Howdy all!

Well I'm writin' from exotic Katmandu! This place

really does have the feeling of an exotically different

culture. Image combining the orient with Persia, you

have these narrow little streets lined with venders

but also these temples that look very reminiscent of

Japanese pagodas; you have Hindu women walking in

saris, Tibet women wearing wool skirts with aprons

(the men wearing jeans), monks in red robes and shaved

heads, tuk-tuks, rickshaws, bicycles galore, monkeys,

and above it all the eyes of Buddha watch over.

I had the wildest bike ride of my life today. Marcus

and I rented bikes to get around thinkin', "man what a

great idea" ha! They are these Chinese "mountain

bikes" that are made of steel reinforced by lead.

While they weigh a ton, they aren't necessarily built

to last. Anyway navigating through the streets of

Katmandu takes a touch of bravery, a pinch of skill,

and a pound of faith. Holy cow (plenty of those

around too), it is wild. You just peddle your butt

off and follow the dude in front of you straight into

intersections with buses, cars, motorcycles, all

blending into one giant seething mass. Everyone

"shares" the road, you ring your little bell like nuts

so that a person doesn't step in front of you causing

you to swerve, which could cause a motorcycle to

wobble, which could cause a tuk-tuk to beep, which

causes a taxi to honk, which causes a bus to squeal,

and all of which could become really really nasty.

We are staying in this area called "Freak Street",

this was the hippy hang out of the 70's. Our hotel

was the epicenter for the hashish community back then

and there seem to be some throw-backs around.

We'll be handin' out here for another day, then we're

off to do a little trekking. We plan to spend three

weeks trekking the Annapurna trail, should be amazingly

great! We will be surrounded by 20,000+ mountains and

meandering through ancient villages.

On the international relations front, many people in

Nepal are worried about what America will do. The

Europeans on the other hand are a mixed bag, but most

want us to wait and act reasonably. The Nepalese are

really worried about how the attacks will affect

tourism, most of their meager income (around

$200-$400/year) comes from tourism and a majority of

their high paying tourists are Americans.

Anyway, life is good over here, hope things are good

with you guys. I'll zap ya again soon.

Peace,

-Tim