Saturday at the Monkey Temple

I ran five miles today.  It was on a treadmill which is a poor substitute for but I'll take it because running on a treadmill is better than not running at all.  While I ran Jess took JAC along to help the Fire Marshall inspect the embassy.  They triggered sprinklers, sounded alarms and test extinguishers.  In the minds eye of a small boy these events are small marvels.  I found him glued to his father, happy to be one of the guys and completely uninterested in spending one minute with me.

After lunch we went on our first big Kathmandu adventure.  Ever since I read about the "Monkey Temple" in my Nepal guide book I knew I had to visit.  It is perched precariously on the edge of the mountain and its golden spires glimmer over the Kathmandu valley.  The temple, named Swayambhu is over 2,500 years old.  Kathmandu valley was once a giant lake and the Buddhist landmark was built to symbolize the brilliant lightning storms that occurred over the lake.Now the temple serves as both a place of worship and popular tourist destination.  Monkeys live at the temple site and while they may appear cute they are quite aggressive and know to carry a particularly virulent form of rabies.

JAC proved to be a popular tourist attraction himself.  Several temple visitors picked him up and took pictures with him.  He took it in easy stride and excitedly explored every angle of the site. 

The highlight of or trip might have been watching the Buddhist prayer session.  The monks took particular interest in JAC as we walked up the temple steps in the rain, holding his hands and ensuring his raincoat hood was securely fastened.  When we later saw the monks praying in the temple they asked us to sit down and brought us tea a gesture that was not offered to other tourists.  We sat quietly listening to the chanting, horn playing and drums beating.  JAC grew completely enthralled and refused to leave.

It was a fascinating afternoon and made Kathmandu seem even more mysterious.  The city is steeped in deep rich history and we can't wait to explore more soon.