journey to the rooftop of the world

Join the campaign: 100 Years of Education for girls in Nepal

There has never been a better time to offer hope to the next generation of Nepali women. As you may be aware, the people of Nepal recently sparked a revolution against despot King Gyanendra. I was traveling in Nepal when the movement began, and I spent the last five days of my adventure under house arrest due to the violent skirmishes happening in the streets of Kathmandu. Bearing witness to the people's revolution had a profound impact on my global outlook.

As Nepal begins to work toward a more democratic future, we can help empower Nepali girls to become tomorrow's leaders by enabling them to attend school via scholarships. Education is the key.

I am thrilled beyond measure to be partnering with Room to Read to draw awareness to the plight of undereducated girls in Nepal. Room to Read is an extraordinary organization that has earned plaudits from publications like the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine for the work it is doing to bring literacy and education to countries like Nepal.

Please CLICK HERE and make a tax deductible pledge to help underwrite one or more scholarships for girls in Nepal. In the special instructions box, type "100 Years of Education" so your pledge will count toward our campaign to send girls to school.

While there, explore Room to Read's site and learn about its outstanding mission and commitment to educating children in some of the world's most impoverished places. They are true heroes.

Journey to Nepal

This narrative incorporates excerpts from Moleskine journals, emails and general recollections of my time leading up to and while in Nepal during March and April of 2006.

At least once in your life, do something
that takes your own breath away.

MOLESKINE ENTRY: 8:00 a.m. on Friday, March 3, 2006

Am I crazy?

RECOLLECTION:
As I stare at my computer screen, which alternates between an online airfare search and my money market statement, the want of material items, like Michelle Kaufmann’s Sunset® Breezehouse and a sailboat, taunts me. Once I permit myself to muddle my desire to adventure with the estimated cost of this trip I’ve been musing about, the floodgates open and an endless string of dizzying questions descend upon me like a cloying fog. I instantly feel burdened by the weight of Atlas, and I sigh in resignation. For the last week, I have made up my mind to take this trip only to change my mind with the next passing hour.

The first entry in my new journal stares back at me. As I feverishly study those three little words, the letters begin to dance across the page in a churlish manner. Soon, I am laughing, and the words laugh right back at me. Yes, I am stone cold crazy: I have 17 days to prepare for the unknown. As I write, my heart thumps wildly in my chest.

If I never go, I’ll never know.

I click the online button to purchase my airfare, and I hold my breath. Seconds later, I am reading the confirmation report, which chronicles a travel odyssey that will take me clear across the globe. I forget to breathe for a moment. I then begin to giggle uncontrollably.

MOLESKINE ENTRY: 2:00 p.m. on Monday, March 20, 2006, at the airport

A report of a bus bombing that killed 12 in Nepal came on NPR as we were driving to the airport, and I saw mother stiffen. She turned down the volume and drove in silence for a few minutes. She then switched the radio to broadways tunes. When we arrived at the airport, I asked if she was worried. She laughed, hugged me tight and exclaimed, "Nope! You are the golden child. Go have an adventure!" We said our good-byes, and I headed to customs.

Everything I'm taking on this adventure
is in that pack on my back!

I have spent the last two and half weeks drifting through life with a sense of enlightened impermanence. I have scoured every written record about my intended destination, purchased specific articles of clothing, learned about medical evacuation insurance, made lists, and then made more lists.

I’m now at the gate awaiting departure. A report on CNN is talking about plans to launch a space capsule from Kazakhstan this week, which will deliver a Russian, American and Brazilian to the space station. Holy moly! It will take the astronauts less time to reach their destination than it will for me to land in Nepal. Holy moly! I'm headed to Nepal. Wow.

MOLESKINE ENTRY: 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, 2006, in Kathmandu, Nepal

My Nepali adventure has begun in earnest! Where to start? Hopefully the power will stay on a bit longer so I may record some of the zillion thoughts-

{The power goes out.}

9:07 p.m. after rustling around in search of a flashlight

After sailing through customs, I emerged from the airport to be faced with a mob of taxi drivers. I was completely unprepared for the city and its endless tangle of bumpy, unpaved alleyways- nary an actual street! Traffic is a free for all with compact cars careening past one another, motorbikes toting entire families, buses belching thick smoke, filthy beggar children asking for rupees, and sacred cows that inadvertently wander into traffic bringing everything to a halt. Everyone and everything move at whim; yet, there is a discernable pulse that I detected after watching the action for a few moments. The streets are unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and the car horn is ever-present.

After depositing my belongings in my room, I set out to explore the district of Thamel. The neighborhood is a confusing maze, void of street signs, and it is impossible to take two steps without being approached by a dozen merchants peddling sundry items.

Tiger balm, miss?

I’ll be hearing that in my sleep.

Twenty minutes into my exploration of the city, I snapped my first photograph:

Followed by:

EMAIL TO HOME: 8:25 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, 2006

I went to the ghats this morning to watch the ceremonial burning of dead bodies. As I was walking past a large Hindu temple, a creepy man who had been following me pulled out his wee and starting whipping it around like a helicopter. A split second later, I heard an ear-shattering sound as eight to ten screaming monkeys appeared from out of nowhere and rushed past me toward the pervert. I quickly walked away. Not sure if the monkeys took off his member or what.

And that's a wrap on today's issue of "Only in Nepal."

Preparations for the funeral of an aged father

The Brahmin prepares to light the fire

The hazy skyline

A pilgrim

My monkey protectors

The moment the camera emerged from my pocket,
the monkeys would act as though they were asleep.
Keen little buggers.

RECOLLECTION:
From the ghats of Pashupati Nath, largely considered one of the holiest shrines of all the Hindu temples, it was a pollution-filled ride to Bhaktapur, the "City of Devotees" and one of the most ancient areas of the Kathmandu valley. It was founded by King Ananda Dev in 889 A.D.