Holi!

He he he!!

I love Nepal! What a fabulous country! Where else (but India of course) does an entire country close down so the people can throw water and coloured powder at each other??!! I highly recommend that Melbourne consider adding Holi to its calender of festivals.
Today I woke up early to the sounds of shouting laughter and slowly made my way out of bed. Outside, all the shops were closed and the streets just about deserted... but as the day grew, more and more young people (mostly men) emerged with buckets, water balloons and plastic bags full of coloured powder.
We started 'playing holi' from the rooftops, throwing water on those far below along with the guest house staff and eventually - when we were soaked through, made our way onto the streets. I hung out with my new friends Kishan, Manoj and Tilly and we made our way through the streets of Nepal's old town. Along the way we encountered hundreds of young men, all of whom shouted 'Happy Holi' and smeared our faces with coloured powder or threw water bombs at us. It was hilarious and fun and eventually painful (I'm sure there'll be bruises tomorrow) and very, very satisfying.
Yipeee!