I LOVE Kathmandu!

I LOVE Kathmandu! This morning, I woke up to chanting, flute playing and cow bells of a tibetan ceremony wafting from my neighbor's roof to my window. I can see the Himalayas from my bedroom window and there is a 360 degree view of them from the rooftop where there is a lovely garden and plenty of space for me to do yoga. I just met a famous young trekker from Romania named Alexandru Gavan who is sponsored to climb giant mountains and is going off to Anapurna today on a rescue mission. He's full of adventure-related information. He said you can still go rafting right now if you have enough experience. For instance, a guy fell off the raft into a sink hole and knew how to swim out. I think I'll wait until after monsoon for rafting. He showed me pitures of his tent on a diagonal pitch going down the side of the mountains - the fifth largest in the world. See his INCREDIBLE pictures on www.cloudclimbing.ro. I'll teach him yoga today on the roof - it'll be good for his hamstrings. What a gift to share yoga with a 26-year old professional adventurer. You never know what will happen next, perhaps a gig as the onboard yoga teacher for "easy" treks by reference from this well connnected guy????

This place is marvelous. It is chaotic with the type of traffic that only Asia can come up with, i.e. rickshaws, cars, cows, people on feet, bicycles and motorcycles all zooming past eachother at death defying speeds and near misses accompanied by horns. The amazing thing is that I haven't seen one accident and the road rage drivers are smiling at eachother and genuinely having a good, peaceful time while driving. The shops are so colorful! They spill over with Thangkas and carpets, handicrafts, clothing, beautiful jewelry of turquoise and silver and red and yellow stones, carvings of Hindi and Buddhist sculptures, etc, etc. A shopper's paradise! I have spent about $50 buying three new Nepali-friendly outfits - conservative, but with my own taste still apparent. The architecture is ancient and intricately adorned with spiritual carvings, including deities, flowers, lingums, etc. Faith and beauty and history is everywhere you look. everywhere.

Yesterday, I got lost several times in the streets and was exhausted as I sat in a restaurant and ordered some momos. An employee who is the somellier sat down and asked me all about ca wines. I was able to tell him quite a bit about wines, actually. He bought me a huge glass of australian chardonnay. this was the first wine I've had in ages and it was delicious. His goal is to educate nepalis about wine. He wants to bring ca wines to Nepal. I've given him the name of THE wine king of san francisco, don davis, who organizes large-scale wine tasting events with wines from all over the world. Maybe something will come of this. It is indeed a small world. I then stumbled throught the streets onto a yoga/reiki sign. I followed the arrows down a dark alley and into a narrow little hallway in a house upstairs into a dimly lit doorway. a happy little nepalese man was there and we sat chatting for a while about yoga. i asked where i could chant with people and he told me the name of a yoga center and offered to take me there. I'll go tomorrow to see where it is with him. He was wearing a purple shirt. It turns out, according to my pal bob, that there is only one yoga "cult" here in kathmandu and they all wear purple shirts. somehow, i may have managed to find the only yoga 'cult' whatever that is within hours of being here. regardless, i look forward to chanting and singing and seeing what another realm of yogis believe. Kathmandu is full of such spiritual practices.
there are stupas on every block where the people do their abulations and even a giant gazebo where people gather to chant on a regular basis. the nepalese people have names like surya lama (sun lama), ganesh (remover of obstacles), Lakshmi (goddess of wealth and culture), Hari (the lord), etc. and it's impossible to forget that this is a holy, historic, very celebratory place. It's beautiful.

On the other hand, there are many young men in fatigues with large guns walking the streets - a remnant of the ongoing revolution. They are maoists - the party who just won the general election - and Kathmandu has not been a particularly supportive place for the maoists. Nonetheless, they don't appear threatening and the protests have stopped now that the election has been won by the Maoists and the king has left the palace without issue. Still, it is a time of transition. There are not many tourists on the street and I'm not sure if it is b/c this is the beginning of Monsoon season or b/c of the political situation. It is not volatile, but it is in transition. It's oddly quiet amid the traffic. It's truly an interesting time to be here. Now, the papers are filled with stories of frustrated Nepalis who are going hungry while the question of an allowance for the king to live in an alternative palace is being bandied about. The propoganda against lending further support to the ousted king is clear. I wonder, what does an ousted king do to support himself if the government won't support him? Surely he must have a Swiss bank account or something, right? At the same time, there are many stories of Nepalis who have fallen on hard times due to the extremist actions of the Maoists who promised financial compensation for the loss of life, limb or property but have not yet paid up. There is also criticism of the people's court, i.e. 'the kangaroo court' of the Maoist people that calls people in for no reason and demands that they answer questions posed by a panel or else. There are no pending charges, just a general inquisition that looms over Nepalis subject to the people's courts. Kindof Kafka-like. The Maoists have negotiated that they will not go for the presidential seat as long as a neutral, competent mutually agreeable team of Pres and VP is set up. How that can happen is a mystery. The transition goes on.... I also read in the Himalayan Times that Hillary stepped down and fully supports Obama. If true, wow, I am thrilled by the news!!!

It turns out that my friend Bob (who I met in Had Tien briefly before he moved to Kathmandu) speaks Nepali and Newari and spent years living here about 20 years ago first with the Peace Corps, then just living here, then leading university trips here. He got his PhD at UC Davis with Agricultural Development specializing in the Nepali region. We went on a tour of Kathmandu last night by rickshaw complete w/stops at his favorite places to eat (pomegranate, pineapple and orange juice with mango slices) and many places of interest complete with legends, stories, deities' purposes explaied and attention to little details that only a local would know! I can't believe my luck. Once again! I really like it here. Bob and I have made a deal: I'll read up on the yogic, buddhist and hindu philosophies (and perhaps the cult ones, too1) and he'll take me on course when he's not working. He's a really nice man and full of knowledge. He will be a good friend, I am sure.
Today, I will take a walking tour of the city from my guidebook. Bob recommended an incredible bookstore. I hope to stumble upon antiques and ancient history - no problem. I'll do abulations around the stupas and spin prayer wheels. I'll eat some momos and smile at every person, and every person that smiles at me as I walk around. I get many comments on my hair and my eyes. Although dressed conservatively, I am still a rarity around here due to the lack of tourists. I don't feel at all threatened or feel that my personal space is impeded. they are very respectful here. I think I'll prefer this to India. Tonight, I meet Silke the dutch lady who was referred to me by another person I met at Had Yuan. She is having her bday party tonight and I expect to meet many such expats living in Kathmandu as she has been living, teaching and involved with NGOs here for several years. She also likes to dance. I saw in the paper that a famous Indian dj named Ayesha is spinning at a party celebrating the opeing of an art academy that trains Nepalis to vj, dj, shoot videos and model. It should be another intriguing evening. Is this living or what?