"Watch out for the bricks," a local Nepali man warned Lauren, Chris, Mary, Mike, Val, Matt and I before we taxied to the nearby town of Bhaktapur for the closing day of Bisket Jatra, a 9-day New Year festival that Chris had been talking about for weeks.

On a restaurant rooftop safely above the madness below us in Taumadhi Square, we gather to witness the festival's climactic event, the chariot pull and tug of war. As the sun sets, hundreds of men and boys hoist a huge, beautifully painted wooden chariot with 6' wooden wheels up a hill until it reaches the edge of the square. Then, the tug of war begins between the residents of lower and upper Bhaktapur.

These proceedings do not always go smoothly. The chariot wobbles and bends dangerously as the two sides tug in what appears to be a completely uncoordinated effort with no regard to laws of physics. Thunderous cheering escalates and tension mounts as the two sides pull feverishly. The sky grows dark as an electrical storm brews around us. With a final heave, the chariot enters the main square and the upper side of town is deemed victorious.

Suddenly the ropes are dropped and thousands of people scatter in every direction to avoid being hit as the first bricks are thrown. Most whack the chariot. Some hit people. Directly beneath us we see men twisting bricks out of the street, gathering ammo to huck violently at their opponents. Teeth are knocked out! Fights break out! Blood spills!

Dozens of police in full riot gear emerge from hiding on the temple steps and throw tear gas at the chariot. They cause a stampede. Within a minute the entire square is empty. It's dark now and we can barely make out what's going on down there but it appears that the riots have stopped as quickly as they started. The storm is gathering and we watch lightning dance silently from cloudtop to cloudtop. Thunder clashes and it begins to hail. Hard. Any mischief makers left outside run for cover. The chariot sits hail-pelted in the quiet square until the storm stops. A couple hundred people representing victorious Upper Bhaktapur emerge to claim their prize and slowly pull the chariot to rest in their side of town. It was biblical I say! Truly biblical!

I love Kathmandu. This town is a shopper's paradise and I've spent way too much money on way too many extremely cool things. I've eaten entirely too much good food I haven't seen in months (mole chicken enchiladas and margaritas!?). Best of all, I've been spending my time with some of my favorite people. My favorite Brit and Goa partier Mary is here along with her brother Mike. Mary's good friend from France, Val, was here until yesterday. Matt, another member of my Goa contingent is also here, and of course, Chris. Lauren has been sick all week and mostly getting bedrest, but tomorrow we leave for the town of Pokhara at the base of the Annapurna mountain range where we will begin our trek.