Our third day was a big day for us. We loaded into the car and headed out of the city to the nearby town of Bhaktapur. Bhaktapur is famous for its Durbar Square, which happens to be another UNESCO World Heritage Site. We enjoyed the cool weather of the morning; wandering, climbing and imaging what might once have been.
This Durbar Square was severely damaged in an earthquake so feels more spacious and open than the other Durbar Squares we visited. H was particularly intrigued by the remaining signs of earthquake damage. The empty footprints of where a building used to stand was almost as fascinating to him as the existing structures.
After that we found our way over to Taumadhi Square, which is quite a contrast to Durbar Square. It is bustling and gritty and much more lively. We had a lovely lunch in a traditional building in the middle of the square and then did a little more exploring.
On our way to the car, we stopped by Potter's Square and the Erotic Elephant Temple. (You'll have to watch the slide show to see a little elephant lovin'.)
We then headed to the village of Changu (World Heritage Site #4!) It is a delightful mountaintop pedestrian village. (A nice break from the traffic elsewhere in Nepal.) We enjoyed the company of a stray dog (that the kids named Joe) who stuck with us as we climbed up to the temple, and toured the hillside town. Changu Narayan (the village temple) is home to the oldest stone inscription in Kathmandu Valley, and several wonderful sculptures. We even saw a monkey!
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| The stone behind these unimpressed goofballs has the oldest inscription in the Kathmandu valley: 464 AD. |
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| There's Joe, the dog. |
For more pics of day three, check out the slideshow.
Joe does look like a good dog.
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