Women on the backs of motorbikes ride toward Durbar
Square, Kathmandu, during the Hindu Dasain festival on the only day of the year
when the Taleju temple is open.
The motorbike has become the dominant form of urban transportation in many Asian
cities. Each Japanese motorbike manufacturer has a secret research lab dedicated
to creating novel obnoxious sounds to use in motorbike horns.
Taleju temple, built in the 16th century, on Durbar
Square, Kathmandu. A long line of devotees, visible both in the foreground and
high up on the temple's third level, wait for 3-4 hours to gain entrance for
a brief worship.
Dedicated to a Tantric goddess, this temple is only open to the public one day
a year. Traditionally the Kings of Nepal cannot rule without the favor of this
goddess. Should she take away her favor, that will mean the end of his rule,
and perhaps even his dynasty.
Temple in downtown Kathmandu lit and decorated
for the Dasain festival.
Bureaucrat surrounded by paperwork in the Ministry
of Immigration, Kathmandu.
Facade
of Dwarika's Hotel, Old Baneshwar district,
Kathmandu.
Not long ago, in the rush to modernize Nepal old buildings were pulled down
and their beautiful carved Newari windows burned. A foresighted hotelier bought
hundreds of them and incorporated them into a spectacularly beautiful hotel.
Dwarika's has no control, however, over the way electrical wiring is hung on
the streets outside.
Boy selling ceramic bowls filled with yoghourt in
the Thamel district of Kathmandu. Tangy Bahktipur yoghourt, justly called "the
royal curd," is among the best in the world.
The
ancient Buddhist stupa of Swayambhunath, atop a prominent hill west of Kathmandu,
viewed in late afternoon.
Swayambhunath in early evening, with the moon rising
between clouds.
Raj and his school friend Deepak, on the grounds of
the elegant Shangri-La hotel, Kathmandu.
Both graduated from an elite school founded and run by the Society of Jesus
which remains one of the most prominent in Nepal.
