Bhaktapur - Into the town

The sunny skies were turning grey as we headed out of the square and into the side streets.  I saw a small courtyard and ducked into it.  I can't get over how intricate religious wood carvings are part of peoples houses and neighbourhoods.

There was a shrine in the courtyard that shows what centuries of daily blessings can do to carved stone

I went looking for puppets in the shops and when I came out Barb was watching a spinner at work.

The weather was turning bad in a hurry, and just as we rouded the corner to a square where the potters work, rain came down in torrents.  The potters scrambled to rescue their unfired pots before they were ruined.

Not being dressed for the rain or cold, we ducked into a Chinese restaurant overlooking the potters square and ordered soup to warm up. And yes, it was poor manners of me to play with my new puppet at the table.

Meanwhile we watched outside as the boys, with no work to do after the torrents turned into a drizzle, started a pickup cricket game in the square.

 I printed a picture of one of the kids hitting the ball and gave it to him, then they all came together for a group photo

By that time our food was finished and the weather was good enough to continue our walk through the town. I liked these statues in front of a temple

Worship goes on, oblivious to us tourists.

 This wagon is built ever year at this time to transport one of the statues from Bhaktapur to it's spritual home in another city.