One of the three Medieval kingdoms that comprise Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur is pleasantly removed from the chaos of the city center and home to rambling ancient temples, a colony of friendly street dogs and a thriving pottery industry.

It’s iconic, a place found in every Kathmandu tour guide and travel blog. Despite that fact, I still hadn’t visited nearly four months into my time in the city - a situation I often find myself in when operating on an extended timeline. The further away my departure date, the less motivation to sight-see it seems.

To address this obvious Kathmandu faux pas, a few friends and I piled into a steamy little cab one monsoon morning and finally paid our respects to Bhaktapur.

It was as full of character and ancient glory as all the blogs said it would be, and the day was filled with my favorite Nepali things: pots of hot milk chai, meandering alleyways, street dogs, a wedding processional, wrinkled Dhaka topi-clad men and artisans on every block.