First Time in Nepal

Nepal's mountains and valleys are vast. But that's not what impressed me most so far

Distributed production is a way of life and a necessity. Storage of food and material is a fundamental concept that allows humans to buffer and weather adverse conditions, persist instead of perish. Dried grain, firewood, these are stored in every household.

In the past, the Nepalese population was under banked but now there are banks even in remote areas. When our guide Sukra was in Dubai he had to send money to Rabin for him to bring back to the village. This was probably 2007-08?

We saw a blacksmith in a shed making sickles and axes between Dharapani and Chame. Sukra and Mathan ‘s fathers make bamboo baskets. The straps are polymer fabric, and a large basket costs NPR500. They sell these to their village mates which do not have bamboo farms/groves.

Motorcycles are the next step up in transport. The ability to repair and maintain things must be highly valued in these parts. We saw a couple of abandoned motorcycles on the roadside and some motorcycle shops seeing brisk business. The motorcycles can cross narrow bridges and paths that pedestrians can also go but cars can't. Most of the bikes are naked bikes like the Pulsar, Yamaha RXZ and TVS RTR. Not many Royal Enfields. Saw a couple of adventure motorcyclists on BMWs and KTMs - probably on a tour - the bikes were seen on a pickup driving back down the valley from Manang.

Roads are being built and improved all along the way to Manang. On one hand it brings easier access and economic development to the area. On the other the environment degradation and increasing use of fossil fuels to fuel growth is plain to see. Is there even an alternative path to sustainable growth? The other surprising thing is the ubiquity of western processed foods in the provision shops of the area. Sprite, Coca cola and snickers. I wonder if the main consumers are tourists/travelers like us or the locals.

Crop rotation of maize in the summer and millet in the winter likely keeps their soils alive and fertile, replenishing nutrients as they are taken away. It probably also explains why the dal bhat and vegetables in the "Manaslu" restaurant tasted so good. Having had a few other dal bhat since then, it was definitely not just because of hunger.