April 2009
144 posts
Shangri-Lan't
What do people come here to Kathmandu for? For me, it always held a mythical status, home of spiritual people worshiping the mountains, people I felt an inner pull for whenever I would think of them. Exhibits at the RMA (Rubin Museum of Art, Himalayan museum in New York) presented only this side and I would leave them determined to go there, find these people who shared the same awe for giant snow...
Kapuscinski
My favorite writer and personal hero, Ryszard Kapuscinski, has a better way to describe that tropics than how I put it.
In his book, The Shadow of the Sun, he writes (about Africa):
… the actual smell of the tropics is somewhat different. We instantly recognize its weight, its sticky materiality. The smell makes us at once aware that we are at that point on earth where an exuberant and...
Complainers
I’ve spoken with several travelers who say that the Nepalis do not complain, they accept things the way they are. In my few days among Nepalis, it seems to be true. When asked why they don’t speak up, they say “what can we do?” When stuffed 10 to a 7 person jeep, what can they say, that is the way things are.
Meanwhile, many other travelers make it known when they are...
Kathmandu Jesus
My first day in Kathmandu I wandered the streets of Thamel, the “tourist ghetto.” There were people from all over the world, many in flowing clothes with thick beards. Many like to consider themselves spiritual, giving special greetings with huge smiles to my monk friend who only found them bizarre.
One in particular, though, was really into it. He had a long beard, and was wearing a...
