You can see the Tibetan exiles spinning the prayer wheels are quite distinct from the locals in dress and appearance. Speaking of differences, spinning a prayer wheel here is equivalent to saying the prayer on the wheel 11,000 times. Not an apples to apples comparison, but it seems that Swayambhu's ability to magnify a meritmaking act there 13 billion times would trump the Boudha multiplier effect.

This ancient Buddhist temple built on a hilltop, served as a landmark along the Kathmandhu to Tibet trade route. Today, it serves as the nexus for the exiled Tibetan community. It's basically the same look and story of previously visited Swayambhu, so I'm tempted to just write "ditto" here. But I do love to ramble, so I'll keep going. As you can see, the same set of glowering eyes look out in all directions from the enormous stupa, one of the largest in the world. While both Swayambhu and Boudha attract large Tibetan followings, the temples also serve the local Buddhist population. Nepal's ethnic makeup is very complicated with scores of different tribes and clans. So the main reason there are two nearly identical temples relatively close together is that Swayambhu served the Buddhist Newaris in Kathmandu, while this temple was for more rural tribes.

Just some photos of the shrines surrounding the main stupa. There's also a big boxlike structure in back of the stupa called Shantipur. In the 5th century, a holy man named Shanti Shri sealed himself inside this building to meditate, and will only come out when Kathmandu needed him. So far I guess the city's done ok without him since he hasn't come out, but the king went in to visit him in 1658 to get his help in ending a drought. He got the help from the (quite skinny) holy man and the drought ended, but it wasn't easy. Before he got to him, he had to go through a room filled with giant bats, then another room filled with ghosts and flesh eating spirits, then a third room filled with huge snakes. For obvious reasons, Shantipur isn't open to the public.

A quick break from the temple to show you the views of the city. Kathmandu only has a half million people, which is amazing as it feels so much bigger and more crowded. It's also very polluted, a combination of old, highly polluting cars and its being in a valley, which causes the dirty air to linger.

After China occupied Tibet, many Tibetans fled to India along with the Dalai Lama. Many Tibetans continue to leave China, and have settled in Nepal, just over the border. The Tibetans in Kathmandu now live largely around the major Buddhist temple complexes, so the monks you see here are Tibetan. The little boys are walking around the stupa spinning prayer wheels, a common feature in all Buddhist temples. Spinning a prayer wheel releases good karma for the world, and supposedly any meritmaking activity at this temple is 16 billion times more powerful than at other temples, so those boys must be making this world a pretty great place.

There are several major temple complexes on the outskirts of the city, the most important of which is the Buddhist temple of Swayambhu. (It's referred to as the monkey temple by tourists for obvious reasons). The temple sits atop the highest hill in Kathmandu, so you get great, though very smoggy, views of the city as an added bonus. The temple is reached via a very long staircase up the hill. It's been a place of worship for 2000 years, so lots of smaller temples and memorials have grown around it, but pictured here is the main stupa. The somewhat creepy eyes are a manifestation of the all knowing Buddha, and are an easy way to identify Nepalese temples.