A parade to honour the Gods in the lead up to Nepali New Year in April. This is in Ason, the old market place dedicated to Annapurna, the Goddess of Plenty and the real heart of Kathmandu View of the Kathmandu Valley from the Monkey Temple. One and a half million people live here and the population is growing at around 4.5% er annum. Much of this is due to inmigration from the surrounding countryside as rural communities are much poorer. Nepal is my third kingdom in as many weeks. It too is about to have elections - the first since 1995 when civil war broke out because of government corruption. After the restrained orderliness of Bhutan, Kathmandu is a real assault on the senses, a riot of colour, smells and noise. This is part of Thamel - the tourist central of Kathmandu - a confusing collection of lanes where all the trekking companies, coffee shops, hotels and souvenir shops are. Incense wafts from shops and doorways. Amid the roar of the traffic, the blare of car horns and th...
Practising Geographer - nature culture places people