Re:The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s
by beilabs on Sunday December 09, 2018 @09:23PM
(#18644741)
Blackouts are no longer an issue. I imagine the water turned off because the pumps couldn't operate (no electricity). I should do a blog post about the reason why electricity was generated but not directed to the right place (corruption).
There are still parts of Kathmandu that feel like you've stepped back in time but are growing increasingly hard to find. The city at times feels overpopulated due to the huge amounts of migrants that came for services and work. While Kathmandu is incredibly polluted (due to road works, construction, river pollution), they've come a long way in the last few years.
Re:The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s
by kweks on Monday December 10, 2018 @12:04AM
(#18645365)
In my visits of a few years back, Kathmandu was a horribly sad mess of huge injections of foreign money that creates imbalance, open prostitution, drug use, aggression and general steamrolling of original culture. It was quite sad to see, and I was very happy to move on.
With that said, western Nepal, given its lack of road borders, is quite sublime and relatively untouched.
Re:The Life of a Backpacker in Asia in the 1970s
by mdeg on Monday December 10, 2018 @01:52AM
(#18645776)
I was there a few weeks ago. The soldiers are still there, in patrols and along roads, but they don't bother tourists. Electricity is pretty solid, cuts are common but long outages are rare. Most accommodation has UPS systems fitted anyway. The petrol shortages are a thing of the past and there are paved roads in some areas now (main roadways and Thamel).
Kathmandu is a nice city. The traffic and the dust are awful but the city is filled with charm.
I was visiting friends in Kathmandu (likely a decade ago) and had a great time exploring the mountains and the cultural areas. Also if you make lifelong friends, they might give you a khata scarf. You can also buy those gurkha knives if you can take it back home. There was also some bad people but that is common everywhere in the world exacerbated with elements of poverty so don't forget your common sense when dealing with sketchy situations. Theres also definitely pollution building up in the rivers.
Also note that the time I visited was some time after the Nepalese Civil War so soldiers still wandered the streets. However they honestly don't care about what you do, I don't know if they're still around now. As well, electricity and water would be out after 10pm so be prepared for that.