The monsoon has returned

It has rained steadily for over 24 hours causing flooding in the streets and raging rivers that will wreck havoc downstream in Southern Nepal and Northern India.  Both of those areas cannot handle much more because they were the worst hit by the earthquake last week.

Raging rivers

We continued to tour today but it was not as easy to get around and seas of umbrellas made it difficult to walk. Even with all the hassles, I did saw some fantastic things…

We drove to Dakshinkali at the south end of the valley to a Hindu shrine dedicated to Goddess Kali.  They offer animal sacrifices and they were sacrificing a goat (to rid someone of pride) and a chicken (to rid them of greed). 

Kali Temple but no oil lamps around her due to the rain

From there we stopped at one of the many Tibetan Monasteries that have been built in the valley since China has persecuted the monks in Tibet.

Gate you pass through to enter


Happy and "peaceful" monks

We stopped at a bride over the confluence of two major rivers and you could see the torrents of water and garbage flowing.

Lots of plastic bottles

From there we stopped at village called Payanggaon where they had trees of dried corn after the harvest. I hope you can see it well enough in the photo.

Corn trees! They also dry soya beans and chili's in this fashion

The last stop was in Patan, the city with a 1000 golden roofs.  It is full of pagodas, temples and monasteries, primarily Buddhist.  I spent some time out of the rain at the Patan Museum (museum behind the golden door).  It is housed in the renovated palace compound and the exhibits cover a long span of Nepal’s cultural history and include amazing treasures.

Above the door where you enter the museum

I made a stop at a pharmacy in Patan because my sore throat and headache were getting worse and I wanted something to help so I can enjoy the rest of the trip.

Water I had to walk through all day in my crocs...no wonder my cold is worse!