Nepal Watching

India and China wrestle for influence in turbulent Nepal as civil war fears rise

2011-06-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

As the Himalayan nation of Nepal struggles to find a political solution to years of civil war, the country has become a battleground for strategic influence between its two giant neighbours, India and China.

BY VANCOUVER SUN JUNE 22, 2011

As the Himalayan nation of Nepal struggles to find a political solution to years of civil war, the country has become a battleground for strategic influence between its two giant neighbours, India and China.

All the indications are that China is winning as it employs far more deft tactics of diplomacy, and economic and military aid than its rivals in New Delhi.

India, in contrast, has on several occasions been exposed as using the kind of heavy-handed and hectoring tactics it employs all too frequently when dealing with its junior partners in the South Asia region.

This is more than a popularity contest between Beijing and New Delhi among the power brokers of Kathmandu. Nepal and its 30 million people occupy some highly strategic geography between India and Chinese-occupied Tibet.

This is a region where New Delhi and Beijing have several unresolved territorial disputes and there are regular skirmishes. Both countries are upgrading their roads, railways and airstrips along their borders so as to be able to move their armies swiftly to the front if need be.

Nepal became particularly fertile ground for Indian and Chinese rivalry after November 2005, with an agreement to end the country's decade-long civil war in which Maoist insurgents battled the forces of a corrupt and dissolute monarchy.

Elections early in 2008 for a 601-member Constituent Assembly led to the end of the monarchy.

King Gyanendra was replaced by President Ram Baran Yadav as head of state.

But there has been almost no progress in drawing up a new constitution since then. That work was meant to be completed within two years. But there was a political vacuum for the first eight months as assembly members made 16 failed attempts to select a prime minister.

They were then given a yearlong extension to the end of May this year, but they only met eight times for a total of 95 minutes.

President Yadav has now given the assembly a further three months to come up with an outline constitution. But few expect to see any significant developments by the end of August.

The euphoria evident among ordinary Nepalese when the civil war ended has collapsed into disillusionment and even hostility toward the assembly. Many fear a return to conflict.

That's not an irrational anxiety. One of the problems is nearly 20,000 Maoist fighters who are in camps across the country, but who should have been integrated into the national security forces.

All sorts of unresolved details have hindered this integration. The other main party in the assembly along with the Communists, the Nepal Congress Party, is understandably not keen on holding new elections while its main political rivals still have a large standing army.

And the Communists are not a unified force. There is a good deal of squabbling and jockeying for position among the various Maoist factions.

These days, of course, Beijing is not a great supporter of Maoism and, ironically, had good relations with King Gyanendra while New Delhi supported the reformist Congress Party.

But since the 2005 ceasefire, Beijing has sent a steady stream of military aid to Nepal including, most recently, a $20-million package announced by the chief of the general staff of China's People's Liberation Army, Gen. Chen Bingde, during a March visit.

In 2008 Beijing and Kathmandu announced the building of a 770-kilometre-long railway from the Tibetan capital Lhasa to the Nepalese border town of Khasa.

This is due to be completed in 2013 and China is also looking at building six new cross-border highways.

While China has been extending its military and economic bonds with Nepal, India has been fumbling.

New Delhi backed the military in a spat with the Maoist-led government in 2009. It then ignored the universally good advice to never quarrel with people who buy ink by the ton.

New Delhi got into an argument with Nepal's largest newspaper publishing company over "unfriendly editorials," and blocked the transit of newsprint to the media group.

Some members of the assembly have claimed Indian officials have threatened them with various forms of retribution if they don't vote the way New Delhi wants.

China has been careful not to directly provoke India, but is very happy at New Delhi's discomfiture.

jmanthorpe@vancouversun.com

Maoist Party Backs Marxist Party PM Candidate

2011-02-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

3 February 2011
Profile: New Nepal Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal
By Joanna Jolly
BBC News, Kathmandu

NEPAL AT A CROSSROADS

After more than seven months as a rudderless country without a prime minister, politicians in landlocked Nepal have elected a new leader.

Jhalanath Khanal, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), won a clear majority of votes in parliament after he gained the backing of the Maoist party.

In doing so, 60-year-old Mr Khanal - the youngest of seven siblings - has become the 34th Prime Minister of Nepal.

Born in the south-eastern district of Ilam in 1950, he has been involved in politics for over three decades.

In 1990 and 2006, he played a role in the pro-democracy protests against the monarchy which finally led to its abolition in 2008.

Mr Khanal became an MP for the Ilam constituency after elections for Nepal's constituent assembly in 2008.

A year later, the former information and communications minister was elected chairman of the CPN-UML party.

This is not the first time he has stood as candidate for prime minister.

Mr Khanal was also nominated during the country's previous attempts to elect a new leader, which ended on Thursday after 16 failed votes.

Addressing parliament before the election, he said it was crucial for political leaders to consolidate the progress made since Nepal's 10-year civil conflict between Maoist guerrillas and the army ended in 2006.

"We must move ahead very quickly or once again be plunged into crisis," he told reporters.

"Parliament's main task is to draft the new national constitution and I can assure you that we will achieve that under my party's leadership of the next government."

Political disagreements
The deadline for writing the constitution is 28 May. Mr Khanal will also have to deal with the issue of the future of more than 19,000 Maoist fighters.

Mr Khanal must hold different factions together if he is to succeed
Under the peace deal signed in 2006, they should either be integrated into the national security forces or return to civilian life.

Political disagreements over how to handle this issue has held up the peace process.

Last month, the United Nations mission charged with overseeing the process withdrew from Nepal after the country's political parties did not extend its mandate.

The disagreements over how to handle this issue has held up the peace process. Last month, the United Nations Mission in Nepal (Unmin) - charged with overseeing the process - withdrew from Nepal after the country's political parties did not extend its mandate.

Analysts say another major challenge for Mr Khanal will be to keep his CPN-UML party behind him.

Many of the party's members distrust the Maoists and have been arguing against joining hands with them.

Similarly, it is still not clear if the influential Nepali Congress party - which helped elect Mr Khanal's predecessor Madhav Kumar Nepal to the post of prime minister - will join a coalition led by him.

Talking to the BBC on Thursday, Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala blamed the CPN-UML of betrayal, insisting that his party will remain in opposition.

Mr Khanal becomes pilot of the ship as it enters choppy waters.

Poorest and Richest: Nepal Second Poorest

2010-08-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

Bing Video

Security Information for U.S. Citizens in Nepal

2010-05-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

From: "US Department of State Warden Message"
Date: May 7, 2010 9:21:43 AM CDT
To: "US Department of State Warden Message"
Subject: Embassy Kathmandu Warden Message - May 7, 2010

The Unified CPN-Maoist Party has been carrying out nationwide strikes since Sunday, May 2, 2010. The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu has been closed since May 3rd and will likely remain closed until the strikes are lifted. Large demonstrations and traffic disruptions continue to occur around Kathmandu and throughout the country. These strikes, or "bandhs" as they are referred to locally, have been successful in completely shutting down vehicular movement and businesses. As of May 7, 2010, the political situation remains deadlocked and we are unable to predict when the strike will conclude.

Supplies are running short in some places and travel has been disrupted throughout the country. Businesses and public transport have been severely affected. Essential supplies are dwindling and the strike has made it difficult or sometimes prevented supplies from being replenished. U.S. citizens are encouraged to stock adequate supplies of water, food, fuel, money and medication. Shops and markets are allowed to open for several hours each morning and evening. Some hotels are concerned about not being able to provide adequate services to tourists in Nepal. While the demonstrations have been largely peaceful, there have been sporadic clashes between the Maoist demonstrators and counter-demonstrators and security forces. U.S. citizens are strongly urged to avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations and to avoid traveling by wheeled transportation, including buses, cars, and bicycles. U.S. citizens are advised to monitor the situation closely on local media outlets and to stay in your homes or hotels and not move throughout the area unless absolutely necessary.

Please remain cognizant and aware of your surroundings and what may transpire. We wish to remind U.S. citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. U.S. citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations.

The Nepal Tourism Board is running tourist buses to and from the international airport, which remains open. It is difficult to travel within Nepal except by air and some domestic flights also have been disrupted.

For additional information, please refer to “A Safe Trip Abroad.” U.S. citizens living or traveling in Nepal are encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy through the State Department's travel registration website. The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu is located at Maharajgunj. The telephone number is 977-1-4007200, 4007201. The number for after-hours emergencies is 977-1-4007266, 4007269. The fax number is 977-1-4007281. The Consulate’s e-mail address is consktm@state.gov and its Internet web page is http://nepal.usembassy.gov. U.S. citizens should also consult the Department of State’s latest Country Specific Information for Nepal and the Worldwide Caution, both available at http://travel.state.gov. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

“Unsustainable” is the word that springs to mind when one thinks of the future of Katmandu.

2010-05-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

The main wait in Nepal, at present, is for an end to the nationwide general strike that began on Sunday. The Maoists, who led our Constituent Assembly until losing their coalition partners last year, have trucked tens of thousands of party cadres into Katmandu to enforce the strike. They are trying to stage what they call a “people’s movement” to form an all-party government — with the Maoists in control.

Katmandu has come to a halt as bands of Maoists brandishing sticks march through the streets ensuring that government offices and businesses stay shuttered. Schools are closed, households are running out of food, and even money is in short supply, since all the banks are closed. Tempers are flaring. It would not take much for people’s discontent with the strike to tip into civil unrest.

Even before the strike, the country had entered an advanced state of entropy. Unable to meet demand, the Nepal Electricity Authority rations power. Most neighborhoods get only about 12 hours of electricity, mostly after 10 p.m. People must seek out alternative sources of energy, or conduct much of their work outside of normal hours. Electric kettles, ovens, freezers — even lights — are a luxury that most forgo. People carry flashlights at night and read by candlelight.

The other utilities are similarly overstretched. Katmandu’s mains fill with water only once every six days, for about three hours — often at two in the morning. Homeowners must scramble to fill their tanks then, or else truck in water from expensive private companies. The telephone networks are always busy. Calls do not go through or are reduced to gibberish: “I can’t hear you. Can you hear me?” The city’s air is rank with dust and exhaust; its rivers are open sewers that pedestrians scurry by, noses covered.

There are too many vehicles for the few tortuous roads. In the place of public transport, fleets of private vans career from stop to stop with their hapless, nauseated passengers. The existing health care facilities do not meet the needs of the three million residents. There are few jobs. To add to the insecurity, an earthquake — a big one — is long overdue. “Unsustainable” is the word that springs to mind when one thinks of the future of Katmandu.

Bad as this is, it is not the worst of Nepal’s woes. Since long before the strike, we have been waiting to discover what kind of country this is to become. Nepal was promised a new constitution in 2006, when the decade-long Maoist insurgency ended with an agreement between the insurgents and the democratic political parties to make a new Nepal, a federal democratic republic that would replace the autocracies, monarchies and struggling democracies of the past.

This Assembly has, since then, set 11 thematic committees to work drafting legislation. Unfortunately, some of these committees have drafted parallel (and irreconcilable) laws, leaving key issues unresolved. Should the new Nepal be an Indian-style parliamentary democracy or a Chinese-style party dictatorship? Should the Supreme Court be independent, or subject to parliamentary review? What should be the boundaries of the federal states, and how should these states share power with each other and the center? Should executive power reside with the president or the prime minister?

All this — and more — is undecided. A final draft of the constitution is supposed to be submitted by May 28. The deadline will obviously be missed.

And so, instead of waiting for something as constructive and exalted as a constitution, the Nepalese are waiting for more mundane things like for the strike to end, for electricity and water to return.

--Manjushree Thapa is the author, most recently, of the novel “Seasons of Flight.”

Only In Thailand: Female Cops Drive Red Shirt Monks Back

2010-04-10T03:45:00.000-07:00

...the situation at [Bangkok's] Rajprasong intersection [,the heart of the city's major shopping area,] became tense when the protesters blocked anti-riot police, who were preparing to move out from the Royal Thai Police headquarters to the protesting stage. A confrontation took place for five minutes.

The protesters brought Buddhist monks to the front, to counter which the police regrouped by bringing female riot police to the front of their lines. The protesters retreated as Buddhist monks in the Theravada sect cannot have physical contact with females.

--from The Nation

Breaking News: Re yesterday's piece (see below), according to reports the government has taken back the red shirts' TV station, and red shirts in Khon Kaen, close to where I'm headed, are gathering to take over its City Hall.

My Coming Tour Of Asian Protest Sites

2010-04-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

The local American embassy here in Nepal sent me an e-mail newsletter today, informing me that the Maoists will be holding a nationwide protest on Monday, and their plan is to block all major roads. I'm scheduled to leave Nepal for Bangkok from the airport in Kathmandu on Monday, and I live in Pharping, 45 minutes away up in the mountains. The locals suggest that if I leave Pharping early in the morning, I'll probably be able to get through before the burning tires and men with clubs are set up. Everything starts late in Nepal.

If I get to Bankok on Monday, the news is that thousands and thousands of angry red shirts, many of which being farmers and others from northeastern Thailand (Issan) who feel under represented by the yellow shirts, the wealthy, educated elite who they say presently run the country from their powerful political positions in Bangkok. At present the red shirts are blockading a number of the major intersections in Bankok, having just regained control of the local TV station that is a major communication source for the protesters.

Last year I was one of the first to leave Bangkok for Kathmandu after a yellow shirt blockade of the airport. This year both the Maoists in Nepal and the red shirts in Thailand are protesting at the same time, making my present activities exciting, but unpredictable. Since I plan to be elsewhere in Thailand until I go to Bangkok on the 27th for my annual checkup at Bumrungrad Hospital, I hope that things have been cooled down by then. After all, it's going to be Songkran in Thailand for the next two weeks, and maybe the buckets of water that are normally poured on one and all will do the trick!

February In Kathmandu

2010-04-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

The two big grocery stores in Kathmandu both have separated liguor departments with all manner of offerings from around the world. Both Bhatbhateni and Bluebird markets have various brands of Pastis from Marcelles, all in big bottles with similar label designs. I bought Fanny brand, the least expensive, 90 proof, for 1195 Nepal rupees, $9.60. The licorice tasting liquid pours a golden green into the glass, but add an ice cube and water, and it turns murky white, like the Kathmandu morning fog.

Some say the Kathkmandu Valley has six seasons. Here, it's late February, and Winter has passed into pre-Spring. As the drought continues, the sun burns off the early morning mist, and by noon you're comfortable in a short sleeved t-shirt if you're out in the sun. The late afternoon winds cool things down and a long-sleeved shirt is often needed. Not long ago, it would be dark by 6pm; now it's light until nearly 7.

Yesterday we attended an elaborate ceremony by Buddhist monks at Ka Nying monastery in Boudha, a suburb of Kathmanda, celebrating the casting out of evil as the Tibetan New Year nears. The 40 minute drive out of the mountains into Kathmandu was not without incident, since it was a holiday in honor of Shiva, and all of the school children were given the day off. While they didn't dress up, an Americanized trick or treat was done in reverse: the treaters came to the tricksters. During the 20 mile journey, we were stopped by children with rope roadblocks on the narrow country roads at least 20 times and asked to pay a toll in order to continue. Most drivers did so with good humor, even paying some tolls to groups of young men who appeared to be very late graduates.

The Buddhist ceremony was not without incident, either. Near its end the seated lead monk in black brocade robes with a large hat decorated in skulls frowned at a triangular haystack 30 feet in front of him, rose up and, like a baseball pitcher with his right foot pointed at the sky, hurled a large dart into the haystack. The fun began in ernest when an assistant monk brought him a lethal looking bow and a quiver of pointed arrows. I was in the crowd directly behind the haystack, and a rather large monk kept pushing us to the side as the black monk became more animated and mock-angry at the haystack. The previous arrow zipped through the haystack and halfway through a sheet of corrugated roofing behind it. Packed tightly in a bunch with nowhere to go, we became concerned for our safety as the frowning, black robed monk aimed his arrow, jerking around in a spastic ritual as he began his final attack on the haystack. Pictures at 10.

By then, Christine, who was in another part of the crowd, was getting nervous, since the sun was about to go down and we had to navigate narrow mountainous roads in the dark, with the threat of a roadblock by real bandits a remote, but real, possibility. Our driver wasted no time on the return trip, swerving around precipitous mountain curves while answering cellphone calls from folks concerned about our whereabouts. Exhausted, we immediately went to bed when we arrived back in Pharping, but couldn't sleep for hours due to a group of youthful, enthusiastic Shiva celebrants singing songs in front of the Hindu shrine below our window. But that's another story.

A Setback for Talks in Nepal

2010-03-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

by Krishna Pokharel, The Wall Street Journal, 3/22/2010

NEW DELHI—Prospects for a lasting peace in Nepal were dealt a blow
over the weekend by the death of former Prime Minister Girija Prasad
Koirala, the head of a committee that aimed to break an impasse in
peace negotiations before a May deadline.

Mr. Koirala served five terms as Nepal's prime minister and was chief
architect of the peace process under which Maoist rebels came out of
their mountain hideouts in 2006, ending a decade-long insurgency. He
also led the democratic movement that culminated in the fall of the
240-year-old Nepalese Hindu monarchy in 2008.

Mr. Koirala died Saturday at age 86 of multiple organ failure, doctors
treating him said. Despite his achievements, his legacy of peace is
fragile, with a democracy that remains in its infancy.

Nepal held national elections for its first constituent assembly in
2008, giving 601 politicians from various political stripes, castes
and ethnic groups the mandate to rewrite the country's constitution
and restructure the nation.

The two-year deadline ends May 28, and political parties are still
haggling over the details. The constituent assembly, which also acts
as the parliament, can extend the deadline to write the constitution
by six months—but it would first have to declare a national
emergency, which could be destabilizing to the country's democracy.

The proposed integration of some 19,000 former Maoist fighters into
the national army is the most contentious of the issues on which the
success of the peace process hinges. These fighters are kept in United
Nations-supervised camps. Politicians have yet to agree on how to
induct the politically motivated fighters into the tradition-bound
army of about 90,000 that they used to fight.

Mr. Koirala was the chairman of a high-level political committee
formed earlier this year to resolve the differences among parties on
the integration of the Maoist fighters into the national army and on
other issues, such as rewriting the constitution by the May deadline.

The lack of a unifying personality, a role Mr. Koirala had taken, may
leave the parties squabbling on key issues, delaying the constitution.
On Sunday, leaders of political parties across the spectrum said they
will work together as a tribute to Mr. Koirala.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, head of the Maoist party, the Unified Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist), said Mr. Koirala's death "will have an effect
on peace and the constitution-making process."

On Sunday, thousands of Nepalis poured into the sports ground at the
center of Katmandu, where Mr. Koirala lay in state. He was cremated
later Sunday on the banks of the Bagmati river near the city's
Pashupatinath temple, and his funeral was carried out with state
honors, which had previously been provided only to the king as head of
state.

NYT Drops The Ball On Nepal Story

2010-02-08T02:38:00.000-08:00

In 2008 NYT reporter Jim Yardley moved from the newspaper's Beijing bureau to become Delhi bureau co-chief. At that time he was praised by the previous bureau chief:

"Jim's work in China has helped set a standard in how to conceptualize, report, and write a narrative-based series. And in the last year, as China became an urgent news story as well as a fertile source of grand themes, Jim worked nearly around the clock, collaborating on groundbreaking stories about the Olympics, the Sichuan earthquake, the uproar over Tibet, the burgeoning food and quality scandals, and much more."

Why, then, did Yardley miss a major point in his recent Nepal story, Nepal Waits as 2 Armies, Former Foes, Become One and fail to provide a balanced view of the events?

Yardley reports that "Within the next four months, Nepal must complete the final and most difficult piece of the 2006 peace agreement that ended the brutal Maoist insurrection by integrating these fighters from the People’s Liberation Army of Nepal into the country’s security forces, including the Nepalese Army," and blames both sides for failing to carry out the military terms of the 2006 agreement: Maoist leaders and Nepalese political parties have alternately bickered and dithered, with Maoists stalling the dismantling of their army while negotiations go on about how to revise the Constitution."

Yardley also reports that Maoist soldiers who have been disqualified from participating in the future joint military will have difficulty going back into the civilian population: "Even though the Maoist soldiers have remained in the cantonments for three years, the terms of the peace deal have tightly restricted access to them by United Nations caseworkers, allowing almost no opportunities to interview or counsel them. Instead, the soldiers have been subjected to regular political education sessions on Maoist dogma, something that may make their re-entry into society even harder."

However he fails to mention that this universal Maoist education in dogma is seen by the government as cause to reject the military integration that the 2006 agreement calls for. Since the military is and will remain under the control of the head of government, the only way the military could be integrated is if the government were under the control of Maoist ideology, which it isn't. Thats why the Maoist Prime Minister resigned his office when the politially diverse majority government refused to admit the Maoists into the military. If this were to happen, a significant number of members of the military, the Maoist faction, would not be answerable to the government, and the purpose of the military would be undermined.

Yardley has written a facile story on the subject. Since he failed to provide some of the significant facts of the story, he has done both his readers and the newspaper he works for a disservice.

--Jerry Politex, Napel Calls

Peace In Nepal Depends Upon Merging Armies

2010-02-05T02:05:00.000-08:00

With Nepal facing a May 28 deadline to restructure its government and approve a new constitution, nothing is posing a greater threat to the peace process than the unresolved task of merging the two enemy armies. Maoist leaders and Nepalese political parties have alternately bickered and dithered, with Maoists stalling the dismantling of their army while negotiations go on about how to revise the Constitution.

As a result, Nepal is grasping for a lasting peace, trying to overcome the legacy of a war that has left it more militarized than ever. The 19,602 Maoist soldiers continue to train, even as they remain quarantined in the United Nations camps, or cantonments. The Nepalese Army is twice as large today, with 96,000 soldiers, as it was when the guerrilla war began, and the number of police and paramilitary police officers has steadily risen to roughly 80,000.
“How can you have one country with two armies?” asked Kul Chandra Gautam, a former United Nations diplomat and native Nepali who has consulted with different parties in the peace process. “A country like Nepal does not need 200,000 security personnel. That’s more than all the country’s civil servants combined, minus teachers.”

Nepal cannot begin to rebuild its tattered economy until the military standoff is eased, which first means finding a solution on integration.

--more

Richard Gere Visits Pharping

2010-01-18T17:45:00.000-08:00

The Penor Rinpoche Center in Pharping was movie star Richard Gere's destination the other day. While in Nepal, he was pleased to be able to have a converswation of over an hour with the head of the Center, Khempo Namdrol. Accompanied to the Center with two guides, Gere happily had his picture taken with numerous members of the community, including a group of students from Europe. Everyone was pleased to see Gere and hope he comes back soon.
X in Nepal

Weather. On Not.

2010-01-16T23:22:00.000-08:00

We're presently on holiday in Thailand, and here's the local weather forcast, courtesy of Roger Crutchley in the Bangkok Post:

Occasional outbreaks of red shirts and yellow shirts followed by flurries of boys in green. Widespread funny business leading to periods of mulling, probing and gale-force denials. Occasional storms in a teacup with sporadic outbreaks of Thaksin. Westerly windbags accompanied by parliamentary hot air, thick bureaucratic fog and strong undercurrents of stuff and nonsense. Relative humbug 90%. Future outlook: pretty bleak....

Snow, or rather the absence of it, prompted an embarrassing exchange on a Michigan TV station a couple of years ago. The day after it was supposed to have snowed heavily, but didn't, a female newscaster asked the weatherman quite innocently: "Bob, what happened to that eight inches you promised me last night?" There followed a brief pause before the words sunk in and the weatherman was so convulsed in laughter he had to leave the set....

Possibly the best weather forecast ever appeared in the Arab News in 1979 following severe flooding in Jeddah. The report read: "We regret we are unable to give you the weather. We rely on weather reports from the airport, which is closed because of the weather. Whether we are able to give you the weather tomorrow depends on the weather."

more Roger Crutchley

Nepal Makes New York Times Best List At #31

2010-01-10T00:54:00.000-08:00

San Francisco, Amsterdam and Provincetown? Been there. Mykonos and Ibiza? Done that. Looking for the next gay destination? How about the Himalayan country of Nepal? Yes, Nepal.

In the roughly two years since the nation’s supreme court ordered that gay, lesbians and transgendered people be afforded equal rights, this conservative, mostly-Hindu country appears to be moving ahead full throttle.

Gay friendly clubs now dot its capital. (Go to www.utopia-asia.com for listings.) A “third gender” category is an option on national I.D. cards. Recently, a transgender beauty queen even got a photo op with the prime minister. And now there’s a tourist agency in Katmandu that is promoting gay tourism to Nepal.

Started by Sunil Babu Pant, an openly-gay legislator, Pink Mountain Travels and Tours (www.pinkyatra.com) promises to marry adventure travel with gay weddings. With talk that Nepal may legalize same-sex marriage this year as the country hammers out a new constitution (and, perhaps more importantly, deals with recent bouts of civil unrest), Mr. Pant is offering to hold nuptials at the Mount Everest base camp, jungle safari honeymoons and bridal processions on elephant back.
by Aric Chen

Kid Meets Pup, Mom Says "Back Off"

2010-01-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

In a NYT story about goat cheese, Vermont cheese maker Laini Fondiller says she loves goats: “They’re very nice little animals,” she said. “Cows don’t give a damn. Sheep can’t stand ya. Pigs? ‘Just feed me!’ And goats really do want to be around you.”
We can attest to that. And the kids are really cute, bouncing around your feet on their thin, pogo-stick legs.

On the narrow, back path to Pharping the other day, we came across a mother goat tied to a staked leash, with three small kids just hanging around. They just would't stray far away from mom, but they were perfectly willing to bounce around us as we quietly walked by. Christine said one of the black and white ones just bounced around behind me as I tried to get by. Mom looked on approvingly.

But when a tan pup showed up (click on the pic for a better view of his nose at the lower right), mom went on red alert. She quickly moved past me and chased the pup away, but was perfectly agreeable as I bent down to pat the kid before we went on our way. --Jerry in Nepal

Happy Holidays From Christine And Jerry

2009-12-24T20:32:00.000-08:00

Pharping Placid As Maoist Strike Enters 2nd Day

2009-12-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

KATHMANDU, DEC 20 - Normal life across the nation was brought to a virtual standstill on Sunday, the first day of a three-day general strike called by the UCPN (Maoist) as part of their third-phase protest demanding the establishment of 'civilian supremacy'.

Vehicles stayed off the roads, shops were shuttered and the educational institutions were closed due to the banda..Over a dozen Maoist cadres and half-a-dozen police personnel...were injured in Baneshwor..which according to eyewitnesses turned into a virtual battle gound.

The agitators did not spare journalists' vehicles and ambulances in certain parts of the country despite their earlier commitment to abstain from attacking vehicles belonging to hospital, media and diplomatic missions....However, the other parts of the country remained relatively peaceful in comparison to the capital despite minor reports of scuffle and vandalism. -SANJEEB PHUYAL/DEEPAK GURUNG, ekantipur.com

--------------------------------

Yesterday, the mountain road from Pharping Pass through Dollu and up into Pharping was strangely silent, as locals walked on the blacktop without fear of the cars, trucks, vans, buses, and motorcycles that customarily clog the thoroughfare during daylight hours. Pharping, itself, took on a holiday air, as the steel rolldown doors of half the shops were down, while most of the others featured storeowners standing in doorways, watching the few walkers and motorcycles on the nearly empty streets.

At the intersection of the two main streets that make up Pharping, eight or so policemen in their usual blue and grey camelflage uniforms stood outside their guardhouse and looked down the road at a like number of young Maoists males in street clothes, casually blocking the road into the village with a limp red cloth on a makeshift stand. The two groups kept their distance, while, between them, teams of village children, off from school, played on the dusty soccer field near the side of the road.

As if to celebrate the unexpected free time and the lack of traffic that would ordinarily push them to the side, a group of villagers gathered in front of a closed shop and put on an extended, impromptu song and dance concert. (Click on pic for larger view.) --Jerry in Nepal

Colonel Sanders Buys Home In Kathmandu

2009-12-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

The first Western fast food restaurants to open in Kathmandu have turned out to be KFC and Pizza Hut. We'll visit Pizza Hut at a later date. Located on Darbar Marg, Kathmandu's Rodeo Drive, KFCs a popular addition to the landscape. It's right across the street from the new, upscale Sherpa Mall, with its brand name shops familiar to Westerners. Well-dressed folks from the nearby banks, travel agencies, and antique shops have made the restaurant a lunchtime hit. Here, lunchtime is sometime between 1 and 3, and the diners treat themselves to the same food and packaged specials, like a 2-piece chicken with fries and a Pepsi, that they're apt to find in Austin, Texas. At under 300 Nepal rupees, that comes to around $4.00 American. Plus, you get super-fast service and dine in exactly the same modern kitsch sorroundings that are available in most KFC's in the U.S.

While I'm not a KFC fan in the U.S., I thought the food wasn't bad. The smallish drumstick and breast, both breaded, spicy, and crunchy, were fine. The fast food fries were done right, and the corn on the cob was excellent. The cole slaw was watery. Since the multi-national Asian company that owns the two restaurants also runs a Pepsi factory in India, other than Pepsi, the only carbonated drink on the menu was a "Virgin Mojito," but they were out of that alternative during our visit. As in the U.S., everything came wrapped in paper and cardboard, making it all look much bigger than it was. The young servers and cashiers we interacted with were attractive, friendly, amused, and spoke English well.

To Christine, Dorji, and I, the most interesting thing about this Nepal KFC was its attention to religious rules in this primarily Hindu country. The paper place mats focused on this. One cooking and serving crew handles the meat, another handles the vegatarian offerings. Another cultural point can be found if you'll click on the picture to get a larger version: the Indian/Nepali custom of a uniformed male opening the door for you in upscale restaurants is honored at this Kathmandu KFC, something I've never experienced back in Austin, Texas! --Jerry in Nepal

Eat Your Heart Out, Krispy Kreme

2009-12-07T03:23:00.000-08:00

I was very disappointed when I arrived in Pharping a month ago, only to find my favorite "donut" store (see picture) closed. Unlike American versions, this donut is not a sugar rush, although it's probably a grease rush. Cooked in an oil-filled wok and moved around with a stick, the slightly sweet dough ends up light, crispy, and chewy. Golden circles of goodness without preservatives, they have a short shelf life, but that's no problem 'cause they taste so good!

Imagine my chagrin when I learned the smokey, step-down room without a name past the Guru Rimpoche statue where the donuts, and only donuts, are made had been closed for over a week, and the surrounding shopkeepers had no idea when it would reopen, if ever. After all, the larger, more consumer friendly Quality Bakery and Chai Shop down the road was cranking out more than enough donuts in smartly wrapped plastic wrappings. But their dounts were not chewy and were not as light. They were more like cake or bread, and played second fiddle to the bakery's brightly colored cakes. And those of the super bakery in Kathmandu, the Nanglo empire whose products were sold in thousands of stores in the valley, were even worse. Sigh.

Then, late yesterday, hallelujah, I learned the donut store reopened, so today I promptly went up to Pharping for my donut fix, and was not disappointed. I went down the three stone steps into the smokey room, paid the baker stirring the cooking donuts in the wok with a stick, and his assistant rewarded me with 6 warm donuts in a ubiquitous black plastic bag. I immediately ate one as I walked down the road. Life is good! --Jerry in Nepal

"Spy agency finds Buddhist monasteries involved in anti-China activities"

2009-12-04T18:25:00.000-08:00

by Saroj Rajadhikari at Kantipur Online

KATHMANDU, DEC 04 - "National Intelligence Department (NID) has listed 24 Buddhist monasteries in the Kathmandu Valley as sensitive for their involvement in the Free Tibet movement and anti-China activities. The national spy agency has placed seven of them on the ‘very sensitive’ list from the security point of view. It has suggested the Home Ministry to keep tabs on altogether 43 monasteries in the capital, out of 59 it studied." more

Getting High In Nepal

2009-12-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

Back in the 60's hippies flocked to Kathmandu to get high, since Nepal had few laws against the use of drugs. They hung out on Jochen Tole, renamed Freak Street, near Durbar Square and it grew to look like San Francisco's Haight-Ashberry district: ultra-cheap lodgings, cool restaurants, and lots of chocolate cake.

Today we've learned that the Nepal government's cabinet will get high, too, but in another way. Yesterday it met in the Mt. Everest region in the town of Lukla (elevation 9,000 feet), and plans to helicopter up to Kalapathar for today's brief meeting at 17,000 feet.

The cabinet meeting is dubbed "the highest ever," and its purpose, as reported in Huffington Post, is "to highlight the threat global warming poses to Himalayan glaciers.The meeting comes ahead of an international climate change conference beginning next week in Copenhagen, Denmark, and is meant to draw attention to the effects climate change is having on the region surrounding the world's highest peak...Scientists say the Himalayas' glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, creating lakes whose walls could burst and flood villages below. Melting ice and snow also make the routes for mountaineers less stable and more difficult to follow." --Jerry in Nepal

Thamel Calls

2009-12-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday a Pharping monk asked me where I was going in the dusty Tata van. I told him "the Kathmandu entertainment complex." "Oh," he replied, "you mean Thamel."

Thamel is the tourist center in downtown Kathmandu, a series of long, narrow streets and winding alleys, filled with all manner of traffic, chaos, international tourists, many of them here for trecking, shopkeepers, touts, and beggars. Oh, and did I say "traffic"? It's one of the most colorful areas of the city, and that's saying a lot. Think the French Quarter or the Village on steroids. Some say either you love it or you hate it. I love it.

My favorite inexpensive DVD/CD place is across from Fire and Ice Restaurant on Tri Devi Marg. This time I foundt DVD's of BROKEN EMBRACES (Almodovar) and BAD LIEUTENANT (Herzog). Both have just opened in US theaters. For my music iPod I came across COLTRANE PLAYS THE BLUES and THE VERY BEST OF J.J. CALE. Hearing it being played, I couldn't resist adding WHEEL OF LIFE by Kicha Chitraker, a local DJ/musician.

A few doors down at the Tibetan Book Shop I picked up THE OPEN ROAD, by Pico Iyer, my favorite travel writer, and THE COUNTRY IS YOURS, a collection of contemporary Nepali literature edited by Manjushree Thapa, a local writer, and published by Penguin. From there I went to United Books that has Half-Price Books in Austin beat by a mile. You pay half-price for a used book, and when you return it you get half of your purchase price back. At Half-Price Books they'll give you $5 for a wheelbarrow of books, providing you throw in the wheelbarrow. You know I'm just kidding, right?

Anyway, the typical Napoli week always seems to include a holiday, which includes a half day to prepare for it and a half day to recover from it. Yesterday was the holiday, this time it was a day celebrating Newar farmers, who make up much of the population of the Kathmandu valley. So in the middle of our Themal shopping, wave after wave of farmers from the villages sorrounding the city marched down Jyatha street in diverse garb to the sound of bells, drums, flutes, and whistles (picture).

After that, we retired to Nanglo's Chinese on Durbar Marge, Kathmandu's Fifth Avenue, for a lunch of chilli chicken (boneless). --Jerry in Nepal

What We See

2009-11-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

The picture at the top of this page was taken from our roof patio in Pharping, and looks across a deep farming valley, through the notch at Pharping Pass, across the Kathmandu Valley, and ends on a view of snow-capped mountains that form part of the Himalaya chain that sorrounds the valley, which is about 25 miles long and 20 miles wide. Pharping is in the mountains to the south of Kathmandu. Each day, we're eye-level with the passenger jets that cross above the mountains from India to the right of the Buddhist monastery and gradually sink into the valley and land at Kathmandu's international airport.

The narrow, twisting blacktop road between Kathmandu and Pharping is only 12 miles long, but it takes about 45 minutes to cover the distance, due to the two-way traffic that is forced to squeeze by with two wheels in the dirt and perceptious dropoffs into deep ravines only feet away. As we pass the small villages lining the road, we move from the flatlands of Kathmandu at 4,000 feet, pass Nepal's major university, begin to dip up and down and around picturesque hills and dales, pass an abandoned cement factory, and then climb up into dark, mountain passes that curve around the gorges until we reach Pharping at 6,500 feet.

Most people in the valley are engaged in farming in one way or another, but some foodstuffs are transported from India to the south or China to the north. This becomes a problem when the few major roads into the country or the valley are blocked for one political reason or another. The beautiful valley floor is carefully tilled to take advantage of its riches, and the various governments have banned the commercial harvesting of trees which line the mountains to prevent erosion. However, the never-ending march of a growing population is a very serious threat to the future of this heart of Nepal. As more and more farmland is being replaced by strings and blocks of brick and concrete houses and apartments, the question of a self-sustaining society is paramont.

At night from our patio I see strings of lights across the valley that I've never seen before. While Kathmandu has a 2009 population of 2 million, Patan, the third largest city in Nepal and directly south of Kathmandu, has only 200,000+, but is growing by leaps and bounds. We recently drove south through Patan, passed street after street of new buildings and houses under construction, crossed a newly-constucted bridge over the Bagmati river, and ended up at that abandoned cement factory, which marked one-third of our journey to Pharping. --Jerry in Nepal

Humor: Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T00:48:00.000-08:00

As you probably know, Thanksgiving in Nepal falls on the same day as Thanksgiving in Texas, give or take a few time zones. Nepali Thanksgiving goes back to the time the Bahuns, members of the Brahman caste, crossed the border into Nepal as they escaped the Muslim invasion of India around the 12th century AD.

Once in Nepal, the Indian pilgrims, who were Hindus, met with the Newars, native Buddhists living in what is now the Kathmandu valley, and they gathered in peace and participated in a thanksgiving feast of rice, dahl, momos, and cranberries. So, unlike the first Thanksgiving in the U.S., in Nepal the visitors were Indians, but like the first Thanksgiving, we ate our fill and went to bed.

Like the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S., the day after Thanksgiving in Nepal is devoted to Christmas shopping, and the main intersection in Pharping, a village a kilometer up the mountainside, was reportedly clogged with bargain seekers on motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws, and foot all day. In Pharping the shopkeepers wrap up all their goods in gaudy paper during the holidays, so every purchase is a present! As for Christine and I, we decided to wait a few days for our weekly trip to Kathmandu, where we'll snag our brightly packaged Christmas gifts at Bluebird Market or in Thamel.

Ooops, I seem to be out of scotch. Guess I'll have to take a quick trip to Pharping Fresh House after all. --Jerry in Nepal

Welcome

2009-11-27T22:41:00.000-08:00

Thanks for stopping by. While my native home is in the U.S., Austin, Texas, to be exact, I spend 3 0r 4 months each year near Kathmandu, and thought I'd like to write and photograph my responses to experiences as they happen. My interests and activities are diverse, so there will be no particular order to these entries. If I touch upon something that you're particularly interested in, please let me know (jp@moonvine.org). This blog will be much more fun if it's interactive. --Jerry in Nepal