As things turn out, breakfast was included and consisted of some eggs and toast with a Jam I’m pretty sure was just sugar, cornstarch and red food dye. We waited around for a bit until about 11:30, when our guide came and introduced us to our Kathmandu city guide and driver. The driver we’d met the night before, and the guide was a delightful older man who really knew his way around the city and its history. I wish I’d have taken notes, because we were so overwhelmed with information that I don’t recall much of what he told us at all. We did get to see many temples, including the ‘monkey temple’ which had a spectacular view of Kathmandu. Much to Kempys delight we also got to see how electricity is distributed (think a tangle of hundreds of cables coming together at a random post and hanging everywhere). Oh, and we got to experience Nepalese traffic. I imagine it’s very much like indian traffic, with cars coming and going in all directions, and motorbikes on every available space. Later in the day we saw the Kathmandu white house and a living godess. She’s selected by a council of elders for her beauty and wisdom, and only remains a goddess until her first menstral cycle… We got to see several statues of several gods, all of which were explained to us but I’ve already forgotten. One very interesting stop was at Lama’s Thanka Centre and school, where we learned all about the 4 types of Thanka. (Meditation, life of Budda, wheel of life, Portraits of gods) Both Ryan and I decided on purchasing a wheel of life version, especially as the proceeds here go back to Tibettan monks in exile (who also paint the thankas). We had lunch at a nice little cafe overlooking a temple courtyard, and as our driver had been unable to find a park we had to walk back to the hotel through nepali traffic. It was a fun-filled day, I just wish I could retain even 10% of what I was told today. We got back to the hotel at about 18:00, went and hired some sleeping bags, bought some juice and water for the night and re-packed for our trek. Now I’m horribly tired and tomorrow starts at 4:45 am, so time to turn in for some sleep!