Nepal is the poorest place I have ever been to. The neighbouring countries India and China and the not-too-far-away Pakistan and Bangladesh all have a strong class system. You can see the rich and the poor, as well as the middle-class clearly in the social picture. In Nepal, everyone seems to be poor. The richest are those who to us seem to be middle-class, judging from their material possessions and the way they dress. Even the richest of the people don’t own more than a handful of outfits. It is very common to see people dress in the same clothes day on end and they wear their special outfit when they go to a special occasion, such as into the city for shopping or to visit a family they have not seen for a while.
In the centre of Kathmandu, the Thamel, this is not obvious. The narrow streets are filled with shops selling clothes, books, DVDs, exotic musical instruments.... Cafes, bars and restaurant fill the rest of the spots. Hotels can be found in every corner and tourist offices organizing trekking trips are attached to almost all buildings. The centre is only a couple of blocks in size, but on can spend hours and hours on end wondering from shop to another one, bargaining for lower prices... sitting down for some delicious tea and Nepali momos (pasta parcels filled with vegetables).
Foreigners fill the streets. This is where on can blend in. The locals who come to the centre are used to seeing whiter and taller individuals.
As soon as one leaves the centre, one enters ‘the real Nepal’. There is tarmac on the streets; it is all rocks and sand. The streets are crowded, because they are so narrow and there are no proper rules - people can cross the street wherever they wish to, stop wherever they want and to talk to whomever they want even if there is a queue of fifty cars behind them. Donkey and ponies as a means of transport are seen everywhere. Chickens jump across the streets.Cows stand and sleep in the middle of the traffic without anyone disturbing them, even by mistake.
In ‘the real Nepal’, the houses are small and narrow. They are build with brick and cement, which makes them ideal for hot summers to keep cool but freezing col for winters. The houses often have wide open doors that let in extra cold air. The windows are hardly ever properly shut - Nepali people are tough and used to harsh living conditions.
In ‘ the real Nepali villages’, there are no restaurants and cafes. There are street vendors and small local cafes that sell traditional Nepali foods. All the food is cooked on open stoves in pans that have properly been used for the past decade. People sit casually around small tables and chat with one another. In the villages, everyone seems to know one another. They wave and smile to us as we walk drive past in a small car crammed with six people.
‘I have never seen anything like this in my life’ says Diego, a Spanish colleague of mine. He looks at the street side cafes and smily people in amazement.
The driver smiles and looks at us. ‘Oh, you are still yet to see the real Nepal once you leave the Kathmandu Valley area. It is quite another world. Only remote areas and small, small villages...’
Diego looks at me. ‘This is going to be quite an adventure.’
I smile at him. ‘Yes, it will be. We can learn from these people and also help them with something, hopefully.’
The driver laughs. ‘ This is what I like about you Europeans. You come here to do some work, but you also want to go away with something for yourselves from here. Give and take. Benefits for all. Like the law of Karma, when you give something positive, you get something positive. Nepal is full of stories and spirituality. I am sure you will go away as quite a different person’
And so our life-changing journey continues as we drive up the Himalayas towards our destination in the real Nepal.’
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Anyone interested in reading more about Nepali stories, a great book is: ‘Born in Nepal: a miscellany of buddhist stories, legends and traditions’ by Susan Hoivik.
http://www.pilgrimsonlineshop.com/xisbnbooks.php?isbn=9789994678822
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