In November of 2001 I arrived in Nepal with the intent to go trekking. No surprise. That's what we tourist are supposed to do in Nepal - hire a guide, maybe a yak or two, and head off into the mountains.
My trek lasted one day before an infection in my foot flared up and I limped back to Kathmandu. I spent the next 2 weeks hanging with a monk and his flock of monk underlings who I had met on the flight in from Thailand.
I attended ceremonies, ate sticky rice with my fingers, was blessed by reincarnated bulletproof monks, and helped rebuild a monastery. My time in Nepal was more memorable than any trek could have ever been; read more about it here.
When the Nepalese government had sent troops out to confront the growing Maoist threat, the country became a litte too dicey for my tastes. I left. Since the Maoist uprising, over 12,000 people have been killed, soldiers and civilians alike in conflicts and random bombings. The country as a whole seems to be nearing anarchy - people are calling for the King's execution and government officials have been thrown in jail.
It is a war that never makes the newspapers.
Today is the 10th anniversary of the maoist uprising. Read about it here.
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I have friends in Nepal and I'd like to visit them someday.
But the political climate is not very encouraging. We looked into going last year but airport strikes combined with car-bombings in the town we'd be staying in made going in our limited vacation time dicey. Maybe we should have just gone anyway.
After all, we ended up travelling in Africa instead, which can be a little unpredictable as well.
Your blog is very interesting reading, by the way.
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