We decided to escape the city and enjoy the Kathmandu valley. On this 3 day loop, we went to the Medieval city of Bhaktapur and the famous view point from Nagarkot
Bhaktapur is a really well preserved medieval town where you can walk the main squares to see towering temples, red brick wall architecture, wood carvings/balconies, and statues. There's far less traffic in the streets so it's also a lot more relaxing than in Kathmandu - you get a real sense of the calm, quiet, daily life of the population, as you wander the side streets and browse the various artisan wares.
We also visited Bhaktapur's pottery square, where local merchants dry their grains and pottery creations.
There are also a lot of Kama Sutra carvings in the temples there, but the most interesting/entertaining one was - if we can do it… animal can do it too.
After Bhaktapur, we went to a really small village 24km from Bhaktapur, called Nagarkot. The village itself isn't particularly special, but if you go further up the hill you can stay at the Hotel At The End Of The Universe to relax.. and if you're lucky you'll see a view of the sunrise/sunset over the stunning Himalaya mountain range. That is - if it's not covered in clouds or mist… Unfortunately, for us, the range was totally covered in clouds pretty much the entire time. But we did, for 1 minute, manage to see the summit of one of the mountains peeking through the clouds. It was enough to conclude that if we could have seen the entire mountain range, it would be stunning… but.. it will have to be for another day.
One last thing - If you ever go to Bhaktapur, you must try the King Curds (aka Juju Dhau)…. a really rich and sweet local yogurt,,,, mmmmmm.. SO GOOD!!.
