Au-revoir Kathmandu!

Greetings,
Our stay in Kathmandu is now over. I feel disheartned. This country has so many challenges ahead. The roads here are non exsistent, there is dust everywhere and the water quality for the citizens is very questionable. The people of Nepal are very endearing. They are very gentle spirited. My heart does ache for them wondering how they will dig themselves out of the hole.

We were on our way to see the Buddist Stupah when we came across a demonstration in the middle of the street. People were angry about the death of a person on the road in one of the outlying communities. So, they decided to protest in front of the police station, demanding compensation from the government. Apparantly this happens often. The traffic was at a standstill. For the first time in my life in a long time I felt uncomfortable. I asked Gene to lock his door as I locked my door too. There was this wave of uncertainty. Nothing happened, we turned around and came back to our hotel.

Earlier, we had gone to an ancient city known as Bhaktapur. It has been restored to it's original splendor. The Germans had restored many buildings. The city was clean and orderly. Compared to the rest of Kathmandu, which is in an eternal state of chaos. Seeing how Bhaktapur could be so organized, it made me feel like anything is possible. I am an eternal optimist. In this city we saw potters making beautiful vases and piggy banks. The wheel was unusual. The potter spun it with a large stick, when the desired speed was achieved he plunked his large slab of clay and kept throwing pots from the same mound. The potter in me was happy to see this. They had a gigantic kiln, the heat was achieved by burning straw. I am guessing the clay was low fire. I could go on but I'll stop. After this we did go to a cremation site on a holy river. The stark contrast between what we witnessed on the Ganga and here was heartbreaking. The river is just stagnant water, really polluted. And, yet daily there are cremations adding to the contaminants in the river. We did witness a body being brought forth for the cremation. The family prepared the body and then covered it with a white cloth. Men and women, members of the family of the man who had died were present. Women were not allowed in the past, but that is changing.

Gene too felt that a tough road lies ahead for the citizens of Nepal. He loves to debate the consequences of how religion affects a community. Does it hinder of help? I am still pondering that question! Kathmandu does not have really rich people nor does it have destitute people. They all are trying to survive. They are a kind and gentle people who find themselves sandwiched between two super powers, India and China. With no place else to go to.

I will write more from Bhutan. The government of Bhutan believes in the gross national happiness of it's citizens. I am anxious to see how that experiment is progressing.
More later,
Sunita.