Spent our final few days in Kathmandu hanging out and doing some last minute sight-seeing and shopping (by “shopping”, I mean Francy bought an Annapurna T-Shirt and I bought a pashmina thing I had been eyeing the entire month in Nepal). Check out photos below and make sure to read my “farewell” to Nepal at the end of the post.

Miles walked:                  6
Miles transported:       ~135

Went with Felipe and Emilia to check out Boudhanath (Boudha) Stupa – one of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world! Unfortunately, the top part of the stupa (the eyes!) completely collapsed in the earthquake. They are just now starting to rebuild it. The structure is still impressive, nonetheless:

Witnessed a group of Tibetan Monks in chant at Tharlam Monastery (check out the video):

Cool view of the stupa being rebuilt from the top of the monastery:

Working the giant prayer wheel with the nuns:

A nun seemingly at the end of her pilgrimage to Boudhanath:

Making our way back to Thamel:

Cars, scooters, pedestrians and, of course, cows:

Another cool stupa:

Finally, the morning we left, I got my pashmina (after some serious negotiating). In fact, here is a mid-negotiating action shot:

Every morning, shop owners set up offerings and prayers and light incense to pray for a good day of sales. The first sale of the day is said to set the tone for how the rest of the day will turn out. We were this guy’s first sale of the day (and I’m a decent negotiator, but he still probably made a killing off of me)… so hopefully this guy’s day turned out great. I’d say we left Nepal on an awesome note!

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Nepal – it has certainly been an incredible and unforgettable month. Though we were excited to move on to Bhutan, we easily could have stayed in Nepal another month, if not more. In fact, I find myself itching to go back as I’m writing this. For anyone who is considering traveling to the far east, I can’t begin to list the reasons why Nepal should be at the top of your list. The Nepali people are some of the kindest, sweetest and smartest people I have ever met, the nature and views some of the most stunning I have ever seen, the food unfairly delicious, and the culture and atmosphere somehow so relaxing and centering, even among all the chaos. There is no way this is the first and last time we’ll be visiting this country. No way. As our former governator would say… We’ll be back!!