Hey everybody, not much has been posted since the new year began, but here’s a little update.We brought in 2007 at a little place called Sam’s Bar with some friendly foreigners and had a good time. Since then, we’ve obtained our India visas for a whopping $70 each ($22 more than any other country’s citizen has to pay…what’s up with Americans coughing up more?). And diligently explored the valley’s cultural sights (hope you’re ready for Episode 9’s debut this week).

Yesterday we went to Nepal’s most important Hindu shrine, Pashipatinath. Because we aren’t Hindu, we weren’t allowed inside. But it’s right on the bank of the holy Bagmati river, where bodies are being cremated constantly. We watched in amazement as a grieving family and a holy man circled the deceased and performed rituals before lighting the funeral pyre. It was pretty surreal.

Afterwards, on a walk to a Buddhist pilgrimage sight, some other tourists recommended we take pictures of a nearby snake charmer for a little bit of money. We tend to trust other tourists so we walked up to the guy who was waving us over. He started to play a flute and pulled out a few snakes. Then he asked me to sit by him for a photo, and the next thing I knew he was putting snakes in my hands and around my neck, promising they wouldn’t bite. It was pretty fun except for the 30 locals crowding around watching our every move, which always makes me nervous. Kevin went next, and I tried to take photos that captured the action AND the crowd. Then the guy asked for waaaay too much money and we felt pressure from the staring group, but luckily even though we gave him a tenth of what he asked, he was happy. We usually don’t do things like that, but it was worth it.