The Nepalese

The Nepalese people are really proud of their nationality and essence. They see themselves different from the Indians and as well from the Chinese. They search almost desperately their own culture trying to bring forward differentiating things and a special type of uniqueness. They live out of agriculture and tourism. Having more than 25 million inhabitants in a country half as Romania, they suffocate literally in the big cities. Or at least this is how I felt walking around the streets with no sidewalks along with other pedestrians, cars, bicycles, rickshas, motorbikes, goats or cows. Many Nepalese went out to work in the Arabic countries, others excel in trafficking goods at the Chinese border. No wonder… Around two years ago they gave up the monarchy and started to build a democratic republic. Our guide was saying “we still need to learn the rules of this game”. Indeed…

The earth is warm, and not because of the heat or atmospheric temperature. This warmth is passed on to the people as well, and the ground is blessed and sacred. Although they are very poor (I changed my mind after seeing how poor the Tibetans are), and their life standard is really low, I have never seen in their eyes anything such as mischief or cheating. They insist in offering you things to buy, sometimes they become a little aggressive, but they are naturally born negotiators. I learned a few good lessons from them.

It is important to look beyond the garbage in the streets, the dust and the street trade. Seeing Nepal like this, it’s like seeing a precious piece of turquoise stone covered in mud. If it's washed, it glows. Literally.

more photos at:

Life in Nepal