In Nepal

Coming in to Kathmandu, watching the massive high-altitude clouds just sit on top of these mountains like little pieces of cotton candy, took my breath away. I wanted to take a picture, but I knew I wouldn't get it right. And I didn't want to disrespect that captain's orders of "electronics off". Especially with rain on the tarmac.

I've already eaten. Food was wonderful. An incredibly nice and generous Nepalese man walked me around, showed me the most authentic restaurant in Thamel, ate with me, and led me to a map shop that his friend owns. He is a tour operator, but knows that I already have a tour booked elsewhere...just a really nice guy.

That made me feel a lot better, especially in light of my first experience outside of the airport. Literally 30 people were reaching for my bags, telling me to come with them to the city. A seemingly honest guy I had first encountered at an airport information booth wanted to charge me the equivalent of $10 for a taxi to downtown. Eventually, and I do not know how, I made it through the fray and into the free van provided by a hostel where I did not even have a reservation.

My journey here from Ulaanbaatar was an adventure. Arriving in Beijing Thursday night, I found out that they would give me a stamp good for 24 hours in the city. With that option, I quickly jettisoned the airport and made my way back to my old home, the Sanlitun Youth Hostel. Back in a familiar setting, I met my roommate for the night. Morrison had arrived in Beijing that day for a two-month internship with the Embassy of his country - Vanuatu. There was a season of Survivor there, apparently.

I figured that it might be nice to spend some more time with this guy. I told him I was going out to dinner and asked him if he wanted to join. It ended up being so nice (and slightly humorous) for me to act as his tour guide, helping orientate him to the city that is now his home for the next 60 days. We went to a restaurant I had been meaning to go to last time - Cafe Sambal. My food was spicier than anticipated, but the place had such a perfect setting. Really classy but still a little beat up...I don't know, see for yourself. After dinner, we walked down through the empty hutongs to the lake district of Hohai, where we could see a little bit more going on. I'm still overwhelmed by the neon of this Chinese foil to Amsterdam. The smell of domesticated animal will forever haunt me.

More about Morrison: He is doing this internship with the help of a government sponsorship, after which he returns to Hanoi to finish the his Masters in Int'l Government Cooperation. Once he finishes, he is going back to help his country develop, despite his desire to pursue another masters degree (comparative law) or a Ph. D. Vanutatu, with a population of 215,000, is an island chain in the south pacific, once colonized by both the British and the French. As a result, Morrison speaks English, French, his native tongue, a Creole language common to the region, and now some Vietnamese. It makes me feel horribly stupid.

According to him, only about 4% of the population has even attended university, much less finished, much less pursued second degrees. Needless to say, he is going to be a very important asset to his country when he returns. Despite his modest acknowledgement, I was really impressed. Drinking a beer lakeside, we started to talk about the palpable difference that he will be able to make in his country. So many of us in the US, with our college degrees in hand, feel that all of our work just goes to perpetuate a system that we have no direct control over...maybe I just sometimes feel that way. For Morrison, the situation couldn't be farther from the truth. He comes from a poor country where life really couldn't be simpler. His parents live on an island in the north, where they hunt their own wildlife, catch their own fish, grow their own crops, and spend money only to buy clothing. Now, to me, that life could sound pretty appealing at times. Still, he says that ventures like the New Millenium Fund, as well as foreign aid coming in from other nations, will bring the development that is so despereately needed for Vanuatu. We talked about so much more, and it was such a great experience.

The next morning I met up with my friend Julie at her apartment for breakfast. I had met Julie during one night out the first time around. Originally from Israel, Julie moved to Beijing, where she does security for El-Al, which means she's badass. She is going to see AIR at a tiny tiny venue in Beijing in a few days. Lucky her. We watched the Paralympics on TV until I had to catch a cab for my flight to Dehli.

I arrived in Dehli at 2am. Everything was very Indian. I slept in the waiting area in about 30 minute intervals, holding my bags next to me until 9am rolled around. At that point I got my gear, checked in, and made my way to my present situation: staying at the Pilgrim Guesthouse in downtown Kathmandu.