoy fully what we had missed. The second place we visited was the famous Kathmandu Durbar Square, a conglomerate of shrines and temples around a palace. Again, we were not satisfied with what the guide had shown us and re-visited this UNESCO Heritage Site again before our trip ended.
Traffic scenes in Kathmandu.
Graffitti.
Swayambunath, side entrance.
Tibetan Buddhist items for sale.
Swayambunath Stupa.
The side-entrance gateway.
Leaving Swayambunath for the Kathmandu Durbar Square.
Walking towards the square.
Colourful powder for teeka to be applied on the forehead.
Going shopping.
What I saw as we walked towards Kathmandu Square.
The temple doors are only open on festival days.
People are free to rest in the shade of these ancient structures.
News in brief.
A government building.
The Kathmandu Durbar Square that you see in brochures and postcards.
Another government building in front of which were many
artefacts and souvenirs for sale.
Food crowd.
The following three shots were taken from the top of
a four-storey building where we had lunch at a restaurant there.
Old and new, people were not prevented from being a part of the
buildings.
The candy man and others offering short rides around the square.
An Indian God and his wife overlooking people walking past below them.
One of my favourite shots.
Lighting oil lamps for prayers at a shrine.
Radiant smile that melts your heart.
Around the square, business goes on as usual.
Crossing a river to get to our car.
Lots of buying and selling on both sides of the bridge.
You can get your clothes altered here by this tailor.
Kathmandu houses are four or five storey high.
Coca Cola and Liqour are popular store items.
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