This morning I met my three little friends and we got a taxi to another temple which was cool. There were lots of monks, big bells and humming sounds. After that we visited one of the boys houses. It was a room about 5m x 5m and only 1.8m high (I had to duck). He lives with a sister, brother, and both his parents - in this one tiny room.

Then I went and met Lala at the jewellery shop  he works at and we hired a motorbike for the day. He drove me up into the mountains going through remote villagesthrough the most incredible lush green trees, grass and rice fields. It was the first time I’ve been in a quiet place because Kathmandu is bloody noisy!

We got so high up in the mountains that there were clouds below us. It was the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen and I loved being on the bike. We sat down next to a river in the middle of the forest and had a good chat. We also ran over a snake and cut it in half. Lala was so upset he had to say some prayers.

As I’m writing this, a huge fight has erupted outside the internet cafe I’m in. Some Japanese guy with long dreadlocks stole a pair of socks and when he got caught he started going off his tree. He was obviously on drugs and he was abusing everyone for about 10 minutes - screaming at the top of his lungs and swearing. A huge crowd assembled and things got really out of hand. Finally the police showed up and put him in the car - he started punching the police and then strangled one. At that point the crowd (all surrounding the car) started throwing punches through the window, pulling his dreadlocks while he was strangling the policeman. One guy had a stick, everyone’s yelling - there was a girl in the car who also copped some punches. Very scary (I got some photos). It’s simmered down now and the crowd has dispersed, but I’ve now seen the not so gentle side of Kathmandu and I wouldn’t want to be that Japanese guy in a Nepalese jail tonight!

I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow - I might go to Chitwan national park for a few days, or go on a mini trek somewhere - maybe do the bungee jump.

I’m having beers with Lala and his mates tonight so I’ll see what they think. I also got 3 beanies made today - big ones to fit the dreadies in. All up it was $17 - and it takes 3.5-4 hours to crochet each beanie. Stoked!