DAVE LINCOLN’S TRIP TO NEPAL
BACKGROUND :
For whatever weird reason I have wanted to see the Himalayas (in real life), since I met some folks just back from Nepal four years ago. In addition, this particular trip offered the opportunity to do a bit of social service and time to visit with the Nepali people.
RESULT: Over-the-top in all three respects !!
I found the country to be an unbelievable visual experience . Whether in Katmandu, or up in the rural areas, each blink of the eye brought a visual image of amazing color, complexity, and uniqueness. Expert photographer I am not, but almost all of the 490 shots taken are keepers.
Possibly one word describes my overall impression: “contrast”. Be it in the dress of the variety of cultures in the city; the amazing noise and traffic in the streets outside the walls of the Dream Garden; the majestic nature of the Himalayan foothills; or the continuing presence of the “World’s Rooftop” in almost every vista. The one constant is the warmth and hospitality of the Nepali people. In the city or in the rural areas, the visitor has a continuing sense of being welcome ...with overt welcoming actions throughout.
PERSPECTIVE:
Nepal is an undeveloped country - not under-developed.. or developing - just plain undeveloped. Eighty percent of the people walk. Goods are carried on backs. Nepal is the 12th poorest country in the world. Basic knowledge of hygiene, be it personal or communal is almost non-existant; infant mortality is above 10%; maternal mortality only slightly lower. The caste system keeps a lid on upward mobility of the talented. Human rights are constantly and systematically exploited by the nature of the economy (about 30% unemployment), and foreign aid seldom reaches the grass roots, where it is desperately needed. All in all, a bleak picture.
But there is hope. Not only for those who seek to leave Nepal to exercise their talents, but for those committed to improvement of their country. Fortunately, these Nepali patriots are reinforced by many individuals from outside the country who have made it their mission to assist in progress on a variety of basic fronts.
THE MOUNTAIN FUND:
My trip was centered on a “charity trek”, one of several each year which are organized and led by The Mountain Fund. Dedicated to improvement of rural healthcare in the impoverished hill villages of the Rasuwa District, these treks attract medical volunteers (and others) to spend ten days visiting the three established clinic villages and providing basic healthcare to upwards of 300 rural folks per trip. My trek was in the Langtang Valley, considered one of the easiest treks in Nepal .
Well, forget it !! Appropriate conditioning would require : (1) Age below 50; (2) six weeks of 5 miles daily running; or alternatively, daily walks up three flights of commercial stairs carrying a 30# pack !!
Our nine day trek included 6 of us, plus 2 porters. It was a combination of clinic administration reinforcing the leaders of local support; delivering additional stocks of clinic medical supplies and meeting the health care needs of approximately 60 rural clients serviced by the three clinics we visited.
After a 7 hour ride, (over extremely rough and rocky roads, plus ½ mile walk over a landslide , we arrived for an overnight in Duenche, at about 7500 feet elevation. The next day a 7 hour walk to Thulo Syabru, at 8000 feet. From there the trek went to the last clinic at Langtang
(12,000 feet).
The hardy (nurses and Doc, then went up another 500 feet and 3 hours to Kanjin Gompa) to see a 26,000 foot mountain (up close ie: ½ mile away) (I passed on this opportunity).
KATHMANDU:
In the past three years Nepal has moved from a monarchy to a popularly elected democracy. This move was stimulated by militant unrest by the Maoist faction, a communist inspired group, who give evidence of trying to improve the life of the general population, but who will probably become mired in the existing bureaucracy, as well as that added by their newly installed officials.
That said, life in city is bustling, noisy, crowded, and dusty, polluted and most interesting. There are many buildings and sites dating back to the 15th century, plenty of modern and semi-modern hotels and a variety of interesting and inexpensive restaurants. I found the many visitors more than willing to share their stories, (many of which had to do with THEIR TREK, past or impending), as well as many of the locals who were only too glad to share their time and a friendship cup of tea with the American. (Although, many thought me to be German, or Dutch ...of which there seem to be disproportionate numbers.)
Life in the city holds many contrasts in dress, habits, languages, religions, and modernity. The constant is an unbelievable traffic congestion of noise and death-wish pedestrians and exhaust fumes. The horn is the weapon of choice ... both in the city and on the roads to rural areas. There may be a code, that all drivers know ...but I never figured it out !!
CONCLUSION:
My three objectives were met. Plus I returned to “normal life” within sights I had not held before, and with several concepts of missions on which I might embark which may make a difference in this amazing country of NEPAL!!
David Lincoln, York Maine - November 5, 2008
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