THE A-Z OF NEPAL

A few years ago I spent some time doing voluntary work (building a school) in rural Nepal.

It was far and away the best experience of my life. The warmth and the friendliness of the people despite everything they have to put up with is something I will never forget.

When I got home I wrote a 6000 word A-Z of Nepal for the volunteers the next year so they would have a bit more of an idea when they arrived.

This was all 4 years ago so some of the information is out of date. Nevertheless, I am going to serialise it here.

Here is the first section which is A to C…

A

A is for Altitude - The Himalayas are known as “the roof of the world” and even in Kathmandu you are at around 800 metres altitude. Altitude sickness can kick in at around 2,500m but you can easily find yourself getting tired quickly at lower levels. You probably won’t notice it in Kathmandu or Pokhara but when you get out into the villages it will hit you. After about a week you should have adjusted and be able to move about as normal. If you are very high up though, it won’t get much easier for a long time.

A is for Americans - not the most popular people in Nepal. There are several reasons for this. The Maoists have declared that they do not want Americans in Nepal. As a response to this the US government has warned its citizens not to go there. However, there are still American tourists and more than that there are allegedly American troops too (although estimates vary as to how many - the figure I heard most was about 100 soldiers). The US and Nepali governments both say that the troops are only there to train the Royal Nepal Army in order to defeat the Maoist insurgents. Whilst the Maoists are certain to be annoyed by this fact alone they contend that the US military wants to set up a permanent residence, which may or may not be true. This would be strategically important and advantageous for the US due to the proximity to China. If you meet a Maoist he is likely to ask you if you are an American, even if you are, just say no. Americans will not get trouble in the tourist areas, but if they stray into the villages they may be unlucky.

A is for Army - the Royal Nepal Army are, at time of writing, extremely active in Nepal. The political troubles mean that there are checkpoints everywhere and there are heavily armed soldiers roaming around at all hours. Whilst the numbers are impressive the effectiveness doesn’t seem to be. The army is also extremely unpopular with the average Nepali.

B

B is for the Batcave - just outside Pokhara is the Batcave or ‘Chomero Gupha’. Now that his secret is out it appears that Bruce Wayne will have to move elsewhere. Also, given that the batcave is in Nepal it gives us an idea how fast the batmobile must go if he could always get to Gotham City to catch criminals in time.

B is for Buff (Buffalo) - Hindu religion does not permit the eating of beef. However, you will find it relatively easy to get a buff steak. There is no massive difference between beef and buff (in fact sometimes buff is beef which has been culled in India and sent to Nepal but remains buff on the menu so as not to offend strict Hindus).

C

C is for Child mortality - this is a huge problem in Nepal. 27,000 children die every year from diarrhoea alone. With the political problems currently faced by Nepal and a growing population (its expected to double in the next 25 years) this problem is going to get worse unless drastic steps are taken to improve sanitation and provide clean drinking water.C is for Commission - this is the favourite game of many of the more “colourful” traders. When you arrive at the airport you may have a hotel in mind. You may ask the taxi driver to take you there. Do not be surprised if you are then informed that the hotel has burnt down or has changed its name or some such thing. It hasn’t burnt down or changed its name - you have just been playing your first game of COMMISSION^TM. The taxi driver in addition to your fare will be receiving a slice of your hotel bill too. Kathmandu is where the most skilled players are and as long as you don’t take any nonsense and argue in order to get where you really want to go, it can actually be quite funny (on the other hand, it can be a fright if you have just been informed that the hotel all your friends who arrived the day before you are in has burnt down - which is what happened to me).

C is for Corruption - always a major problem. Many anti-globalisation protestors and NGOs do not like people raising this issue in relation to developing nations in case people decide to withdraw their support because they do not feel their money will go where it is most needed. Nonetheless, it is a problem and ignoring it will not make it go away. The “Kathmandu Elite” tend to misappropriate a lot of funds that were meant to go to more worthy causes. When the Maoists first started out they worked mainly at exposing the corruption in Nepal. This is why at first they were extremely popular.

C is for Crime - despite having a civil war on Nepal, in terms of street crime is actually one of the safest places you could visit. Crime is incredibly low and there really isn’t a problem at all with regards petty theft and muggings and the like. Tourists have less chance of being mugged or robbed here than maybe anywhere else they could go.

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