Welcome to Nepal!
We are currently nestled in between Tibet and India, in one of the trekking capitols of the world. It was only 50 or so years ago that Nepal started allowing tourists in and the industry has been booming ever since hippies started coming here to seek motivation...and trekkers realized what an amazing destination this was for challenging, rewarding hikes.
Luckily I had out my pirated copy of the Nepal Lonely Planet that I picked up in Vietnam with me for our six hour bus ride to Chitwan today and I learned a few things about this new country that I figured were worth sharing. One of the best things about having a Lonely Planet with you is that it has a culture section at the beginning of each book....and today it provided me with some statistics that I think most of you will not only find interesting but help you to grasp where I am.
Katy and I started off in Kathmandu, which as the capital city and the hub of tourism, definitely does not reflect the poverty of this country. Sure, it doesn't look anything like home.....and its roads make what I traveled on in Laos look like highways from the future. However, I would imagine that most people who live in the city live on far more than the $2 a day that apparently 85% of the country survives on. Tourism in major cities such as Kathmandu and Pokhara definitely help to boost the average income, but you h.ave to remember that 85% of the country lives in rural areas. Other interesting (or sad?) facts.....from what I read, the life expectancy in Nepal is only 62 years and the literacy rate hovers around 45%
As expected, women in a country such as Nepal are not held in very high regard. As are most Hindu and Buddhist cultures, men are thought to be more important, are much more valued members of society, and are desired in regards to child bearing. In Nepal, a man can legally take a second wife if his first wife does not bear a son within ten years. Stunning advancements in women's rights however....(note sarcasm): as of 2005 women can apply for a passport without their husband's or parent's permission, and abortion was legalized in 2002 (now if it is "actually" allowed, I don't know- that's just what I read).
Lonely Planet drives home the fact by quoting a Nepali proverb that states "raising a girl is like watering your neighbor's garden".....ouch. Sons are everything here...in fact, one of the duties of the eldest son is to help pass the deceased onto the next life...and this is a ritual that can only be performed by the son; therefore if a son is not had, there is no one in the family to complete this ritual. And finally, if the master of the house is to pass on....It is expected for a widow to marry her deceased husband's brother upon his death and give any property she had to her eldest son.
I do not think I would fare well in this culture.......
However, despite everything I have just shared with you about women in Nepal, I do want to highlight two situations that I noticed on my bus ride this morning. Sitting next to me was a girl about ten years old and her father. The poor girl was retching most of the six hour trip as our bus lurched around sharp mountain corners and we changed elevation every three minutes. Her father was watching after her the entire trip and the dynamic I saw between the two of them is exactly how I would have been taken care of at that age by my dad.
Also, there was an adorable Nepalese baby in front of me who spent a good part of the ride looking at me (and laughing at me) with her enormous gorgeous brown eyes (with a tika in the middle...similar to a more commonly known bindhi- a smearing of red powder that represents the third all-seeing eye). She was with her father and mother and the father was equally loving and seemed to be doing most of the childcare between the two parents. So maybe there is more of a future for respect and love of women (at least when they are children) here that it is made out to be.....
And finally, one more way we know we are in Nepal: the time difference! They are five hours and 45 minutes ahead of GMT...and the purpose is to separate themselves from India, who are five hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT. So for everyone at home in Chicago, when it is, say, 10 am there, it is 8:45pm here.
Now hopefully you all know a teeny bit more about Nepal :)
As for Katy and I? We are comfortably settled into Chitwan Village Resort in Chitwan National Park, 160 km northwest of Kathmandu. The man who owns this place is probably one of the most genuinely nice people I have ever met and we start our jungle safari in the morning....we'll be here for three days. Stay tuned for pictures of rhinos, crocodiles, elephants, sloth bears.....and if we're lucky, a tiger!!!
We are currently nestled in between Tibet and India, in one of the trekking capitols of the world. It was only 50 or so years ago that Nepal started allowing tourists in and the industry has been booming ever since hippies started coming here to seek motivation...and trekkers realized what an amazing destination this was for challenging, rewarding hikes.
Luckily I had out my pirated copy of the Nepal Lonely Planet that I picked up in Vietnam with me for our six hour bus ride to Chitwan today and I learned a few things about this new country that I figured were worth sharing. One of the best things about having a Lonely Planet with you is that it has a culture section at the beginning of each book....and today it provided me with some statistics that I think most of you will not only find interesting but help you to grasp where I am.
Katy and I started off in Kathmandu, which as the capital city and the hub of tourism, definitely does not reflect the poverty of this country. Sure, it doesn't look anything like home.....and its roads make what I traveled on in Laos look like highways from the future. However, I would imagine that most people who live in the city live on far more than the $2 a day that apparently 85% of the country survives on. Tourism in major cities such as Kathmandu and Pokhara definitely help to boost the average income, but you h.ave to remember that 85% of the country lives in rural areas. Other interesting (or sad?) facts.....from what I read, the life expectancy in Nepal is only 62 years and the literacy rate hovers around 45%
As expected, women in a country such as Nepal are not held in very high regard. As are most Hindu and Buddhist cultures, men are thought to be more important, are much more valued members of society, and are desired in regards to child bearing. In Nepal, a man can legally take a second wife if his first wife does not bear a son within ten years. Stunning advancements in women's rights however....(note sarcasm): as of 2005 women can apply for a passport without their husband's or parent's permission, and abortion was legalized in 2002 (now if it is "actually" allowed, I don't know- that's just what I read).
Lonely Planet drives home the fact by quoting a Nepali proverb that states "raising a girl is like watering your neighbor's garden".....ouch. Sons are everything here...in fact, one of the duties of the eldest son is to help pass the deceased onto the next life...and this is a ritual that can only be performed by the son; therefore if a son is not had, there is no one in the family to complete this ritual. And finally, if the master of the house is to pass on....It is expected for a widow to marry her deceased husband's brother upon his death and give any property she had to her eldest son.
I do not think I would fare well in this culture.......
However, despite everything I have just shared with you about women in Nepal, I do want to highlight two situations that I noticed on my bus ride this morning. Sitting next to me was a girl about ten years old and her father. The poor girl was retching most of the six hour trip as our bus lurched around sharp mountain corners and we changed elevation every three minutes. Her father was watching after her the entire trip and the dynamic I saw between the two of them is exactly how I would have been taken care of at that age by my dad.
Also, there was an adorable Nepalese baby in front of me who spent a good part of the ride looking at me (and laughing at me) with her enormous gorgeous brown eyes (with a tika in the middle...similar to a more commonly known bindhi- a smearing of red powder that represents the third all-seeing eye). She was with her father and mother and the father was equally loving and seemed to be doing most of the childcare between the two parents. So maybe there is more of a future for respect and love of women (at least when they are children) here that it is made out to be.....
And finally, one more way we know we are in Nepal: the time difference! They are five hours and 45 minutes ahead of GMT...and the purpose is to separate themselves from India, who are five hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT. So for everyone at home in Chicago, when it is, say, 10 am there, it is 8:45pm here.
Now hopefully you all know a teeny bit more about Nepal :)
As for Katy and I? We are comfortably settled into Chitwan Village Resort in Chitwan National Park, 160 km northwest of Kathmandu. The man who owns this place is probably one of the most genuinely nice people I have ever met and we start our jungle safari in the morning....we'll be here for three days. Stay tuned for pictures of rhinos, crocodiles, elephants, sloth bears.....and if we're lucky, a tiger!!!
Interesting (and sad) facts about Nepal. It's hard to imagine growing up in a that type of culture.
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