Blue horizons

Flew in to Kathmandu on a beautiful clear day. The vista of the himalayas stretching around the horizon arcing above the clouds above everything. My first glimpse of the himalayas - so exciting. Then the slightly terrifying plunge down in to the Kathmandu valley down past jagged brown peaks with tiny hamlets perched atop. Kathmandu city seems quieter than some Asian cities but equally as chaotic. Ended up at the blue horizon hotel and luckily it's very pleasant and friendly although the hot water is a bit dodgy. Spent our first night eating on a rooftop restaurant 10 stories up. Shared it with a fellow kiwi who had ridden his motorbike from Sri Lanka and through India to Nepal and accosted Matt because he was wearing a Arc 24 hour race tshirt. Watched our first sunset over the rooftops of Kathmandu while the crows wheeled overhead. 
Yesterday was the obligatory sights of Kathmandu day. First the monkey temple with dive bombing monkeys. Then durbar square of many temples and the old palace. Next the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal and lastly pushupatinath a sacred Hindu temple and crematorium. Just getting around Kathmandu is pretty crazy. 4 million people and like coromandel no traffic lights. Cars honking constantly,  dust, congestion,noise, tangled nests of telegraph lines,  houses like toy logo blocks stacked up high,  cows in the middle of roads nonchalantly  chewing cuts, multicoloured prayer flags and tinsel flapping in the breeze, porters with impossible loads and above it all every so often a glimpse of a pristine snowy mountain.
Pushupatinath is worth a mention because it is so different to what our culture knows. The dead are burnt beside the holy river on funeral pyres in full public view and then the remains are cast into the river which flows to the Ganges. While we were there 3 pyres where burning. We were so close we could feel the heat and smell the smoke. Another body was rushed past us and yet another lay alone on the river bank waiting to be prepared. A rather practical touch was the hospice and old people's home on site. 
Time for another day in the chaos of Kathmandu.
Arohanui sandy