We arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal

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We arrived late in the afternoon and went to our hotel, a very nice Crown Plaza catering to westerners. What we see of Kathmandu so far is that it is considerably cleaner in the streets from India. While there are a lot of people, it doesn't seem as crowded as India. After very stifling heat in India (temps 105 or higher), the weather here, around 80 in the day to 60's at night), is very refreshing.

This small country occupies .02% of the land mass on the planet. The people here speak up to 102 languages. They are over 80% Hindu and over 10% Buddhist. Nepal became a republic in 2006 but in 2002 the Crown Prince killed himself and all of the royal family, except one uncle out of the country, so the move to a republic essentially started then.

As in India, cows are sacred, monkeys abound and dogs are everywhere. In the early morning tomorrow (6 am) we take a scenic flight over Mount Everest. Should be great pictures tomorrow.

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Photos

having dinner outside with other tour companions
weather nice enough here to do that