Around 11 kilometres from the centre of Kathmandu is the holy town of Boudhanath, a centuries-old chorten or stupa around which a bustling Buddhist town has grown. When I was young, my late grandfather who lived in Nepal would take me there and tell me that when the world will be coming to an end (a very Christian idea for a Buddhist, I know), I should try and find shelter in Boudhanath. The stupa, he used to tell me, would protect us.