In Search of Durbar Square

By day 2 in Kathmandu, Leanne and I were so confident, we thought we'd venture out of the backpacker area and do a walking tour to the Royal Palace and then to Durbar Square. Along the way, we came across fake babas (dressed in orange robes) and cobra snake charmers. As soon as Leanne saw the cobra, she promptly "repositioned" herself so that I was in between her and the snake.

Not much to see at the palace except many guards with guns so we continued along the heavily polluted streets in search of Durbar Square. The old town was beautiful with ancient wooden buildings and cobblestone streets (more pics to come). As we approached the Square, we were pounced on by fake guides, touts, wallahs and persistant rickshaw drivers.

One temple in Durbar Square was the "Temple of the Living Goddess". A pre-teen girl is chosen as a living goddess and is believed to have special powers. Once she hits puberty though, she is replaced and the poor girl is never allowed to marry. After soaking up the history on top of one of the temples, we ventured down Freak Street - where the orignal hippie backpacker area was in the 60's.