Nepal - See You Again!

Before I totally move on, I have some thoughts on Nepal.  First - the title is because people never say good-by in Nepal - always see you again (or something like that).
Nepal is not what I thought it would be and I'm not really sure what I expected, but here are some observations.
There are NO traffic lights.  Everyone that I mentioned this to said that of course there were traffic lights but I never saw one.  The driving is chaotic at best.  The roads are horrible and people beep their horns and pass on two lane roads on curves - it doesn't matter.  It's crazy and I'm surprised there aren't more accidents.
The country is over 80% Hindu (I think I mentioned this previously) but there are prayer flags everywhere.  It's some interesting combination of Hindu/Buddhist but mainly Hindu with women in red (married) everywhere with a red sindhur or Bindi on their foreheads.  A lot of the prayer flags in the mountains are left by travelers to ensure good fortune on their journeys.
People in Nepal cook with fire, burn their trash and burn their weeds also which makes the valleys, especially the Kathmandu valley but also Pokhara, very smoggy.  If you ask about it though, it's haze.
The cities have rolling blackouts every day because there is not enough power for the population.  (The mountain villages don't have this problem.  I think I explained why in a previous blog but, in case you missed it, they have their own hydroelectric power due so few people and so many streams in the mountains.) The people in the cities have adjusted and just  expect that it will come back on.  They usually have a (somewhat) designated time for its return.
There were two plane accidents while I was there: one in which everyone perished (22 people returning from a trek) and the other in which the pilots died but the passengers survived -also returning from a trek. (I had read about this and it's why I took the bus.)
I don't know if taking buses is any safer, but the rides sure were interesting - and long. (Thank you India for building a new road to Pokhara! In a year it will be easy travels.)
The other side of the coin:
The PEOPLE.  They are so amazing, kind, friendly and the most honest people I have ever met.  They will tell you the absolute truth whether you want to hear it or not and they will be your friend for life.
The mountains!  They are nothing short of spectacular as are the little villages with lodges and teahouses along the way and all of this in a rhododendron forest!  My friends from Singapore who I trekked with for the first three day went on to Annapurna Base Camp and showed me some photos.  It was dark, the mountains were literally glowing, the moon was full and it was  minute 7 degrees centigrade but, boy, was it beautiful.
There is no place on earth like Nepal - at least not that I have seen.  I wish I had discovered it when I was younger and my legs were better.  I would love to trek further - to monasteries high in the mountains and I would love to see Everest and yaks!  I would also like to stay in a tower in the jungle and wait for tigers to meander by. Maybe another time.  Here are a few photos taken from the bus.

Traffic Jam #1

The Food - How could I forget to mention the food?  The staple of Nepal is Daal Bat.  My guides (and many Nepalese it seems) eat it twice a day.  It is a huge mound of rice, a cup (usually brass) of lentil soup, a serving of greens (spinach or chard usually), a vegetable of either cauliflower, green beans, carrots or broccoli or an assortment of these, some little crunchy fried things (I got different answers as to what these were – onions/potatoes?) and a spicy sour dollop of sauce.  You are usually offered refills of rice and lentils which is why guides like it – very filling and nutritious!  Nepalese eat this with their right hand and it is like a dance the way all of the ingredients are mixed.  It was fascinating, but I tired of this dish after a few days and branched out.  Nepal offers a variety of food.  You can even get apple pie in some of the teahouses.  All serve macaroni and spaghetti and some have pizza.  I fell in love with the momos which are a little like potstickers – but different.  They come steamed or fried and you can get either veg, chicken or buff (buffalo).  They have delicious sauces and I want to take them home with me!  My guide would survey the situation in each village to let me know if it was okay to order chicken (usually not).  In Ghandruk, however, after speaking with the proprietor he said, “Chicken here is okay.  Killed yesterday.”  I had the veg momos!