Warning: Spell check is currently out of commision. The following post will assuredly contain spelling errors. This stems from a disinterest is spelling during my formative period that has crippled my subsiquent efforts in this regard. Becoming a good speller currently ranks number 724 on my list of things to do in life with little prospect of increased priority. Hence I will just take the lazy way out and apologize up front.
Hello, I am now in Nepal. Kathmandu. I'm being enthusiastically hosted by my good friend Faris who hosted our jazz group in Yemen in 2006 (on behalf of the American Embassy there). He is now stationed here and its just a 45 minute flight from Kolkata so here I am. Tomorrow Faris' driver will take me around to see the sights. Faris made a list of things to see in the morning (which he has already seen plenty of times) and then he'll join me at lunch time to visit some other spots that would be of interest to him.
My first impression of Nepal and Kathmandu is that the people are a very interesting blend of ethnicities and appearences. Many look quite Indian and many look quite North East Asian (aka "Chinese" for those less inclined to polical correction).
And everyone else is somewhere in between.
Nepali is apparently similar to Bangla although I don't speak enough Bangla to fake speaking Nepali. Hindi is also widely spoken but I don't speak enough Bangla to fake Hindi to Nepalis either. Faris' driver Sandesh is Nepali so he'll be able to help me out.
Faris is in charge of visa applications to the US so he's told me a bit about the visa scene. Its really difficult in a lot of ways since so many people want to get to the US, often despirately. There is -a lot- of tension here. Maoist rebels (rather unpopular but still able to cause trouble), not great infrastructure (frequent power cuts) its tense, but no violence in the steet (I knocked some wood just there).
In two days I'll hike of to Nagrakot and Bhaktapur. Nagrakot is up on the rim of the valley where Kathmandu sits. I'll most likely hike up there, stay over night and hike down to Bhaktapur. The next day. Faris says Bhaktapur is and old city with mountains, which sounds pretty killin to me.
I running out of camera space so I'm contemplating buying another compact flash card (for those I haven't told, which could be all of you I guess, I managed to leave my camera's usb cable in the US so I can't off load the photos until I get home). If I get completely stuck I'll just have to bite the bullet since the super small usb cable that fits this has proven impossible to find so far.
Other upcoming highlights: Tibetan New Year celebrations in the Tibetan neighborhood of Boudha.
take care y'all,
Andrew
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3 comments:
Hey Andy!
You should go see Dikshya's family while you're in Kathmandu...they live just a block or two away from the big Stupha in Boudha! Since you're going there anyhow... :)
Anywho, hope the guards at Bhaktapur don't rip you off for their entrance 'donation'. But it's a beautiful city, so enjoy! Nagarkot is great too, hope it's clear up there.
If you get a chance, hop on a plane and head up to Pokhara. It's much cleaner than Khatmandu, and very scenic. You won't be disappointed...
Glad to keep hearing these updates! I'd love to see Nepal...next time I go to India. ha!
PS. The first comment was not left by me, and it appears as if it was...strange things abound in the comments page of this blog!
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