Those in the know tell us that Matsuo Basho was meditating outside a Teahouse similar to this one in Kyoto, Japan when a frog leaped into the lake. And this is what lead him to compose one of his most famous haiku.

Old pond –
a frog leaps in
water’s sound.

Haiku by Matsuo Basho

The monk is six years old and is part of a Losar (Tibetan New Year) ceremony. He joined the monastery a few weeks before I took this photo.

Bhaktapur is an ancient, picturesque city east of Kathmandu, Nepal. It’s past prosperity creating ornate dwellings and pagoda-style temple designs that spread all the way to Japan.

Bhaktapur is a popular day-trip from Kathmandu, especially for Japanese tourists who go their to experience how some of their towns must have looked, hundreds of years ago. There are some nice (simple) places to stay. And some cafes were you can just sit, read (or write) a book and watch the world go bye.

I wonder if I will see Kathmandu again?

Much of the joy of going is the mix of cultures and the Tibetan Buddhist influence. The current regime seems to take its lead (and it’s funding) from the Chinese and seems to be joyously cracking down on the Tibetans with big sticks and big boots. Almost daily I read of another violent attack on some Nuns or Monks or Tibetan lay-people. Shame really when you consider how long they lived in harmony. These snapshots were taken in 2007 in Patan.