Nepal is a tiny Himalayan kingdom wedged between China and India that has intrigued the Western mind as a mysterious land shrouded in myths and legends encased by vast mountainous expanses and natural beauty. Besides being home to Mt. Everest and outstanding trekking opportunities, the Nepalese people are fascinating. The mountains have molded their religions, agriculture and architecture. Indeed, their very existence. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and is confronting the same problems as other developing  nations -   overpopulation,  pollution, deforestation and safe drinking water. Until the

Kathy Piller

1950's when King Tribhuvan declared Nepal a democratic cally and geographically. Today, people journey to Nepal hoping to gain insights into their own lives and to experience a different way of life revealing how minuscule we humans truly are in the scheme of things.

Buddhism and Hinduism are the primary belief systems with the Buddhist having only Buddha and the Hindus having many gods. Their basic philosophy is, "Your happiness is my happiness" and we witnessed it everywhere we went from Kathmandu to the remote hills. 90% of the population claim to be Hindu, which had its origins between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago. In fact, it is the year 4565 if you are Hindu and 2046 if you are Buddhist. We were told that nothing dreadful happened in the year 2000.

Nepal remains an agrarian society. Farming is still done by hand with oxen or humans if no ox is available. Two to three harvest times a year. We saw the people, young and old alike, all working in the fields. Rice is picked and then thrashed by hand. Did not look like a fun task! The basic food is rice, noodles, potatoes and meat, if any, will be mutton or chicken. Cows are considered sacred and never eaten. Holy Cow! In the larger cities such as Kathmandu and Pokhara, you will still find the sacred cows wandering at will. Traffic jams from cars, cows, people and bicyclists all vying for the same single lane road, no stop signs and

Kathy in Pokhara

smog as well as computers and Coca-Cola. We sent emails home rather than trying to call. Tourism is the main source of money for the economy. However, during the monsoons from May through August there is not much activity. The monsoons cause huge landslides on the main roads and trails which in turn the government has to maintain by using only human labor. They do not have our heavy-duty equipment. In fact, we saw them tarring a section of road using one shovel full at a time and others smoothing it out. There is no minimum wage for doing it. The local people maintain the trails that go from village to village and in exchange the government gives them food for the community. These trails are very well maintained, as they are the only way to get anywhere. Donkeys are used to carry grains but are never ridden. You walk or you don't go.