The steps leading up to Swayambhunath can be really hard work - to begin with there are quite a lot of them - about 300 in fact and the ones near the top are very steep and irregular. To add to the problems the steps are lined by beggars and souvenir sellers (but never enough chai-stalls) This Tibetan gentleman was carving small mani stones to sell as pendants (mani are stones carved with the mantra 'om mani padme om' - larger examples normally line the path to any temple. A far greater hazard than the trinket sellers are the monkeys - very entertaining to watch but keep any food well hidden.