Food, temples, monkeys...did I mention food?

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Well after some more jammed packed days in Nepal I thought I'd write another update before I ship out to do my Everest Base Camp trek tomorrow morning.

The food here is amazing! I think i'm going to come back 20 pounds heavier! We have been trying all the dishes and the only thing I have decided I don't like is curd. My favorite is the Buff Momo (thanks chelsea!).

Jason and I have done quite a bit of walking around Kathmandu just taking in the sites and the culture. It is definately very different from all the ones i've traveled in before. The people are struck with poverty like many other countries i've traveled to but unlike others they all seem to live together intermingled. There doesn't seem to me as much seperation between the proor and the well off. They also have the street venders here which are forward but not nearly as persistant and as tiring as they are in Thailand. The bartering here is more discreet, which I quite enjoy.

Jason and I have also gone out and seen several temples. One of the most remarkable is the Bodnath Temple. This is a temple that is in large part preserving the culture of Tibet. Many of the refugees have made thier way here and this place has saved parts of thier culture which is being lost in thier own country. My favorite part was being able to watch monks during the monestary's service and hearing thier chants. However we also enjoyed just sitting and taking in the scenery.

We also made it up to the Monkey Temple (Swayambhunath Stupa). This temple is on the top of a hill where you have to climb a long staircase to get there. About half way you start seeing the monkey's playing and harassing tourists for food. The temple was not anything remarkable, the view and the monkeys where what made this site. The monkeys roamed free all over the temple grounds, climbing on the temples, jumping from one statue to the other. For someone who loves monkeys it was amazing. There were others that didn't share my enthusiasm. From the temple you also got a complete view of all of Kathmandu, you really get an appreciation of how big the city really is.

Tomorrow we set off for our hike to Everest Base Camp. I somehow was convinced to carry my own bag....the one thing I swore I wasn't going to do. I'm really starting to get a mixture and nerves and excitement for this hike. Our flight to Lukla leaves at 630 tomorrow morning. Aparently the flight is supposed to be an adventure in itself. The runway is on a hill and the hill is needed as it is a very short runway. Anyways we are going to try to complete the hike in 16 days. We will see how that goes.

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