K-k-k-k-k-kathmandu

Sorry, but i couldn't help the Bob Seager reference. Coming into Kathmandu yesterday there were a lot of team members that had the song in their mind. Since arriving yesterday, the group has been getting introduced to the primary guides for our trek and exploring Kathmandu.
Our hotel is located right in the tourist area of Thamel which is fun to walk. Today we further explored Kathmandu with a tour of the Swayambhu, or the "temple of the monkeys", located on a high hill in the city. Swayambhu (photo shown) is well known as a place of worship. We also toured the old city center which contains many of the old temples built between the 11th and 18th centuries.
This afternoon we will be visiting the PA Nepal Orphanage to deliver our donations as well as talk about NASA and science in general. Tomorrow we depart for Lukla, and begin our journey to the Base Camp. We had delayed our departure one day in order to align our schedule with Scott's so we would have a better opportunity to see him.
One more note I will add - our team made the front page of the Himalayan Times. It is very apparent that NASA has a well established brand name world wide and the city has grown interest knowing that several of us work for NASA.