Inside Nepal's capital, from the old city quarter of Thamel to the galleries and cafes of Jhamsikhel. The city that never stops building over itself.
Kathmandu
The contemporary art scene in Kathmandu is not large. What it is, is serious - galleries in converted courtyards, artists working with earthquake rubble, a conversation not aimed at tourists.
Kathmandu
Kathmandu doesn't preserve its architecture so much as layer it. Newari courtyards inside office buildings, pagoda rooflines next to concrete frames, heritage sites surrounded by mid-rise construction.
Kathmandu
Kathmandu has always had tea houses. What it didn't have until recently was a cafe culture built around craft coffee, working hours, and a generation that has been to Melbourne and brought something back.
Kathmandu
Thamel is where most visitors to Kathmandu arrive and from where most of them are glad to leave. What the neighbourhood actually is underneath the gear shops, the rooftop bars, and the noise.
Kathmandu
Pashupatinath charges non-Hindus a thousand rupees to stand on one bank and watch the cremations from behind a fence. What happens on the other side of that arrangement is more complicated.