Toe to Toe with the Ganges

Buddhist temple, Kathmandu. Leather shoes off. Socks acceptable, but I prefer full contact with the spirit of the place. An Indian art expert friend once suggested that tactile contact was necessary for aesthetic enlightenment. In other words, "For the real you must feel" - physically. And since I consider myself a budding Buddhist...

The two sacred rivers - Ganges and Yamuna - are represented by large turtles. They support the world. Om mani padme hum and a few spins of the prayer wheels. What supports the turtles? The Buddhist monk will tell you "Its turtles all the way down."