:: Kathmandu Day 1&2 :: Prelude to Chaos

Feverish with sleep
I had arrived in Kathmandu
the airport being just a red brick building
so nondescript in its construction
you wonder if it had began for that very purpose


The winds had rocked the plane
with the in-fight lights slightly fading suddenly in flashes
For a moment I wondered if we will never make it down
And pondered how will we die
if the plane had crashed
I had decided, actually it all doesn't matter
If I had died, it will just be an end of life
Then nothing matters anymore
anyway...

There was another scare as we left the airport
where we were fleeced by masquerading porters
and Zhuang learned a dear 200 USD lesson.

Sometimes I think he is too nice
and sometimes I wonder how streetwise he is
I worry, sometimes

The transport workers' strike had paralyzed the roads
we felt vulnerable while people banged the outside of our vans
there was just a huge mass, crowded around
it was not violence in action
it was the potential of violence that was scary
like a time bomb ticking away

Scary but mildly exciting
Nothing like that could have happened in Singapore
We are too ordered, too rule-abiding
and too caught up in our own lives to care

In a sense, I think we have lost the passion,
the believe, the need to stand for our rights.
Perhaps it comes from poverty
Perhaps it comes from social uncertainty
Perhaps its comes from a free-thinking mind
But who is to blame
for our current benign state of mind

Perhaps no one
Even so, I am aware but not willing to change anything
So why should others??

Day 2 awaits
~with sunny side-ups, baked tomatoes and milky think Nepalese tea
Life is good for now :p