Nepal to donate unused mountains to EU

Our week of relaxation in Pokhara is coming to an end, on thursday we go back to Kathmandu. Nepal is a strange place. Its the first real third world ahem "least developed" country we've been too, where annual wages average $250. That's 50p a day. Its a complete lack of ports, roads, flat land and a decade long civil war, and unlike say Cambodia, its going downhill.

The King here has just shut down another radio station at gun point. The first one was shut down for broadcasting news, because as everyone knows (and this is a quote), "no country in the world allows news to be broadcast over FM radio". This latest one was going to air an interview with the Maoist chairman. Two letters were delivered simultanously, one requesting the interview not be broadcasted and the other saying that because the first hadn't been responded too, all the broadcasting equipment has been requested, and some armed police sent along to ensure compliance with that request. I have to admire the ingenuity, the King can save face by claiming a warning was sent then action taken. At the heart of all this are the new Media Ordinance laws, which forbid things like criticising the royal family and reports contrary to the spirit of royal decrees.

Its funny travelling in a country with so many problems. Liz commented about the ex-cabinet minister trapped in Kalopani (he was a member until the King dissolved the cabinet, or at least so he claims- truth is flexible out here. Put it this way, in the Sudoku puzzles they feel the need to point out "you can't change the numbers in the grid already. You have to work around them."). We had far more freedom to move than he did - the King is keeping close tabs on politicians, the Maoists are known to kidnap and kill politicians, and police roadblocks mean normal buses take 12 hours to go Kathmandu-Pokhara (the tourist only buses take half that).

The big news right now is that the Maoists and the 7 parties all coincidentaly met in New Delhi, and struck some kind of agreement. The king has repeatedly been accused of surrounding himself with ancient advisors from a bygone era (by the American ambassador and others), of ignoring the people and the 1990 constitution, hmm, I don't know if I should say any more while in the country. He's offered elections, but in the opinion of that cabinet minister, any so-elected prime minister won't have any power. All the parties have boycotted the elections, and if they do ally with the Maoists the King only has the army supporting him.

Its very weird. Nepal is a Hindu kingdom, with strong Buddhist tendancies (Hinduism seems to swallow other religions whole, after all, everything is just an illusion). Beauty comes way above truth, and survival above both. In the country they have lots of space, mountains and fresh air but look incredibly bored. In the city, you can't move for being hassled, you can't believe anything anyone says and don't even think about breathing the air. Everywhere, saving face is the most important aspect of life, you can do anything (forget about rule of law) as long as it doesn't embaress anyone richer than yourself.

This morning, I took a bike ride out of town. There were a few buffalo, rice fields, and lots of kids. People looked at me from a distance, then a flash of recognition passed over their faces -oh, its a tourist- and they went back to doing nothing. I wonder, people wax lyrical about rural lifestyles and talk fondly of Indian-style living in harmony with nature unlike us gluttonous westerners, is this what they're talking about?