If I ever get out of here, I'm going to Katmandu

It's actually Kathmandu, but to be fair to Bob Seger many folks pronounce it Katmandu.  So, Nepal at first blush has been mind boggling.  From the moment I got off the plane I felt like I was on the far side of the world.  The Kathmandu valley is much larger than I anticipated and the city is more chaotic.  The land dominates the scene but humanity dominates one's attention.  In the distance mountains rise on all sides, but in the fore people are in constant motion.  Motorized tillers converted to low speed cargo wagons (the MacGyver in me was impressed) are hauling grain to roadside stands, cows and dogs are wandering aimlessly through the streets, monks are deep in conversation oblivious to cab drivers going three or four wide on the wrong side of the flow of traffic (Kyle Busch can't pass like these guys).  I would call it organized chaos but organized really doesn't apply.  The artisan trades only slightly outnumber western services and goods.  The juxtaposition of handmade brass statuary shops and internet cafes is surreal.  But as always it is the people who make the place, and the Nepalese folks have been delightful.  Early to bed, early to rise, soft spoken and hard working.  I am currently staying in a guesthouse in a burb called Boudha, which is centered around a high holy stupa for Tibetan Buddhists.  So in addition to Nepalese citizens I also find myself interacting with a number of Tibetans.  These mountain people are more laid back and remind me a little of folks from Appalachia.  Needless to say, I feel really comfortable around them.  

For all the natural and human beauty Nepal is still a developing country, and as such the poverty and pollution are heart-wrenching.  Sacred rivers look like neglected sewers, beggars and street kids appear on every block, and animals run rampant defecating in the middle of the dusty, rutted, dirt side streets.  The smog here might be the worst I've experienced (worse than Vog for my HI friends)

I personally have been oscillating between reverent awe and poignant shock.  In any case it is a phenomenal country with fantastic people and I look forward to sharing more of it with you all.