Our first outing after arriving in Kathmandu was to the Pashupatinath temple which was within walking distance from our AirBnB. We had to pay 1000 rupees entry fee per person and then couldn’t enter the temple so we thought we paid for nothing. We then walked around to the river and was hit with thick smoke and the smell of barbeque. We then suddenly realised this is the place which is similar to Varanasi in India where public cremations and Hindu rituals take place. We went to sit on the opposite side of the river with some other onlookers and witnessed no less than five bodies being prepared by the river and then taken to large open wood fires.