Kathmandu and Around

We arrived in Kathmandu 5 days ago after about 10 days in Rajasthan (state) in India and returning to Delhi for a couple of days before flying here. We had originally planned on traveling overland from India, by way of Varanasi, to Kathmandu but when we went to buy our train ticket, we struck out entirely. Trains from Rajasthan to Varanasi were booked solid for weeks. A disappointment. But we had been lucky, as we have met other tourists traveling in India who had booked their train tickets months in advance, from their home countries, in order to get where they wanted to go. We, on the other hand, were lucky in that we bought tickets the day of or the day before and didn't have any problems until we tried to go to Varanasi. Train travel in India is great! Very comfortable and easy and inexpensive- a great way to see the country. They even serve good food in the first class cars...India, overall, is a relatively easy place in wich to travel. People speak English widely (though there are daily frustrations and miscommunications about nearly everything). Even Delhi, which originally seemed charmless, hot and hectic, has really grown on us by the time we returned to it. We had some great interactions with Delhi-ites; cab drivers, hotel staff, people in restaurants, etc, were funny and kind and curious about us. Great food, nice parks, and temples and monuments (truthfully, though, we are getting a little "templed" out; these ornately carved, gold or marble-topped 700 year old buddhist or hindu temple in a lovely setting? we've seen too many of them!). And the hawking (people trying to sell things and services) is not nearly what we had anticipated from people who had traveled in India before. Another wonderful thing about India: there are many tourists and tourist sites, but us foreigners are a drop in the bucket compared to Indians. There are a billion people, and they like to visit the tourist sites, too. We are always outnumbered, enormously, wherever we go, by Indians and Indian tourists. Refreshing. And unlike Nepal, which I will get to next...
Nepal is gorgeous. The Himalayas and green hills and mountains and valleys. They grow everything here. It is lush and pleasant and sunny but cool at night. Great for sitting outside and walking around- which we have been doing a lot of! We spent the last 2 days in Nagargot, which is on a ridge about 30 km outside of Kathmandu. From the top of our hotel (on the 5th story was a little lookout tower), we could see a huge swath of the Himalayas, when they were not covered in clouds. They are powerful looking and enormous, breath-taking. Yesterday,we walked from Nagarkot, along a ridge and down into the valley almost back to Kathmandu. We walked along small paths, through towns and fields and temples. We walked by people bathing their children, washing their clothes, harvesting rice and millet, enjoying the view from their porches and lookouts, and everyone, everyone smiled at us and greeted us with "namaste". The children and the dogs accompanied us on our walks. This was a real highlight of our time here. The downside is that Kathmandu, particularly the section called Thamel, is a tourist ghetto! There are so many businesses catering to tourists. All the signs are in English and almost the only Nepalis around are those employed by those businesses. Nepal is a poor country (but poverty looks very different here than it did in Africa, for example. Clean, running water, a gorgeous natural environment, decent roads, electricity and larger houses and more complex buildings are things which make it different. It reminds us somewhat of mountainous countries in the Americas, like Guatemala and Bolivia: ancient and complex societies in beautiful surroundings). People here generally cannot afford the food and services that us tourists demand by the thousands and thousands each year. We feel conflicted about our role in this beast that is global tourism.
One more highlight about Nepal: food!!! Who knew? We are finding it spicier than Indian food (which is a plus for us) and a really wonderful combination of Chinese and Indian spices. We have been loving the Tibetan/Newari soups: hearty, vegetarian, with dumplings, noodles, beans, fresh veggies, chillies, ginger, garlic, etc. And momos: little dumplings with Indian-flavored veggies inside and a great, spicy, Indian-style dipping sauce. Yay!