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This log runs through November 25, 2003 October 24, 2003 in Kathmandu, Nepal CLICK HERE for Nepal Photo Gallery One. The longer we are in Kathmandu, the more fascinating it seems. We are in our third week now and, as Becky says, “There is so much more to this city than any outsider can discover in a short time. Our current plan is to stay until December or January and hope that we will come to understand this place better.
Worst of all for the nation as a whole, the U.S. State Department has issued a Travel Warning for Nepal. While they have no choice but to warn Americans against dangers, the news of the armed robberies of foreign trekkers and the kidnapping of foreigners will further retard tourism here and will hurt many thousands of people who depend on it directly or indirectly. Some of these people barely have enough to eat -- especially since the Maoists are confiscating food from poor farmers, (not to mention forcibly recruiting into their army at least one male from each family they “visit” ). We know men in Kathmandu who dare not return to their wives and families in rural villages where Maoists are active, so they work here and send money to their families in the mountains. We’ve been asked to explain the very complex political and military situation here, and we are unable to say it as clearly as did a writer in the Kathmandu Post a couple of days ago. Therefore, we’ve used his piece in our “Q&A” section. October 25, 2003 in Kathmandu We have decided to go to Pokhara, a town west of Kathmandu, next Wednesday and stay for one or two weeks. Maoists have not been active in the actual town of Pokhara, so we think we’ll be safe there. Unfortunately, we will not be able to trek the beautiful surrounding mountains, because Maoist rebels are very active there (many armed robberies on the trekking trails). Still, we will have great mountain views of the high Himalaya, we hope to return with some great photos. We’ll leave some of our things in Kathmandu, meaning that our personal possessions will be scattered in yet another location: deposited in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bangkok, at the mission hospital in rural Thailand, in a shed and house in Yuma, Arizona, on a boat in Los Angeles, in a shed and house in South Dakota, and aboard our sailboat on the Chesapeake. Such is the life of nomadic gypsies! Speaking of photos, in Nepal Photo Gallery Four you’ll find some shots we took during the Deepwali festival (the third night of the Hindu festival of Tihar). While the five days of Tihar mostly celebrates animals, on night three it is believed that the Goddess of Wealth will visit each home that is properly lighted for her presence. Nepalis therefore clean their homes and businesses in preparation for her visit. They decorate the entrances and use butter-lamp candles to light a path to their doorways and places of household prayer, so the Goddess will be encouraged to enter and bless the home with wealth in the coming year. See the photos in Gallery Four.
Note for photo and computer buffs: In less than three weeks in Nepal we have already taken more than 500 photos, saving 342 on the laptop. They require 1.62 GB of disk space (averaging 4.7 MB per photo). We’ll not take the laptop to Pokhara because of Cosmic Airlines carry-on restrictions. But we have 3 GB worth of memory chip storage available, 30 rechargeable AA batteries for the Minolta digital, and two 220v chargers. That should last a week or two! This country is a photographer’s paradise. And yes, we religiously back up the laptop (currently 16 GB of data) onto DVD disks. We also copy the newest photos onto CD’s and send them back to the USA with other travelers in prepaid mailers to be sent to family in Utah for safekeeping. Today we’re having three 14 MB photos printed on glossy paper up to 15 inches in size, as a test. It’s a shame that we have to reduce them to 45 KB for the website. That’s a 311-fold reduction! Today’s news note: it has been reported that some functions of the Nepali government are not being performed because a surprising number of ranking government employees have managed to get work visas in the USA. They still hold their jobs and get paid in Nepal, but don’t physically live here! And the Nepali government has no record that they left. Interesting. Now if we can just get some senior U.S. government officials to come and live here covertly, maybe both countries will be somewhat better off. October 27, 2003 at a Kathmandu Orphanage Those lucky enough to be in the Orphanage have sponsors overseas who cover their lodging (all 50 in one room), as well as food and health care. They create strong brotherly bonds with each other and come to love the structure of “family” live in the Orphanage. Because of the Orphanage and the support of generous individuals (many American), many formerly “hopeless” and desperate children have completed school, married and gone on to become productive members of Nepali society. Some have have graduated from universities, a a few earning their doctorates. For more details and photos, click the Nepal FOUR Photo Gallery link above. October 28, 2003 leaving Kathmandu (temporarily) November 11, 2003 after twelve days in Pokhara, Nepal We took photos of the high mountains the only day it was perfectly clear while we were there. It was astonishing, standing on a small 5,000 foot mountain and gazing at peaks 21,000 feet above us.
At a school for the blind we were treated to a musical concert and met children who, although they could not see, immediately became our friends. One blind girl had been “rescued” by our American friend Allan when he saw her begging on the streets of Kathmandu as a 3 or 4 year old -- and that because she hadn’t raised enough money, her father had broken her arm in three places, in hopes of increasing her income potential and pathetic appearance. Now she’s free of her father’s oppression, hasn’t seen him in years, and has healed well physically and emotionally. Thanks to the education and confidence she’s gained at the blind boarding school, she’s blossomed into a bright, intelligent, capable young woman of seventeen. We also met some delightful Tibetan ladies at a refugee camp. They arrived in Nepal in 1959, when the Chinese drove them out of their homeland north of here. For 43 years they have lived in the camp which was generously built (and well-built) by the Nepalis, and they now sell small handicrafts to earn money for daily needs. We were moved not only by their plight, but their optimism and adaptability. We learned much about Nepal and its rural people -- and its current horrible political situation. The night before we arrived in Pokhara Maoists blew up a police station on the edge of town. And we met tourists who were robbed at gunpoint on the hiking trails. It is obvious why we stayed close to town, and the American embassy recommends against trekking. We’re back in Kathmandu, where we’ll continue learning about this beautiful and complex nation until we depart for Thailand, probably about December 5. CLICK HERE for the new Nepal Photo Gallery Five. CLICK HERE for the new Nepal Photo Gallery Six. November 14, 2003 in Kathmandu, Nepal Maoists are conducting their insurgency in a variety of ways, some of which can be seen indirectly. For example, there is an excess of young men in Kathmandu and Pokhara, because Maoists go from house to house in rural areas forcibly ‘recruiting’ one male from each home (if there is one) to their ‘army.’ If the young men refuse to join the Maoists, they will be shot instantly, according to our young male friends. The situation has become so severe that many men have relocated in the few spots that are “safe,” such as Pokhara and Kathmandu. There, they wait for change hoping to someday return to their wives, families, and homes in the rural areas controlled by the Maoists. We personally know one pleasant young man who spent years developing a lodge and restaurant business in a village where Annapurna Circuit trekkers stop in their first week of hiking. Now, because of Maoist danger, our friend has moved to the city and has been separated from his wife for many months. He knows that he’ll be captured by Maoists and forced to fight for them if he returns home. Meanwhile, his wife, back in the village, has turned to farming for subsistence because few trekkers are hiking these days (for obvious reasons). We have also met trekkers who who were robbed at gunpoint on the trail. We learned yesterday that four young men, close friends of the Nepali man mentioned above, were recently “drafted” by the Maoists -- and that a few days ago they were given guns and told to join an attack on an Army outpost. All four died in the firefight. Another example from today’s newspaper: a few days ago Maoists posted a notice for the residents of several villages. It said that five villagers will be killed at random unless the Maoists are told the names of the people who tipped off the Nepali Army to their presence. But Maoists aren’t the only ones engaged in senseless killings. Human rights groups frequently charge army and police personnel with irrational acts, usually associated with the shooting of people only suspected of being Maoists. In Pokhara the other day we saw a young man being detained by Army troops. We learned that although he was a poor farmer, he had been caught in Lakeside with an airline ticket, a considerable amount of money, and a gun. This is a very serious offense. The next morning we asked a local businessman what he thought happened with the young man. The response: “If he had a gun, they probably shoot him last night.” Defense lawyers aren’t that busy around here.
We have asked three of our new friends here about the integrity of the police. Each one said he as been beaten or jailed until a bribe was paid. One had his long hair cut off by the police.
Although we have said it for years on this site, it bears repeating: Our goal is to see each place we visit from a positive and optimistic perspective -- and yet in fairness to our readers, we do not overlook problems that might be factors in individuals’ decisions whether to visit. We have felt perfectly safe here, for the most part. At the same time, we have canceled plans to travel and trek in outlying areas (and our readers know that we love rural areas and avoid populated centers), and we were disconcerted to learn that a few days ago Nepal Army troops came to our hotel and arrested one employee suspected of being a Maoist. Again, we encourage you to visit our photo galleries and note the text at the bottom of each enlarged photo. You’ll find information that supplements and amplifies that in this log. Here are all six links: CLICK HERE for Nepal photo gallery one November 14, 2003 in Kathmandu In yet another area, several Maoists were shot and soldiers wounded in a fierce battle. Today’s paper also reveals international human rights organizations’ concerns over abuses by the Nepali Army, including the torture of prisoners. The situation here continues to deteriorate on every front. November 17, 2003 in Kathmandu November 23, 2003 in Kathmandu The paper reports that yesterday a 28 year old farmer was forced by the Maoists to dig a hole. Then they chopped his legs off and buried him alive. He had made the mistake of having a brother serving in the Army. The Maoists have become inhumanly brutal. It’s difficult to believe things like this are happening every day, and yet the government just bickers with each other and the King does absolutely nothing. It’s just shocking. We may leave Nepal a few days earlier than planned. Four new photos in gallery six (link above). November 25, 2003 in Kathmandu “It’s sort of like being flushed down a huge open-air toilet, but the Tidy Bowl Man is your guide and there are no worries.” We’re not normally over-cautious, but there is something unappealing about being flushed down ANY toilet. November 27, 2003 We conclude this log with the above eye-opening headline in today’s newspaper. This concludes Nepal Log Two. Please join us at to the top of Nepal Three: CLICK HERE for the next log. |
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We’re continuing to monitor the Maoist activities. They’ve been very busy recently killing, abducting or robbing people, blowing lots of things up and causing havoc in many ways. Recently, after kidnapping two British Army officers and releasing them the next day, they announced that they realized their tactics might be counterproductive and they would become less violent. The next day they blew up more buildings and shot several Nepali Army personnel. 
During the Festival of Light, children visit homes and businesses to sing and dance, asking for small donations of money. It’s a bit like America’s “trick or treat.” We were treated to this spectacle at several places around Thamel tonight. As an aside, most Nepali people have beautiful, white teeth. This girl could be mistaken for a Nepali Osmond family member.
What a fabulous time it was. We hiked up a small mountain, took some great photos of the area, and found it to be a beautiful place. We also visited people with Leprosy, a school for the blind, and a refugee camp for Tibetans.
At a Leper community we visited elderly people who have been isolated many years because of the disease that has ravaged them. We were with an American who has been helping them for years. He purchased mattresses and, upon learning that they were all sharing a small cooking stove, bought them all stoves. It was a disturbing and yet uplifting experience because the lepers are content and happy to be living independently.
Another example: last week a young Kathmandu businessman and a friend were driving down the street and accidentally bumped into a small army bus. No sooner had the minor collision occurred than a soldier jumped off the bus and shot through the car’s window, killing the driver as he sat behind the wheel. Even though there were numerous witnesses, when an Army officer was asked about the incident he replied that the man was shot because he was “running away.”
We hate having to report these things, especially since Nepal is otherwise such a terrific place to visit. We have met many wonderful Nepali people here and we very much want to visit again. It’s unfortunate that nobody feels optimistic that the situation can be resolved. The U.S. State Department has issued travel warnings, and while we appreciate their interest in protecting Americans against being in the wrong place as the Maoist violence continues, the resultant reduction in tourism hurts many people who make their living from tourism. We’ve hardly met any Americans here, so the warnings must be effective.
