To get there from Thamel (the tourist district), me and my new friend Cara, from Missouri, took a Rickshaw for about 20 minutes. That was quite the experience. I mean, beyond being stared at for being a tourist, it was very exhilarating.
Arriving at Swayambhu, we first stumbled upon a Hindu temple of sorts, I took a picture of the main deity in the courtyard, so if anyone wants to identify that for me, please do so! If we hadn't taken a rickshaw and bypassed all that we totally would missed it, so I'm glad we took the rickshaw.
We then walked for a little while and got to Swayambhunath, where we began our trek up the East side of the hill. It's quite the majestic ascent, and at the top is a magnificent stupa with monkeys all over the place. It's quite the site. It's very very beautiful, and to see the entire Kathmandu Valley is quite humbling.
After we hung out for a while at the Stupa at the top, we managed to stumble back down to the ground and walked around the base of the hill, and it was really nice to have some quiet time with the forest and dirt paths away from the huss and fuss of the city. You really can't see the mountains that surround the valley from the inner city, especially the tourist district, haha.
It was definitely a really nice day, but tomorrow I'll be driving out an hour-ish to Banepa, where I'll meet my host family and begin my placement on Monday.
This post will be supplemented by many many photos at a date soon to come. Most of the stuff is better explained pictorially.
