Hello from Katmandu, Nepal

Namaste,

I have been here for nearly a week now, the weather is pretty good, and compare to NZ where storms are over the country it has been great here. T-shirt and short temperature, and not too hot. I am living at the heart of the local working class area, away from the regular tourist crowd, its an experience in itself, feel like one of the locals.. Kathmandu as a city has not really developed as much as it should have due to the political instabilities in the last 15-20 years, and it shows. It shows everyday when I am taking a shower and after I lathered myself well and good, and I open the shower and nothing comes out, and I have to wipe off with a towel. I kid you not it happened 3 times, 3 times!!.. So yesterday I decided I will soap myself in small parts and test to see if the water is coming… But in all honesty I cant really complain, its free accommodation and the people are really nice. As my colleague said, its like 5 star accommodation compared to the village I shall go to soon.

I am currently working on building a VOIP (Internet Phone) server, so that we can manage calls from the villages to the main centres. Since there is no phone line in most villages, the NGO has setup wireless stations that allow internet to be accessible in those rural local villages. We use the internet for phone communication with the rest of the world. Very important, as in case of emergencies most of the villages are days away from the road and the only way communication is if someone walks to the nearest town.. remember the 1800’s J

Its amazing that there are quite a few locals working with the NGO’s for no money, its really commendable.. There are people doing intense work 6 days a week for sheer goodwill. I have to say in Asian countries people are strangely very friendly and want to help. As they say “the lesser the people have the more they want to give”.

All else is well, looking forward to going to the village, and more I hear about it, the long trek seems more and more painful.. But it will be well worth it, if I make it…

Still Alive n well, All thanks to this guy :-) (he wanted 500 Rupees for that picture, I clicked and walked :p)

Anukool