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| Username | Post |
| tabasco | Posted
on 12-Apr-04 08:14 PM
. as i was searching tourism related news about nepal, i found this forum from lonely planet website where they are discussing how safe it it is to visit nepal. i am really glad to see how positive the tourists are about nepal. even though we try to show our patriotism by making some online petitions, when it comes to guts and true love for nepal, i am afraid they are well ahead of us. cheers to these guys. here is the link - http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=16&threadid=440864&messid=3665884&STARTPAGE=1&parentid=0&from=1 if this link doesnt work go to this page - http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/ and check ASIA-INDIAN SUB CONTINENT and "nepal safe?" thread :| |
| kevin_np | Posted
on 13-Apr-04 07:02 AM
that is one nice thread i like the last one he is given the real picture for those who can't open the link here is the one of those threads. this was by someone named shadowrti worth reading especially for tourists : As someone who has lived in nepal on and off for more than 20 years, I think I can speak with some experience (and am a close friend of the famous or infamous nepali ann!). I am NOT there now, however, so please understand that. I was, however, last fall. I do not travel as a trekker, however, but for my work. in that context, would i keep going back? yes. Did I have moments I was afraid? yes. There are numerous bandhs, where shops and transport is shut down and threats are made to vandalize businesses and cars or buses on the roads. Some people find those days peaceful and unpolluted if you are in kathmandu. I, personally, am careful to avoid wandering around aimlessly on bandh days as violent acts have occured. Bandhs (or strikes) can cause serious disruption, however, for a trekker or tourist who has a limited time schedule and whose trip is shortened or is unable to get to or get back from their destination to this inconvenience. Another situation which is getting worse in nepal is the safety on the roads. Road safety in general has always been bad in Nepal (and most underdeveloped countries). So you go to a place like nepal knowing the roads are horrific, landslides occur, there are numerous bus accidents and you are often far from any medical help. But on top of that, now, you have army and police checkpoints, which are often quite long. even if they allow the tourist vehicles to go through, you often have to wait long periods in lines of buses and cars to even get through. In addition, Maoists have detonated landmines on various highways and there have been incidents of army and maoists shooting on or near highways. I myself was just arriving in Charikot late last november (in Dolakha district, not a prime trekking area, but one a few trekkers start off for the Rolwaling Himal trek). We arrived just a few minutes after Maoists had gunned down two police officers. People ran into the road and told us not to go further. We stopped and got out of our van and, indeed, heard shooting, which we later learned was the armed police shooting wildly at anyone and anything. thankfully, no one was injured, but we saw bullet holes in a building and they narrowly missed people. The maoists had targeted the police and fled down a trail. Silly army, they even stopped our van and asked if we had seen any taxi driving by, as if the maoists would escape by taxi! at the time, I found it all quite exciting and an adrenaline rush. But after it was all over, I was literally shaking. The most poignant experience was seeing a line of school children being herded by their teachers after they were told it was all clear across a police barricade to their waiting parents on the other side, who were crying and asking, "are you ok? did you hear the guns? were you scared?". Seeing those little children being reunited with their shaken parents really brought home to me that it is no joke, this country is at war, and as much as we want to pretend that "it doesn't affect us, they aren't targeting tourists, they are only targeting government buildings", that does not change the reality. Yes, Nepal is in the midst of a civil war. Finally, in addition to the general disruption of a trekkers' schedule due to police checkpoints, bandhs, and the possibility of being caught in the middle, there are unexploded ordinances left behind, for example around Beni. If you read the Nepal news any day (www.nepalnews.com-i especially like the Nepali Times), you will read of children who die from picking up these bombs. BOMBS. LANDMINES. And, yes, it is not just in the "far west" of Nepal now. It is in the annapurna sanctuary, it is in Kathmandu, it is in Chitwan. I was near Narayanghat last fall and saw maoist banners strung up on the highway proclaming you were entering maoist controlled territory. I also was the victim of a "donation" (or as it rightly should be called, extortion) by the maoists on the way to kalinchok, which is a famous temple where, in november and august each year, shamans go to "recharge their batteries" so to speak. It is about a 6 hour hike from Charikot, and a place I highly recommend (and off the beaten trek). We met some maoists on that hike, young women and one man. They followed us for some time, then asked if we were american. I told them I was Swiss (not true, but thought it wise). They asked us for 2000NRS. We bargained them down to 1000. They also asked if we had camera equipment. I was with a nepali friend, and I myself speak quite good nepali. I told them I did not support their acts of violence and that I hoped this money would not be used to continue their violent work. Not once was I scared, although I must say seeing young women barely 16 years old carrying weapons was shocking. One other time, on the road to Jiri last fall, we stopped along a bridge across a river in the village of Busti. We were looking out at the river when we saw 3 men walking slowly towards us. One clearly had a gun under his jacket which was slung over his shoulder. They were staring at us quite menacingly. As you can imagine, we quickly hightailed it out of there. nothing happened, and when they crossed the bridge, they hopped on the back of a truck. My nepali friend said they could possibly have been army who are often dressed in civilian clothing these days. You can't tell the maoists from the army anymore. |
| kevin_np | Posted
on 13-Apr-04 07:03 AM
So I think ultimately my point is this. If you want to go on holiday and don't mind enduring a level of fear and uncertainty and not knowing what's next and that adrenaline rush excites you, and if you have the time to put up with all the strikes and blockades and other things (in addition to the landslides, bad roads and car and bus accidents) that will disrupt your schedule, then go. The himalayas are beautiful. As for the people? well, the last two years I have been there (and like I said I have lived there on and off since 1984) I am finding the nepali people in the villages to be more and more distant. they dont' know who to trust. they are being watched and accused of being sympathizers with the maoists or the army. there is an air of suspicion and mistrust. young people are being recruited into the maoist army by force. other young people are leaving and fleeing to the city. Many of the street boys you see in kathmandu now who are sniffing glue and look about 10, they are probably more like 14 or 15 and have fled their village so as not to get recruited by maoists. not all but some. I work with street kids, and i have interviewed them. there is also a drastic increase in prostitution in kathmandu now. look how many "massage parlors" are in thamel now. go to ratna park at night, if you dare, and see them, these young preteen girls, many of whom have fled the maoists in their villages. that is the truth of what is going on. Now only you can decide, is it worth it or not? Yes, nepalese are starving now that their livelihood is gone. Tourism is down the drain (don't listen to media that say tourist arrivals are up by 60%-I ask where are those tourists? Pokhara is dead right now). That is a harsh fact. But on the other hand, tourists want to go places in their limited holiday time where they feel safe. Oh, and one final comment. I am an American. And I have never been a victim of violence in my own country. I have never heard a gun going off. I have never been extorted by maoists with guns. NEVER. I have lived and traveled all over the world. I was just in Bali last spring. It was perfectly safe and there were no landmines and police and army and maoists killing each other. Would I take a train in Spain right now? Probably not. I don't want to spend my holiday being afraid of being blown up. But that's my choice. I am leaving for two weeks in Morocco next week. Am I afraid of moroccan terrorists? no way. I am more afraid of the crazy drivers in morocco. But i don't worry about landmines and bombs there, either, or being caught in the crossfire as I do in Nepal. Will I go back? yes. I go back every fall for several months for my work. I will be back. Will I wander around the country freely anymore? NO. not until the war is over. I have been too close for comfort, and it is no longer comfortable for me. That is my own personal choice. |
| tabasco | Posted
on 14-Apr-04 12:37 AM
.i am surprised that only kevin commented. did anyone else care to read ? :( |