First Impressions

It's been two weeks now since we touched down in KTM (as the expats say), and it sure has been an interesting time. From the moment we stepped off the Silkair plane I've been letting go of any pre conceived ideas I had of this place and it's people! Somewhat naively I had romantic visions of cobblestoned alley ways, fruit and vegetable vendors lining the streets, mountainous views, and even the odd cafe sprawling across the city square. Now that's not to say that all those things aren't there, but I forgot the add the rubbish, dust, motorbikes and screaming fast mini buses, and pollution. I'm not talking Mexico City pollution or backstreets of Saigon stench, but proper pollution that hangs in the air causing car headlights to beam through the dust at night and mask any view of the Himalayas. That is until the rain comes. The morning after the water droplets catch the dust and pollution as they fall is spectacular. The skies become blue, the snowy tops of the Himalayas can be seen protruding above the Kathmandu Valley rim, and the colours of the buildings come out revealing a time before mass migrations saturated this city. But needless to say, what I have just described is what you see on the surface of Kathmandu.

The gap between rich and poor here is incredible. From Ex-pat parties with money'd up Nepali's, to women begging and people sleeping on the streets, it's all here. Then there is also the cows blocking intersections whilst they pick away at a discarded rubbish bag, goats that hang around Hindu temples, and monkeys that flock to the nearby Swayambhu temple at dusk, belaying themselves over the roads via phone lines - the mothers with babies clenched to them duck and weave through the oncoming Honda Hero motorbikes. You see all this as you walk down the street to buy bread for the morning or some vegetables for dinner - I don't dare touch the street vendor meat just yet!

I'm progressively learning more about the political history of Nepal and it's struggle for stable government - whether that be a democratic republic or a monarchy. The past 20 years has seen not just the popular Maoist group fight the so-called Peoples War but many other political parties have formed in the hope of one day establishing a Democratic state. Battles between the Maoist Army and the National Army ensued; millions of people were displaced, land was stolen, officials were found guilty of murder, the Nation was torn. What you see in Kathmandu today is entirely different to how it was even 5 years ago due to the migrations caused by the civil war. A local living in the area Carole and I are currently staying said that if he goes abroad for a year, he finds it hard to recognise some neighbourhoods due to the amount of construction when he returns. Ofcourse construction is not necessarily a bad thing, but in a city with no stable leadership, poor access to water as it is, the world's most at risk city for earthquakes, it seems more issues are sprouting before the previous issues can be solved. Then there is the economic development of Nepal. With court cases ongoing to try and return land to the rightful owners which the Maoist's acquired with force,the agriculture industry is in disarray. Nepal actually imports  food from India, China, Bangladesh, even though it has the potential to produce a considerable surplus of similar imported products. It's amazing what a stable Government can achieve! I actually wonder how we have done it so well in Australia.

Well that was quite the rant! I'll put up some more info soon about the day to day living we're experiencing. Work, parties, the AYAD community etc. So stay tuned!

m@