Kathmandu..God, what has happened to you..

Arrived in my birthplace yesterday, at the nick of time for
the latest strike by the transporters - 'chakka jam', wheels stopped.
This time the occasion was the price hike in gas and petrol.
The taxi driver tried the 'Ring road', the main road of the town,
but we were told to stop the vehicle by the protestors. So I
had an oppertunity for a grand tour of gullys of Kathmandu,
same size as those of Japan, only a lot more different view
and experience. No wonder the driver had a perfect chance
to make his share of ponder as well, he charged me a thousand
rupees, 4 times the normal to my home.

There is no point denying hopelessness and desparation in
people's minds, the country is in real shambles, totally unfamiliar
and disarray, much worse than when I left. I wonder how anyone
would be able to hope and dream in a place like this, for those who
are still trying, my utmost salute.

The whole airport is totally disfunctional, there was only one conveyer
belt working when we arrived, for a number of flights that landed
almost one after another. I could see the horror in the eyes of the tourists.
I was lucky to find my luggages, but my suitcase was no more usable
for another trip,the carrying handle and one of the wheels were gone.
None would have lasted the journey anyway given the loads were being thrown
and tossed around like garbage. So I will need to buy a new one.

The whole town is like its been in a dust strom for a century, this
in a place of mountains and lakes! all the roads are potholed and
hardly treadeable for vehicles. People still smile and seem to go
around with their lives, but there is a stinging sense of who-knows-
what's-gonna-happen-next-second kind of desparation.