Nepal
Kathmandu
The internet is terrible. We often don’t get electricity but the people here are wonderful. One minute the guy from my hotel is a waiter and the next he is a builder. He works from 6 am until 10pm to try and restore the Kathmandu guest house to it’s former glory. They all do even the managers and the General Managers. Almost like having your own business except they don’t get the profits! I do feel for them as the hotel is half in bits and half OK.
Lots of people here are living in tents and, as it is monsoon, they are living in mud and squalor. There is not enough clean water and although the earthquake damage is getting better lack of water is now bringing disease and if it continues then there will be even more deaths. then comes winter and the need for tarpaulins to cover the holes in the bamboo structures in the villages. An Indian friend tried to get her parents to send tarpaulin from Dehli but it got stuck in customs and wasn’t sent. How crazy is that! There is also the petrol crisis where India, the main supplier, is refusing to supply Nepal with petrol so there are shortages not just with taxis but food supplies getting from one place to another. Queues stretch almost two kilometres in some places. Kathmandu is like a ghost towns tourists stay away despite the all clear from any earthquake danger.
Pokhara is a beautiful town with a gorgeous stunning green lake reflecting the mountains behind. Shops and restaurants abound and many hotels can rightly claim to have views of Annapurna from their windows. Most tours of Annapurna and the Himalaya start from Pokhara and all supplies for a trek can be bought here as well as tours organised. But for the lack of tourists it is hard to believe that there are problems in Nepal in this peaceful environment and a trip here is well worthwhile. I trekked Annapurna without the crowds and with beautiful displays of spring flowers.
Chitwan National Park has wonderful bird and animal life. We saw crocodiles, hippos and the tracks of a tiger. Kingfishers, parrots and eagles flew above while we floated down the river in our dugout canoe. Nepal is so much more than just Kathmandu. The people have been devastated by the earthquakes and they need visitors as now they are suffering from lack of tourists.The photos are from Bhaktapur, Patan, Chitwan National Park and Pokhara. Chitwan national park is amazing and well worth visiting. Thank you Madhav Gautam my guide to Chitwan National park.
