Today, our calves still knotted from the descent from Sarangkot, we went to the nearby cities of Patan and Bhaktapur. A few hundred years ago, before the Shah kings united Nepal, these were separate kingdoms to rival Kantipur (Kathmandu). Now Patan is a suburb of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, even over dusty, in-construction roads, is barely half an hour away. They still retain much of their old charm, except for locals constantly offering to guide us. Fortunately we had our driver to be our own guide.
Power is out again--generators power internet cafes but I'm not connnecting my laptop or my camera to these computers as they likely have more viruses than (fill in your favorite metaphor).
Tomorrow, our last full day in Kathmandu, there is supposed to be another transport bandh (strike). That may be just as well, as we are tired out from our "vacation" and could use a day relaxing. We may try to see a movie. "Avatar" is playing here, and it's possible the plot seems less stupid in Nepali, but we are likely to try for a local film, "3 idiots."
