Bhaktapur

We've had a lovely 2 days in Bhaktapur. It feels more like India in as much as there are tourists but they fit round local life rather than the other way round such as in Pokhara or Thamel in Kathmandu.

The town is based around 4 squares that all have a different job, we havent quite got to the bottom of all of them but we can deduce that Potter's Square is mainly for people who make things out of clay.

But once you leave the squares you enter a labyrinth of small streets and alleyways, dotted with shrines and temples. Shops are holes in walls with older ladies selling penny sweets from big plastic tubs, or chewing tobacco (called Pan) in single serving sachets.

Now is also harvest time, all the rice has been harvested and needs to be processed. By hand of course. There are hundreds of women around the town flinging baskets of rice into the air to seperate the light outer casing from the heavier rice grain and then spreading it flat to dry in the sun. Once dried it's swept up, and into tubs or bags or whatever you can find.

Today we've finally found local food. We'd previously been overwhelmed by the number of cafes and restaurants for tourists. We had momos (a delicious steamed parcel usually filled with vegetables, chicken or my favourite, buffalo) followed by chai. With a new pudding for us Juju Dhau (literally King Curd) a set yoghurt that has a crust on top similar to clotted cream. It was creamy and delicious and obviously bad for us!

Finished the day of with a touch of souvenir shopping. Three small masks that symbolise some of the Gods. When full sized these masks are worn by dancers who twirl on raised platforms in the many squares to tell the stories of the Gods and their fury. We chose Shiva (the Destroyer. He's the blue guy, and a favourite here. So much so there's a TV show based on him!), Ganesh (the elephant headed son of Shiva) and Garuda (the vehicle of Vishnu, the Preserver. Garuda is a man-bird and is seen kneeling outside any Vishnu temple waiting to take his Lord wherever he wants to go).

We can't wait to explore further and see what else we find!

I'm uploading on my phone so I can't put the photos in order. Sorry! (also, we're still not entirely sure what all the colours are for. There's only ever red on shrines and foreheads...)