Happy New Year 2065

Being in India was like travelling hundreds of years back in time. Being in Nepal, it seems I have been transported 50-odd years into the future. Yesterday was New Years day in the year 2065 - it's pretty surreal and does actually make me wonder if I fell into some kind of Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole.

I've just arrived in Pokhara. It took about 7hours by bus from Kathmandu and was actually a really nice trip with lots of pretty scenery that was like the south island but with rice paddies. It's always abit unnerving though when you pass lots of burned out buses that've crashed into cliffs along the way and your bus is overtaking other buses while hurtling around corners. I arrived in one piece though and am really liking Pokhara. Its so similar to Wanaka with a big lake and mountains which are so much bigger than I thought they'd be!

Here's some photos from around the Kathmandu Valley.

A god painted down Freak Street, near Durbar Square.

Markets down Freak Street.

The giant stupa at Boudnath, a nice town with alot of Tibetian Buddhists living there.

Prayer wheels around the stupa.

A little girl with 'free tibet' shaved into her hair in Boudnath.

The view from the top of the monkey temple (can't remember the name of the town). I thought it'd be a nice peaceful walk here from my guesthouse, but it turned out to be a walk through fields of rubbish until I was completely lost and had to get a taxi. The temple was a strange mix of monkeys, beggars, monks, and people selling drugs and handicrafts.

Marijuana growing wild on the side of the road.