Another Day in an Odd Land....

Well today was definitely an odd and yet exciting day. People were still holding out on the raise in Petrol and there were no cars on the roads. We walked to Thamel to try and get a little internet work done, since our connection here has been tempermental, and also so that I could pray that the shops on New Road would open up and I could get my camera today.

The walk itself really isn't bad. Especially in comparison to just trekking for five days, its nothing! It took us around 45 minutes to an hour to get down there. I was irritated with my big bag of gear and camera of course, but Chris hooked me up with a little porter action. I owe him a t-shirt and another cup of coffee. He is going trekking up to the Everest Base Camp on Tuesday, so I justified it by thinking of it as a little training in preperation for his journey.

The second day of streets devoid of cars is rather nice, as the pollution has jumped down tremendously in just a short amount of recouperation time. First chowk, or intersection, that we came up on was filled with more boys in the street, others just sitting around watching everyone gather, then empty shops lining the road, and many people walking up and down the street trying to get from here to there. We passed the people that work at the cafe below the apartment and exchanged a few hellos and such. Suddenly as a motorcycle drove through the chowk, all of the kids all went nuts, tried to chase it down. Occasionally they do catch them and knock them over.



As I went in to photograph the situation, the motorcyle was far gone of the situation. When the kids saw my camera, they jumped up and down in glee at having their picture taken while they are "making their statement against the gov'ts price hike". And the resulting image was rather nice, though it is an odd situation when protestors and kids acting like thugs in the street run at you and jump up and down in excitement and with huge smiles on their faces. But, I chalk it up to another KTM contradiction of confusion.



So we kept on walking. There was a little girl wandering around and making funny faces as her parents and sister sat in the shade by some trees in a small patch of grass along the side of the road.



The bridge that we always cross near the market, the garbage dump, the river, and a few schools, was of course blocked off with burning tires, bricks and such, like anyone in their right mind is out driving around any way.

Many ambulances still continue to travel the roads and I am convinced after looking in the back of well over 20 or so of them that the majority are just carrying around people that need to get to point B from A.  At least that is one of the few vehicles, other than military or police, that can get around without being hassled.




One ambulance passes us as some traffic cops stand around in the trafficless streets, while a bull scratches his head on a small shrine that is randomly on the side of the road. Oh yes, and after about 5 frames of me working with the shot and getting closer, he did turn to me and begin to charge me for a sec, but as I just stood there, he quickly gave up and walked away, as the traffic cops laughed and I thought to myself I was so glad again for growing up around and with no fear of large hoofed animals.



So we made it to Thamel finally, and I spent the morning uploading my last two slideshows so that I could finally get up the pics of trekking so that Mom knows that I am fine, happy, and still loving every odd minute of this adventure. I then went by the one high end camera shop in Thamel. I had called them in the morning and they got my camera and lens from one of their closed stores and brought it down for me to see. So I went by even though they said it would not be in the store until the morning, and yet, it was already there.

So I know have a Canon 5d and a 16-35 (again and thank god)! I have had to switch, reluctantly, to Canon. So those that not only used to tease that I still shot Nikon and that I never wanted to give up my film F5, can all clap and do your little dances. I have stepped over into the darkside and I am nervous as heck to have to relearn the entire setup and working of a new camera. Not to mention the thought of having a brand new camera, which also kind of freaks me out after so long.

So happily we walked back to Bouddha, and I played along the way. This time the walk took us longer and as it got darker along the way, I wondered what would be in store.

Again we passed the traffic cops just standing around and I guess thinking of directing the pedestrians or the bicycles. Which, by the way, other than license checking road blocks, I have never seen any of these guys really do anything else, and it's not because of the amazingly well mannered and organized traffic here.




A couple of guys were painting a Hepatitis B vaccination day sign, while two other guys sat next door, arm in arm. Which to those of you who have never been exposed to the male outward displays of affection in a country that is extrememly homophobic and not too gay friendly, it's just odd, yet explains quite a bit. I thought this whole scene a bit humurous and playful version of a little John H. White, two by two action.



We crossed the bridge over the river, by which they dump all the garbage, and people were walking around as usual. (and, GOD, isn't this new lens amazing!)


We came across some kids burning some tires in another Chowk.

The Hyatt was all gated up and fenced off, there were also quite a few bricks out in the street all over the road.



As the night got darker, we walked faster, and just avoided any of the commotion that we saw. Though all of the incidents that I have seen yet far have been extrememly tame, just unorganized and chaotic, we decided that at night with a brand new camera with no flash yet, and me all packed up with gear, we just walked faster and trucked it home.

When we got back to the cafe under the apartment, the manager Asta, told me that all should return to normal tomorrow. That this evening they had dropped the 17 rupee/liter price hike, and that people would return to their usual daily routines, definitely expressing his happiness with that decision.

So as I get ready for bed, after thoroughly digesting my new camera manual and playing around with it a bit, I think of what is in store for Kathmandu and Nepal; and the life of the people here. To try and compare tthe reaction to the 17 rupee raise, which by the way is currently the equivalent of $.023, I think of how my country continues to drive their huge vehicles and complain about the ever rising cost of fuel. I know that the traffic of Chicago could never stop for two days without so much damage to the economy that would be far worse than the hike in price. But as I think about it, here it seems just another example of what another life I am living in.

It's hard to even try to imagine what will potentially happen to the cost of everything here rising, and more so how devastating that will be to the people, yet just how necessary it is for the prices of things to rise for any chance of hope for the economy to improve. And I once again realize how many people living in developed countries like America have no clue and don't even see many of these effects, let alone feel them, really, when they rise in my country, yet do nothing but buy bigger cars and continue to bitch more and more. And then I think how even the slightest increase in kerosene for cooking, cars to get some of the stuff and the people around, and how long it takes to walk everywhere , and realize that to so many here would simply starve on the most basic level if everything that they spent money on, just went up only one rupee, which is less than one cent. But it all adds up.

So imagine all of the pennies hidden through out the US. In couches, under the seats of your car, in pockets, heck, even thrown into the dumpsters by I am sure the millions each day, and think about what a difference that one hidden or dismissed penny, really could make. And then I think about how even the most perplex problems of the world may just have a seemingly simple solution, yet how do we get creative enough, and motivated enough to try and actually solve them, is the real problem within itself!

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