11 March – Bodnath Stupa, Nepal

It is now exactly 50 years since the Tibetans revolted against Chinese occupation and Dalai Lama was forced into exile. We decided to visit the significant Tibetan community at the Bodnath Stupa to see what the atmosphere was like on this special day.
The stupa is the largest in Nepal and the surroundings are very peaceful. Hundreds of Tibetan monks are walking around the stupa in their purple robes. But there were many heavily armed policemen, and we could read in the papers that there had been riots the day before.
The streets around the stupa are packed with Tibetan souvenir shops. The Tibetans are souvenir superstars!