Swayambhu...

A representative of Himalayan Wonders helped arrange for a driver and a tour guide to show us several UNESCO World Heritage Sites the following day. Traffic was insane with many roads closed due to the summit. Our driver was quite young, but very accomplished as he managed to squeeze through some very tight spaces especially when having to make unanticipated U-turns due to road closures. 

The first stop was Swayambhu, a religious complex on top of a hill consisting of the oldest Buddhist stupa as well as lots of shrines and other temples. We started with throwing coins into a fountain; Terri got blessed because her aim was correct when one of her coins went into a special pot. 

Along the way to our next stop on a rooftop, we spotted this group of women in orange saris...

 ...the first of many monkeys...

 ...and this skinny, happy Buddha.

Once up on the rooftop, the view was pretty incredible. Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, is a city of 1.5 million people. Perhaps because the buildings aren’t very tall, it is sprawling and appears much larger.

I could barely keep my eyes open when we posed with the giant stupa.

We then went down one floor and learned about special mystical paintings, of which no photos were allowed; this Storm Trooper Buddha is special, but unlikely to be mystical.