Today was our first day of rest since we arrived so instead of sleeping in and taking it easy we headed to Sarangkot to watch the sunrise. The early rise was so worth it as not only did we see all the lights for Diwali/Tihar on our drive up but the views were spectacular. Apparently we were really fortunate as Cris mentioned she knew of someone who had to go up 12 times before they had a clear view. Apart from shopping, this was probably the first ‘touristy’ thing we have done and there were people there from all over the world, most suffering from under-caffeination! They say a picture tells a thousand words, well here’s thousands!

After we returned to the hotel another traveller and I went into the city near the hospital we are working at. The taxi driver on the way over mentioned that not many tourists venture into the old market area and we did feel a little out of place. We had children following us for a while and lots of people staring! I was able to pick up some coloured powder which I will use to dye with when I get home and my Kurtas. We walked around for a while and still saw great views of the Annapurnas.

This afternoon whilst others in the group paraglided and took a zipline down the hill, I treated myself to another massage. This time I went to The Helping Hands Spa, a spa run by an organisation that aims to give people with a disability, in particular those who are deaf or blind, a way of working to earn a living. My masseuse was deaf but still gave me the most amazing massage! I paid a lot more than I did in one of the tourist spas, but it was so worth it. Not only was it a great social enterprise, but the product was also fantastic!

This evening we have been for a walk to see some of the displays for Tihar. Flowers, fruit, incense and colourful designs greet doors surrounded by candles and lamps with coloured footsteps inviting the gods to bring prosperity to the household or business for the next twelve months.

Our hotel also lit up for the occasion…

For those wanting more photos, I did a bulk upload to Flickr today. Most aren’t labelled or anything, but tell a story I hope!