Friday 9 September 2011

Patan

In the afternoon we ventured to Patan which is on the southern side of the Bagmati River, and one of 3 royal cities in the valley. Patan is an amazing place filled with wood and stone carvings, statues, ornate architecture, including dozens of Buddhist and Hindu temples, and over a thousand monuments. Kings were crowned in one of the temples in ancient times and standing in such an unspoilt area you can almost imagine the scene.

It was fantastic to be able to visit such a fabulous place and be given a tutorial on the history and politics of the country from local inhabitants but sobering to hear that the beautiful carved water pipes in the photograph are the source of water for the vast majority of the local population and can carry Cholera as there is none of the infrastructure or sanitation we take for granted.

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