First impressions: Kathmandu

Kathmandu, a city of about a million and a half people. Traffic lights and traffic rules for that matter are apparently absent, cows and yaks roam the streets in competition with stray dogs for a few measly scraps left in piles of colorful garbage brushed up against the side of street curbs. And the cars, bicycles and motorcycles scream by in clouds of exhaust fumes that just about make you gag. All this with a beautiful back drop of the picturesque, often cloud covered Himalaya mountains endlessly stretching, slicing clouds at the edges of the valley hinting at some notion of nature, fresh air and cleanliness.

When we exited the plane into Kathmandu airport it reminded me a bit of south America, minimal, dire need of remodeling and stale. As we walked through a long hall to where I presumed the VISA processing station would be a small peculiar looking Nepali man waited anxiously with a bouquet of flowers. He was sweating and I could tell he was nervous, even from far away because he seemed to be almost shaking. As I got closer he suddenly shouted, "Your Excellence!" and forced the flowers into, no not me, but the chest of what I think was a Korean man decked out in an over sized conservative suit, the kind republicans wear. The whole thing scared the shit out of me because as this happened a security guard stuck out his arm and stopped me and a few others from moving forward and possibly disrupting this incredibly awkward scene. I looked for the Korean man who was probably some sort of government official while I waited in line for my VISA, but he mysteriously disappeared most likely through some secret exit. 'Your Excellence' is easily my new favorite way to great someone, absolutely astounding.

From here on I haven't been out too much because I'm working. But I snapped a few pictures, one from my apartment and some random street shots. I heard there is a casino in the hotel beside my apartment building with free drinks and dinner. I'm quite tempted by this. I'll be out and about soon enough as I have about six weeks here, so rest assured you can look forward to some more posts.