Nepal - Kathmandu
Last week was Chinese New Year which pretty much means the entire city shuts down for apx 4-5 days. And by "shuts down" I mean even the dependable 24 hour minimart is guaranteed to be closed!
Kingsley and I arrived in Singapore the week of Chinese New Year - one year ago. Everything was so exotic and strange then but I do remember being shocked to see a massive city come to a jolting halt for the New Years celebrations. Its crazy to think an entire year has gone by. The year of the Tiger has finished, the year of the Rabbit has just begun...
There are often fuel shortages as well. Our hotel in Kathmandu could not send the hotel car to pick us up at the airport due to lack of fuel.
Most business transactions take place on the street or sidewalk as the shops are often dark due to lack of electricity.
About half the population in Nepal live below the international poverty line of $ 1.25 per day.
Although we enjoyed the CNY celebrations last year we were eager to take advantage of a few vacation days and explore a bit more of Asia. Typically any travel within Asia during Chinese New Year is incredibly expensive with most places booking out months in advance. However, Kingsley and I managed to find one country that wasn't overbooked - Nepal! I guess visiting one of the poorest countries in the world wasn't in the top 10 CNY vacation list!
We had a few simple goals on this trip. Kingsley - paragliding. Lynn - medical volunteer work.
Both - learn about and explore Nepal. We ended up joining a group of paragliders from Seattle for the week we were there. When participating in a dangerous sport in a third world country it is typically better to have a group to watch your back and help out if anything happens!
I didn't know very much about Nepal before we booked our tickets. But thanks to my (top 5 favorite things I own) Kindle I was able to download a few books about Nepal. I would highly recommend reading Little Princes. An amazing story about a college kid who volunteers in an Orphanage in Nepal then returns a year later to open his own Orphanage for in Kathmandu.
Bath time on the side of a busy road in Kathmandu
The last 10 years have not been easy for Nepalese people. First the (much loved) King and family were shot and killed by the King's son at dinner in the palace one night. Evidently the son was angry that he wasn't allowed to marry a girl from a different caste so killed the whole family. Then the Kings brother took over but no one really liked him very much (kind of like Mustafa and Scar in the Lion King). In 2006 after years of Civil war, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) succeeded in kicking the King out. In 2008 a Democratic Republic was established but to this day there is no clear political leader or party.
All of the fighting and instability has meant extreme poverty for the people of Nepal. Although it is rich in natural resources, there is only electricity for 6 hours a day as the rest is sold to India (rumored - to pad some politicians pocket). You never know when the 6 hours of electricity will be, often we found it was in the middle of the night which makes it kind of useless.
You can see the inside of the shop (on the right) is dark due to no electricity
Most business transactions take place on the street or sidewalk as the shops are often dark due to lack of electricity. 
About half the population in Nepal live below the international poverty line of $ 1.25 per day. Although this blog post paints a pretty grim picture there is a lot of hope for the future. For a start, tourists (like us) are starting to return to Nepal bringing in much needed revenue. Also the Nepalese people are gentle but tough, they are survivors.
Labels:
Nepal,
Travel Adventures
Another great blog, Lynn!
Such an old culture seemingly untouched by time.
Your pictures transmit the culture so well. My all time favorite is the baby with the hat in the basket!
I agree with your Mom...the picture of the baby in the hanging basket was so cute. All your pictures are amazing. I love all your comments on them too.
I love your story about Nepal. People don't realize that Kathmandu is an urbanized city and it has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It's a far cry from the collection of old buildings and century-old temples that we came to know. It's amazing how the Nepalis can keep progressing while conserving their rich culture and tradition.