Kathmandu Once Again!

Our last day in Nepal was spent in seeing the unusual sights of Kathmandu.

We visited Pashupatinath which is the most important Hindu temple in Kathmandu and is situated on the banks of the Bagmati River.  This is the home to many sadhus, holy men who cover themselves in ash and hope to persuade passing tourists that they should give them money to take their photographs.

Pashupatinath is the place where Hindu cremations take place on ghats along the riverside.  The remains are scraped into the river, after which men retrieve unburnt pieces of wood to reuse.

The river is horribly polluted, but it is considered holy and close members of the bereaved family, wash themselves in it.

On a cheerier note, we visited Bodnath, the largets Buddhist stupa in the Kathmandu valley and home to a large number of Tibetans.

Bodnath is wonderful.  It is massive and is placed centrally in a colourful square of shops selling religious artifacts and is surrounded by prayer flags.