Back in Kathmandu

Well, here I am back in Kathmandu, I am actually on outskirts of Kathmandu, about 45 minutes outside the city. After being in the smaller and less busy city to the south going into Kathmandu was a bit overwhelming. Like I said when I got here, Kathmandu was and is a mad-house of people, residents and tourists. The fact that the Hindu holiday of Dassain is here, Kathmandu is that much more busy.

While in Kathmandu this morning, there seemed to be more police and Special Force (the para-military arm of the police) and Army personnel about. I saw some Special force guys in riot gear with their large assault rifles, so they are ready for some unrest if it comes, but nothing will happen. Kathmandu is sort of wild but its and organized chaos. I also finally saw where the US embassy is, didn't see in, the walls were pretty high.

So for Dassain, from what I understand it is tradition to sacrifice a goat. So on my way up to Kathmandu, which took about 10 hours, I saw trucks and buses not only carrying passengers but also goats on the roofs, lots and lots of goats.

It was funny, this other volunteer noticed that there was a goat being off-loaded at the kids home that we are currently at. He said "I wonder if the goats gets the point, since it is being off-loaded with vegetables". Brilliant

Aside from that I got a book for the return flight, since I read an entire Stephen King novel on the way here (The Gunslinger). The book that i got today is about Tsarist Russia and the British Government sending agents to the border of China in order to influence the trade routs. It is a true story and its pretty cloak and dagger, so I will be looking forward to starting that. Beside that I got some presents for my niece and nephew. I found some little wooden elephants with ornate carvings on them. So the are pretty indestructible, but I wouldn't put it past a 2 and 5 year old to break them :)

At the moment it is raining pretty heavily and we are planning some activities for the kids to keep them busy. The kids home that I am at is really close to the mountains, so that's nice, slow and quiet.