In Kathmandu, 'waiting' for trek
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2007
1
7
12
Trip End
Oct 29, 2007
Kathmandu,
Nepal
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Kathmandu - sounds exotic, really just dusty.
A capital city overrun with motorcycles, tuk-tuks.
Pulsating flow of humanity, not the scale of India,
But overwhelming to a Westerner, non-the-less.
Temples, palaces, stupas, over 300 years old,
Some restored, many suffering from neglect and earthquakes.
All still in use, Hindu, Buddhist, some seem a mix.
As with India, religous worship seems all pervasive.
Elaborate images of veneration have been targets for art thieves,
Some finding their way to Western museums are returned:
Should they be back in open, crowded temples, to be stolen again?
Should they be "safe' in Nepali museums, still inaccessible to worshippers?
Tourist circle must include ghats, funeral pyres at Pashupati,
Photos from respectful distance across the sacred Bagmati River.
The smoke wafts the departed spirit into the air and winds carry to the hills,
Is our industrial strength, hidden, crematorium, really better. I think not.
Kathmandu, a teeming mass of hopeful peasants,
Displaced from the fields, day laborers on the streets,
Oppressed by shop owners and landlords,
Fertile field for crime and Maoist harranguers.
Kathmandu, a place of opportunity for some,
Serving the trekking world traveler or Eastern trader.
Desperate for stability, knowing past government failures.
Can full representative voting and government satisfy both important groups?
Kathmand, just a way station, to us preparing to trek,
Will the weather break, will the planes go?
We we be in the right place at the right time.
Travelling is always an adventure, never more so than now.
Comments
hi dad
been joyfully reading ur entries while keeping u in my prayers & an eye on everest area weather.
hope ur having the time of ur life.
happy 2 hear of ur vision & adventures.
love, amy
licks, maxine