<William> Have been hanging out in the Kathmandu valley whilst we wait for our visas for India to be processed (an unexpected delay) but we should be heading south tomorrow into the heatwave that enveloped the whole country!

We have been visiting some of the towns in the Kathmandu valley in the last few days, and just taking it easy. We took a day trip to Patan which is close by to see the architecture & crafts there. It's home to Nepals master craftsmen - the Newari who are expert in wood & brick carvings. There's an impressive square with a royal palace where you can enjoy tea in the wonderful gardens inside. The gardens are in quite a small space, but have been built up almost entirely in brick, with different sections for seating or just for ornamental purposes. There's actually only a few plants - trailing from trellises overhead or climbing the brick walls. There's lots of iron plates inset into the wall that can be filled with oil & a wick to provide candle light at night.

All around the back streets of Patan there are tiny workshops which look as if they are unchanged in hundred of years except for the electric light bulb in the ceiling. The craftsmen work in cramped conditions carving wood and selling their products on their doorsteps.

Taking a bath Nepali-style in Patan Durbar square

Bakhtapur is very similar to Patan in many ways, and was built by the same people - the Newari. However, the walled city has been incredibly well preserved (funded by the $10 entrance fee for the city) and has not been developed in the same way Patan and Kathmandu have. It's really just like walking through a medieval city with narrow streets (all pedestrianised) and the peach-red of the brick everywhere with the dark carved wood inset. It seems to be a good time to be visiting at the moment - the monsoon is almost here so the tourist season is comign to a close and there's hardly any tourists around. We've often been the only people in a restaurant or a hotel which means you get pretty snappy service!

Small temple built around a tree

Pottery square

Back streets of Bakhtapur

Anyway, tomorrow we leave for Chitwan national park to see elephants, tigers and rhinos and then we head on to India! </William> <!--11:11 PM-->