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This log covers our time in Nepal, February 21-March 6, 2007
This shot of Mount Everest is an example. After waiting nearly two weeks for the weather to clear, we were finally able to take the sightseeing flight of our lives. This picture was taken while our 18-seat Beechcraft was flying at 25,000 feet. The top of the word was four thousand feet above us. The Buddha Air plane was quite new and the windows still mostly clear. The result was an experience we will never forget. This is a rare view of Mt Everest, since there are no clouds at all. The most difficult part for us was grasping the size and scale of these mountains. The Gypsy Wagon Expedition headquarters in Red Lodge, Montana, USA, lies at the foot of dramatic Beartooth pass, which tops out at If you are ever in Nepal, we recommend this experience. The one-hour flight costs $134 (at the March 2007 exchange rate), and is a bargain, since there is no other way to replicate it. Not only does it take you near Mt. Everest, and the 27,000 foot peak in this picture, it passes numerous peaks, all of which exceed 21,000 feet. These mountains are so huge and the areas in the valleys beneath them so remote, that some of the people living in the villages never leave. We know people whose friends never left their village and to this day believe the world has a sharp edge off which one could fall. We were told of a woman who had never left her village, until someone took her on a several day walk to a town that had a bus. She had never seen a m While village populations are shrinking, Kathmandu is growing. Its official population is 1.5 million, but current estimates put it closer to two million. Life here is not easy for most people. Recent riots have stripped the King of most of his power -- a good thing, in our opinion. But at the same time, In addition, the governm This is a particular problem for our friend Allen Aistrope of San Francisco. He has spent a great deal of time in Nepal for the past 20 years, helping children such as these orphans and abandoned children with lodging, food and education. Allen runs a no-overhead tax-exempt, nonprofit foundation called Virtue’s Children Nepal. Here is an example of the good he does. This man, Sandup Lama, was a homeless child on Kathmandu’s streets when Allen found and saved him years ago. Now 28, Sandup is married to a beautiful woman named Furpu and then have one daughter. They also have two adopted daughters, children they found abandoned and helpless. Sandup and his During this trip to Nepal we visited an ancient temple complex called Bahktapur. It lies in the Kathmandu valley, just east of the central city. What an amazing place! Our guide explained its history and took us on a tour of the surrounding area. It proved to be one of our most rewarding experience The area surrounding the temple complex is also fascinating, with tiny streets separating ancient buildings. The people here are poor, but busy with their lives. Shop owners and people on the streets were generally cheerful and friendly. The quality of life here improved dramatically after a visit by the German Chancellor. He arranged, as a gift to the people, for water, sewer and electric lines to be installed. Before that, they did not exist, even though the area is very densely populated. Since we now have a home, after traveling without a permanent residence for more than six years, we now have reason to make a few purchases -- and this was the perfect place to do that. Becky bought scarves, a miniature prayer wheel and a number of other items, and is now busy displaying them at our GWE headquarters in Montana. At the same time, we couldn’t Nepal is short of cooking gas, gasoline and numerous other necessities required by most people. With great frequency, one group or another calls a citywide strike and nothing moves, further making life a challenge. Even electricity, for those who have it, is rationed in the dry season. While we were there, the power was off at lea One reason for the unrest is the ongoing Maoist assault on the government. This is the head of the Maoists, a man said to be responsible for 14,000 deaths, many of them innocent civilians. And yet, because the government is in turmoil -- and was corrupt and undependable in the best of times -- many people here support the Maoists, who are on the verge of actual representation in the government now being formed. Every day there are reports of Maoists killing people, even though a “truce” is in effect. It seems their desire to have a significant voice in government -- or to turn it into a socialist state -- is being hampered by the fact that all they have known to this point is how to attack, shoot and blow up people, vehicles and buildings. It is a tragic situation, one that nobody believes can be resolved anytime soon. Meanwhile, the hardworking (when they can get work) people in this valley live in near desperation. Little wonder so many took to the streets in violent pr We wish these people well, and hope their challenges will soon be diminished. After all, they live in one of the most unique nations on earth, one to whom many more tourists would flock to spend money, if they felt safe. Our tour of this temple area left us with a sense of sympathy and a desire to help, and this is how. We are sponsoring a group of blind students, payin In Nepal, there is little hope for the blind. Studies show a lifespan of only three years for people going blind. Often they are left to fend for themselves in a back room or on the streets. That is why we were so pleased to help these girls with basic braille and vocational training. This girl is one of those we support. Although sightless, she has been taught to make felt slippers, which are sold in the nearby markets. She sleeps with other sightless girls, six to a room, in the same building. Her life is dramatically improved by this opportunity to learn to read (via braille, although there are few such books in Nepali), and to learn a few basic skills. If you would like to support a blind child in Nepal, please contact us mail@twogypsies.com. We will put you in touch with Allen Airstope, who will demonstrate that it is remarkably inexpensive for Americans to help these children. We know that many organizations ask for support, While we were in Kathmandu this time, we again visited Buddhanath, the largest Buddhist stupa in the country. High above a large white dome, the “eyes” of Buddha see all. In this shot, two girls sit on a ledge of the giant structure, watching people below as they circumambulate. Every afternoon and early evening, thousands of people circle the structure clockwise, chanting and praying and spinning prayer wheels as they walk. Many of these people are Tibetan. Some of the elders were forced out of Tibet by the Chinese (who continue to talk about the wonderful things they are doing for Tibet). To this day, many of them live in refugee camps in Nepal. Others reside in modest rooms in the stupa section of the valley. In the evening, we adopted their tradition by lighting candles. Our friend Sandup showed us how to do it, and told us we should then make a secret wish. We did, but it wasn’t secret long. Our most heartfelt wish is for the health, safety and prosperity of the people of Nepal, people who are long overdue for those things. While we were in This Cobra “lives” at a temple, where it overlooks a water well, demonstrating the importance of a water supply to the people who depended on this source for hundreds of years. There are so many interesting things in Nepal that we feel it would take a lifetime to explore them all. That is something many people would not want to do. Indeed, one’s first impression of this city is not positive. Trash is heaped everywhere, traffic is more frantic and noisier than we have witnessed anywhere in the world. Sanitation and food storage are severely compromised by a number of circumstances, including the long periods when there is no electricity. Don was sick most of our time here, primarily from our inability to get safe food. Yet if one looks deeper, into the customs, history and special qualities of this city and country and into the hearts of its people, it is pos One of our shopping goals was to buy a quality “Tonka,” a detailed Buddhist painting. We finally found a master artist who spent six weeks making this tonka. We asked him to sign it, and bought it. It now adorns our GWE headquarters in Montana. The thing about a tonka is that it can be difficult to understand. They have great meaning to Tibetans, meaning that goes far beyond their intricate artistry. This one represents the wheel of life, although some of the symbols and w Toward that end, we enlisted Sandup’s brother, a monk. He was very helpful, until he came to the portion written in Sanskrit! Nonetheless, we will continue to learn about this special work of art, just as we will continue to think of the good people in this special country. In life, there are things that once seen have the power to forever change us. We feel chang We hope you will view our new Nepal 2007 photo gallery. You will come away, as we did, with a better understanding of this scarred gem of a country. We flew from Kathmandu to Bangkok and visited out missionary friends Mike and Jane. The next day we too the long haul from Bangkok to Taipei to Los Angeles, and from there back to headquarters in Red Lodge, Montana. |
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Of all our years of travel, the photos we took in Nepal on this trip are our very favorites. We invite you to visit our new 
11,000 feet. Everything you see in this picture is more than 12,000 feet higher than that. The summit is 18,000 feet higher.
otorized vehicle and was frightened. He took her on the bus and during the ride she pleaded repeatedly to make it stop. Her case is not unusual for people living in the many nooks and crannies of these highest mountains on earth.
ent is just as corrupt, what there is of the government after the riots. We know of officials who steal money from orphanages to travel abroad. 
Contributions -- every cent -- go to helping homeless or crippled children, blind youth, and even lepers. If you would like to contribute to this very worthy program, or learn more about it, please contact us at: 
wife have little money, but big hearts. Because Allen saved him, he too is now dedicated to helping others. To support his famiy, he works hard, recently laboring thirty consecutive 10-hour days at a hotel for a total of $20. That’s less than 7-cents per hour.
s.
escape the fact that these people live challenging and meager lives. They huddle at night in housing that, in the U.S., would be torn down. They are concerned not only about the political turmoil that yet grips the country, but the resulting shortage of basics products.
st once per day and for at least 40 hours per week.
otest.
g for their education, housing and food for a year.
but please bear in mind that your contributions (for Americans) are tax deductible, and that there is absolutely no management “overhead” for this program. It is managed by volunteers as a labor of love.
These people and their children are proud to maintain their Tibetan and Buddhist customs and cultures. Their devotion is impressive.
Nepal, Becky made friends with a snake, a big one.
sible to form a different view, one far more sympathetic.
riting are so arcane that it is difficult to find someone capable of interpreting.
ed -- more compassionate, more concerned, more bonded to the people here -- and it is a good feeling. We have long known that is reason we dedicate ourselves to world travel. The chance to understand people whose lives are very different from our own is and empowering. It gives true perspective.