A visit to Nepal
Nepal was not on any "bucket" list of mine, but it happened in 2013. A friend named Jeff Rasley made several trips to Nepal, first as a tourist/trekker, then later as a man with a mission: to bring progress to one small village in Nepal with the help of his friend Niru Rai, who is from Basa Village but now lives in Kathmandu where he owns and operates Adventure Geo Treks (P) Ltd. Adventure Geo Treks employs many residents of Basa Village. The company is a form of economic development for that small community of about 250 men, women and children in 62 families. Jeff and Niru wanted to help Basa Village and do it in a way that did not also import the consumer society of the USA. You can learn more about their efforts at www.basavillagefoundation.com.
In the fall of 2012, my granddaughter Jessica was about to enter her senior year at Marian University when she met Jeff and heard his story. She thought it would be enlightening for her classmates at Marian University to add a course in third world philanthropy and have Jeff teach it. At the end of the course, there would be a trip to Nepal, with a trek to Basa Village, for any students who wished to go. The planning began immediately. Jessica asked if I would agree to be one of the two adults who must accompany any trip that Marian University students take. Thinking the course would never be approved and I would not be going to Nepal--have you ever tried to persuade a university to offer a new course, taught by an outsider?-- I said "yes." Well, the new course was approved, the outsider was hired, students did enroll and I was committed to a trip to Nepal, a country I knew almost nothing about.
We flew to Kathmandu, Nepal and after a day of acclimation, set off to Basa Village. This small village is east of Kathmandu, well south of the Himalayas and generally "off the beaten path." Almost no tourists come to visit this part of Nepal. After the trek, the plan was to return to Kathmandu, some would head home and others would experience more of Nepal. Jessica and I along with two other Marian University students decided to spend an extra week in Nepal, where we visited Chitwan National Park in the far south, on the border with India, then we took in Pokhara, a former royal retreat and the second largest city in the country. Based on our observations, Pokhara is also a popular tourist destination for the people of Nepal, China, India and Japan as well as a few Americans and Europeans.
Kathmandu
Pedestrians, motorbikes, cars and buses all vie for space in the generally poorly maintained streets of Kathmandu in seeming chaos to an American, but with the "collective consciousness" of the people in Nepal, traffic flows reasonably well. There are wide thoroughfares, small streets and even some one lane roads where tour buses crowd in with vans, cars, bicycle taxis and pedestrians. There are relatively few traffic lights, but at some busy intersections, you will find a throwback to English times with officers (many wearing face masks, as do many residents, to deal with the poor air quality) using manual signs to direct traffic.
More to come, soon. This Nepal page is still under construction!!!!