Nepal?  It wasn't on my itinerary when I left.  While I was in the islands of Thailand, Ken & Sheryl told me that their next stop was to be India, where Sheryl was to begin a one-month internship at an ayurvedic institute in Pune.  Ken's plan was to go trekking up in Nepal during that time, and suggested he and I meet in Kathmandu.  Twist my arm... 

I arrived in Kathmandu on the day of the Shiva Ratri festival. Sadhus (aka: gurus, babas, etc.; ascetic holy men) converge on Kathmandu from all across India for this Hindu holiday.  These guys are the original rastafarians. This is the one day in the year that it is legal for the general populace to smoke ganja in Nepal. More about Shiva Ratri and Sadhus below.

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Kathmandu's Swayambhunath temple (aka "Monkey Temple" for the large protected troupe of aggressive monkeys that live there) sits atop a high hill overlooking the city.  On the base of the spire atop the white dome are "Buddha's eyes", with the "nose" between, which is actually the sanscrit symbol for the number "1".

Kathmandu sits in a high valley of the Himalayan foothills. Most common construction is of unreinforced brick, and its an earthquake zone. The pile of bricks in this photo are new materials ready for construction, not the result of a tremor.

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Ken accessing his pack atop our luxury tourist bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Beware of Bangladeshi businesmen in dark suits. It was a long eight hour ride.  The next day we started our 14-day trek from Phedi, and immediately climbed a steep trail to the beautiful ridgetop village of Dhampus.

When trekking, people tend to meet on the trail and share a day's walk.  Here's Ken with our first two trail companions, on the way to Dhampus.

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Photo by Ken

The man on the left has a great smile, but he refused to smile big for the camera because he was ashamed of his dental condition.  
Location: village of Dhampus.

Top photo:  Kathmandu, Shiva Ratri Festival bonfire.
The following quote is from Stan Armington's Lonely Planet guidebook:  
"On the sacred night dedicated to Shiva, thousands of pilgrims descend upon Pashupatinath, the holiest Hindu temple in the world--the abode of Shiva. Bonfires burn throughout the night to seek Shiva's blessings."  
The sadhus are Hindu holy men who have taken a vow of poverty and live day to day on alms.  However, they were not necessarily destitute to begin with.  Many of them were successful businessmen, husbands and fathers who decided they had completed their obligations to their families and communities, and gave it all up for a holy nomadic existence in poverty.  There are many different sects of sadhus, each identified by the particular pattern of white decorative paint on the forehead.