What a day!  What an absolutely glorious day!!  We are so fortunate to be here experiencing all of this.............   

Today started with an early morning sit at 5 am so that we could be on the road by 6 am to go to the Swayambhu temple here in Kathmandu.  I understand that this temple site is one of the most important in the Kathmandu Valley area.  It is shared by both Buddhists and Hindus.  We arrived early, but the place was already jumping with pilgrims, worshipers, joggers, merchants, street vendors, and beggars.  The approach to the temple proper was up many steep flights of stairs.  I have no idea of high we climbed, I only know my heart was beating fast and hard when I reached the top.  

Everywhere one looked in this mountain top temple complex, there were pujas being performed by women in colorful saris, groups were seated chanting, and people were circumabulating the entire site as well as various smaller temples and stupas.  Monkeys and pigeons abounded and added a touch of wistful sweetness to the scene as well as periodic comic relief  :)   We spent quite of bit of time at Swayambhu taking everything in and doing our own individual practice.  

After breakfast on the temple grounds, we headed to Patan, a small town famous for its statue makers.  We were on a hunt for a Buddha for the main altar in Lammi.  All of us had a great time peering into the many little shops, and we actually got to visit one statue maker's workshop.  I particularly enjoyed watching the colorful, noisy sea of people swirl around us in the narrow streets and open squares, and of course, delighted in the little out of the way cafes and restaurants the boys found.

In the end, we found the Buddha below.  We purchased him today, and thus Shakyamuni has now become a welcome member of our party and will accompany us to all the pilgrim sites.

Tomorrow we leave very early for Lumbini, the birth place of Siddhartha Gautama.  Jani and Mikko say the bus trip will take the entire day.  At least we have rooms booked there so we don't have to scramble too much when we arrive.

More later my friends  :)