Nepal declared itself a republic today (or it will tomorrow, or it did yesterday; the English-language press has a very informal relationship with tenses). Other than one very relatively peacable maoist march, and the fact that police armed with either rifles or long sticks (I'm not sure how they decide who gets which, but I have a feeling that union rules probably give the sticks to the rookies) out in the streets, no one seems too agitated or excited about the new republic.
I went to Swayambhunath stupa (affectionately/derogatorily called the monkey temple) today. It's pretty interesting to see the "Newari Synthesis" of Hinduism and Buddhism in action. Basically, the temple is primarily a Buddhist stupa, built on a sight holy to Hindus, with both Buddhist and Hindu shrines surrounding it. The kid who offered (for a modest fee) to show me around explained it as "we're both. Hindus came from India. Buddhists from Tibet. We're both. "
I have many pictures, which I'll post when I get my bag, which has, among other things (like razors and a change of socks,) my usb cable.
A few other notes:
- The smells of the street here are pretty disorienting. Incense overpowers garbage overpowers fresh fruit and fish (although given how far Nepal is from the ocean, and the state of the river I walked by today, I'd rather not think about where the fish comes from).
- The newspaper prints an extended horoscope. In addition to the usual horoscope, basedon the regular zodiac, it also has a general horoscope, published on the op-ed page (and about the same length as the editorials) outlining what to expect for the day.
- Monkeys really are cute.
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4 comments:
damn. you brought us to the brink but then left us hanging... what was your horoscope? my balls is blue.
do the monkeys pick nits from each other and eat them, or is that just a pleasant little fiction?
i believe the pro wres stipulation you are looking for is "retirement match," or, alternatively, a "loser goes home" match. see michaels v. flair, wrestlemania 24 (citrus bowl 2008) (requiring flair's retirement after loss by superkick).
Um, is a lost bag really any reason to not have pictures up by now? Where monkeys are involved I have very little patience. Have you bought all new Nepalese clothing or are you just the smelly kid roaming aimlessly through the city? Oh, and yea, if you don't post soon I'm going to assume you didn't make it to work alive...
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