Random Observations

The inhabitants of every city or town in Nepal that I have been to pronounces hello differently. Nagarkot-"NamastEE" Bandipur- "NAmaste" KTM- "NaMAste" I get to pick and chose my favorites. Pashmina and cashmere is very popular in the souvenir shops in KTM, and there are cryptic signs posted on them that say "Just feel me, dear human." I was in Bandipur eating at a restaurant where Mexican food was being served, including Takas D-Polo and Inchilatas. Pronounce 'em out loud, and you'll get it. Power in KTM is cut everyday for about two or three hours. You can literally hear the cheers when it comes back on if you are standing outside. The town, or South Asia continent rather is rife with temples, but my favorites are the Shiva (Both the destroyer and the creator in Hinduism) that look like raised cobblestones in the middle of the sidewalks and streets. You should never walk over personal things, like legs or whatnot, so you have to walk around these temples rather than over them, which is tricky since they kinda blend in, you know? Robel left his bike in front of our favorite bar, De La Soul, the other day, and when we went back to retrieve it, it was gone. This was not the first time his bike was stolen by the police, he says. If the police see a bike they don't recognize, they move it at night to a different part of the city. If the bike is not claimed in a certain period of time, they take it. We have spent hours looking for that damned thing. Always comes back, though. My Nepali friend Juni told me that it is a real law that if you run over a chicken, there is a 80 paisa (cents) penatly fee. But if you run over a duck, its 80 rupees. Can you guess why? Because chickens bounce about randomly and are thus more likely to get underfoot (or underwheel), where as ducks move slower, so if you hit one, you werent trying hard enough to avoid it. I love that. A new law just passed that motorbike drivers need to wear a helmet. However, passengers may not. Not that they have a choice, but tha its against the law! Its because lots of drive-by shootings take place from a passenger on the back of a motorbike, which make great getaway vehicles. If the shooter has a helmet on, you cant identify them. Robel has told me my favorite new expression. You know, "don't let it get to your head"? In Eritrea, where he is from, they say "remember to take your shoes off before you go to bed". Excellent. Leaving KTM on the 28th. The countdown begins.