Kathmandu, what happened?

The Kathmandu I visited in 1974 - a city thinly populated, without much traffic, dissected by clean rivers and guarded by the majestic Himalayas - is long gone. Today it is a city of some 4 million inhabitants. Traffic is chaotic, air dusty and garbage piles up everywhere. Fortunately, the people are still as friendly as before. But from the way they speak English, they sound not very different from their southern neighbours now. 

No wonder the electricity supply is so erratic!

Kathmandu's Oxford Street

So pristine!

A smiling Gurkha - a potential Victorian Cross recipient.

Kathmandu's MRT



This picture should be rotated 90 deg anti-clockwise. But does it matter?
Isn't true that Kamasutra can be performed in any position?
(Carvings on a pillar in one of the temples at Patan)