Boudhanath is a dome stupa that is a regular stop on Buddhist pilgrimages in Nepal. It's surrounded by colourful prayer flags. There isn't all that much to do at the stupa, but it was interesting just walking around it watching the others in prayer. In one section Buddhist monks were doing a sort of full-body prostrations very similar to doing a burpee.
After spending some time at the stupa it took quite awhile to reconnect with the girls I was sharing the taxi with due to a communication problem. In the meantime I sat in the car park for an hour chatting with our driver and the a guy who was acting like an automated ticket machine, only obviously not automated. He'd just sit there with a big binder and write down the time every car entered and then rush up with a big stack of bills in his hand when it tried to leave and get them to pay depending on how long they'd been there - normally something like 20 cents. I don't know how people managed before computers, I really don't.
After the girls finally showed up we went to the monkey temple. Not surprisingly, the monkey temple has a lot of monkeys in it, and the families of monkeys here happen to be considered holy monkeys. I always enjoy watching animals, and monkeys especially. I probably prefer the intelligence of the larger primates, but watching hoards of little monkeys running amok feeds some destructive pleasure impulse.
The temple isn't just about monkeys. It's a busy center of religion and culture, and filled with beautiful old architecture. The position up on the hill also gives the place an expansive view down at the sprawl of Kathmandu.
After the temple we went back to the hostel. I had one last night out with my roommates, although I pulled out much earlier since I had an early flight in the morning.
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