I'm in the lounge in the Hong Kong airport, now. The flight from Kathmandu to Hong Kong was overnight, but fortunately I actually slept through most of it.
If I think about the greatest impressions of the trip, it would be the scenery and villages of the trek, of course, but also the Nepali people. Not just in the villages, but everywhere, even in the most run-down looking part of Kathmandu, people are very friendly and helpful. I also found them to be quite honest, and I always felt safe. I love that wide-eyed happy, open expression of the kids as the come up to say 'hello'.
Visually, however, Kathmandu takes some getting used to. The paving of roads does not include sidewalks or anything, and garbage collects in the dirt on the side of the road, sometimes in big heaps.
Mukund, the trek leader, explained that the Maoists recruited heavily in villages in certain parts of the country during their uprising. Once displaced from their villages, peopled tended to drift into Kathmandu. So, the population of Kathmandu has increased dramatically. However, it doesn't look like there's been any money spent to improve infrastucture like waste management, power, public transit, paving, or traffic control. And with the instability of government, the money may not come for a while. Right now I think the main thing holding things together is the good nature of the Nepali people. However, if the trend continues, Kathmandu could be headed for a real crisis.
If I think about the greatest impressions of the trip, it would be the scenery and villages of the trek, of course, but also the Nepali people. Not just in the villages, but everywhere, even in the most run-down looking part of Kathmandu, people are very friendly and helpful. I also found them to be quite honest, and I always felt safe. I love that wide-eyed happy, open expression of the kids as the come up to say 'hello'.
Visually, however, Kathmandu takes some getting used to. The paving of roads does not include sidewalks or anything, and garbage collects in the dirt on the side of the road, sometimes in big heaps.
Mukund, the trek leader, explained that the Maoists recruited heavily in villages in certain parts of the country during their uprising. Once displaced from their villages, peopled tended to drift into Kathmandu. So, the population of Kathmandu has increased dramatically. However, it doesn't look like there's been any money spent to improve infrastucture like waste management, power, public transit, paving, or traffic control. And with the instability of government, the money may not come for a while. Right now I think the main thing holding things together is the good nature of the Nepali people. However, if the trend continues, Kathmandu could be headed for a real crisis.
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