Nepal

Escaping Kathmandu

Good horn, good brake, good luck.

– Niraj Maharjan, group leader and Nepalese saying

Main roads and traffic

Main roads and traffic

POKHARA NEPAL, 2700ft, 5 Oct: I travel in a country where Royal Nepal Airlines is now just Nepal Airlines but with only one plane left to fly one of its most popular routes. Sita is in the same boat due to crashes. And many of their airports are so poorly maintained, potholes on the runways prevent larger planes from landing. Distance is measured in hours, not km. They measure how many days it will take to walk as there are no passable roads. Our distinction is 132 miles but we must think in terms of time. On Nepalese roads it will take us at least six hours.

(more…)

By Pat, ago

Forced Single in Kathmandu

We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate.

– Pico Iyer

TAHACHAL NEPAL, 9pm, 4 Oct: After rooftop breakfast and much talk with my Nepalese server at the Backyard, I took a taxi to meet my group at Crowne Plaza in Tahachal, just south over the bridge from downtown Kathmandu. Cost was 300 rupees but gave him a 30% tip for the adventure and getting me there unharmed. Now I just follow the flow and Niraj my Road Scholar leader.

(more…)

By Pat, ago

I am in Nepal

In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.

– Carl Jung

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside you.

– Deepak Chopra

Chaos is chaos no matter how you experience it. You either adapt or die.

– Pat Bunyard

DSC00503KATMANDU NEPAL, 6pm, 1 Oct: Questions I want answered: is Kathmandu dirty; what of the cows, democracy, the upcoming election “maybe”, food, feelings for the King; how do they view Dipendra who killed his royal family? And what about this time zone and an extra 15 minutes? So many questions and so little time. All depends upon my listening, seeing, and interpreting. Then it is all me – my suppositions and feelings about this chaos where I find myself.

(more…)

By Pat, ago