Here's Piero at the dining room table during blackout. Here's the terraces where they farm, south of Kathmandu

A A big drop down

Foggy morning in Kathmandu

Piero and Clari at the table.



a board game in Kathmandu

One week in Kathmandu and it's getting chillier and chillier... so many contrasts: I have a beautiful apartment in an old building in a garden behind Piero and Clarissa on a hill above the churning masses below. Marble floors and brass and carved wood balistrades, but none of the outlets work and when I flush the toilet the water comes spraying out the back in a flood. we have had a "puja" or prayer cerimony up the road for a week and we are going CRAZY with the constant sound of it: the songs start at 6:30 AM and then prayers and chants over and over and go on to 9 PM... I went through stages of "wow, that sounds so great and folkloric" all the way to literally wearing earplugs while I'm home or running away to do some shopping at the "supermarket". And this morning it started to sound more and more like "Yellow Submarine" and "Ive Been Working on the Railroad" and "Oh Mamma Take Me Home". The hot milky spicy tea is lovely, as is the buffalo ("buff") dumplings and wild boar stew and so much for vegetarianism: I haven't eaten this much meat in my whole life and definitely more than in the last year. I miss my San Juanico fish!

I cut all my hair off: not shaved my head like most people here though. It looks HORRIBLE. so no photos... I can't wait to grow it out and it's growing so fast I'm not worried. This isn't as healthy as I thought it would be: there's tons of meat, as I said, and fried food all over the place. Well, I have to go pretty soon so I'll put some photos up.

FINALLY IN KATHMANDU

Well, I guess I sort of cut my trip short to Kathmandu, or rather sped things up: instead of going across Burma by land I flew from Bangkok to Kathmandu direct. The news was that you have to get a visa for Burma and then come back the way you went in and all sorts of strange stuff, like having to leave your passport with the authorities while you are visiting Burma.

Anyway, the truth is I was also missing the kids too much and was in a rush to see them. Bangkok was a crazy and beautiful city, full of malls and pollution, great food, very nice people. I will return to Thailand at a later date, when it's not tourist season. It also happens to be tourist season for the Thais themselves so everywhere was booked and overcrowded.

So here so photos for everyone which, if I do it right, will show some sort of progression in my travels, from Penang, Malaysia to Kathmandu, Nepal and some shots of Piero and Clarissa's new place, which looks and is very luxurious. They have the entire ground floor, but there is rarely hot water and the electrical outlets don't work for the most part. There is a programmed black-out every evening from 6 - 8 or 7 - 9 or whatever and we cook and eat by candlelight. Takes a little getting used to but it's fine and the weather is still wonderful: about 70 by day and then chills down pretty much at night. Most of the streets around are not paved but everyone seems to be working industriously around at building. Kathmandu is definitely a growing city. Yesterday we went to the famous Freak Street where all the hippies lived in the 60's. I think many of them still do. so then foks, have some patience with the blog: I'm still learning and the Internet reception at the cafe (The Saturday Cafe in downtown Boudha Stupa) is terrible but the cakes are heaven (:))

kisses

giulia