Another strange thing about Christmas in Nepal is the lack of lights. I hadn't realized how much I associate lights with Christmas. Here, as the days get shorter, the power cuts get longer. The electricity was out at least until noon today and from 5 until 10 at night. So instead of festive Christmas lighting, the streets are dark except for the minimum light bulbs, running on batteries, necessary for businesses.

Our hotel, Hotel Sakura, was a good choice and we are grateful for both the 24 hr hot water and battery powered lights since the daily power cuts have been expanded to 16 hours a day. We also have a couple nice neighbors who don't care if there is electricity or not.