Rooftop Playgrounds

In Kathmandu the roof is the place to be. In the morning women do all their washing on the roofs and when they have the laundry hanging on the clothes lines (also on the roof) the rooftops look covered in clothes-flags for as far as you can see. In the afternoon, after school, the kids play on the rooftops. I've watched boys play soccer and wrestle, girls skip rope and play sort of a red rover game, and watched them both watch each other. Fathers come up to the roof in the evenings to smoke and watch the sunset. It's life played out on the tops of houses.

Kathmandu is a crowded city and the roof is the backyard of these neighborhoods. They are nicely decorated with blooming flowers in pots. The roof where I'm staying has a nice table for eating meals, writing, and watching all the other rooftop activities. I've spent hours on this roof, with new friends like Reshma, and it is definitely the place to be.