August 10th, 2005, 11:07 AM EDT

Subject: What To Do In Katmandu?

To all the lovely people,

It's been a little while since I have spoken to all of you. Things have been going very easy and slow here in Katmandu. I have had a cozy room to myself (first time since traveling) equipped with a hot shower and a sit down toilet. I can't express just how nice these simple pleasures have been. Without privacy for 2 months, I realized I was begining to get a bit cranky - so I sat and read Harry Potter 6 all the way through for the first couple days in order to chill out.

Then I began to explore this amazing city - there are endless temples here including one with over 1000 monkeys called "the monkey temple". I saw one temple here (and I've heard there's many more) that had Buddhist and Hindu iconography on it making it available to both religious affiliations. I find this interesting because most everyone I've talked to about their religious beliefs say that they are both - which although I can fathom such a thing given my own appreciation of many different religions - I had no idea there were so many in the world who actually "officially" practiced these two very different religions.

I've spent a good deal of time spending time with a Nepali family I met. I was invited to two homecooked meals at there house and spent time going around the city with some of them. Such a treat to be in their home and recieve such an intimate glimpse of Nepal. I had a really good talk, one on one, with a woman friend of the family who shared to me the terrors of being in a Nepalese marrage. There is no doubt very differing views of the family than we have in the west - arranged marriage is still active, women cannot divorce (even if cheated on or abused), kids without marriage is a huge disgrace, being widowed is not looked very highly upon, and even if the women is beaten and has had a terrible life - she cannot choose to leave her wealth to anyone but the husband. Makes me happy to have the freedom that I do - despite the terrible numbers of divorces that take place.

Easily the most rewarding thing I've been doing has been in this last week. I have been visiting an orphanage and donating some of my time. It started as me joining some people in a mission to take a one of the kids to the hospital. A friend of mine had seen a terrible burn on a little boy's hand that appeared to be infected. Luckily two of the people who came were medical students so they could weigh the severity of the situation. It turned out to be a 3rd degree burn that he received from grabbing a hold of a live electrical wire - starting at his upper hand and to half way up his index finger. It looked like his hand was rotting away.

The medical trainees declared that he would lose his finger in a couple weeks (perhaps unreversable even sooner) and his hand would go next. We rushed him to the hospital and got things taken care of. Each day we came back to change the bandages - once taking him out for the whole day and spoiling him rotten. I have spent much quality time wrestling, playing, and twirling the little kids over my head. Then yesterday we brought lice shampoo and gave them all washings and combings. I personally washed over thirty little heads and then made sure to wash my own. Damn cute little buggers.

Other than sightseeing, eating incredible food, and taking it easy, I have been spending my days with some English folk who have been raising my beer tolerance. My god can the british drink! They know countless drinking games that are ridiculous and wicked fun. I've been laughing to tears nearly every night.

It doesn't sound like much but its suprising to even me that it filled up two whole weeks. Now I am ready to be a road warrior once again - tomorrow evening I should be within the holy land of India (in the holiest city - Varanasi - where they put their dead bodies into the Ganges River). And to pass the long and torturous bus hours - I have an Irish friend to jouney with who I have also been getting to know. He has the tendency to bring me near wetting myself laughing, which as my teacher Tony says: "lubricates the rough road of adventuring"(not in reference to the pee of course).

Some quotes I recently found inspiring:

"Just as a white summer cloud, in harmony with heaven and earth freely floats in the blue sky from horizon to horizon following the breath of the atmosphere - in the same way the pilgrim abandons himself to the breath of the greater life that... leads him beyond the farthest horizons to an aim which is already present within him, though yet hidden from his sight."
    - Lama Govinda, The Way of the White Clouds

"Heaven is eternal, the earth everlasting.
How come they to be so? Is it because they do not foster
there own lives; That is why they live so long.
Therefore the Sage
Puts himself in the background; but is always to the fore.
Remains outside; but is always there.
Is it not just because he does not strive for any personal end
That all his personal ends are fufilled?"
    - Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

"I went looking for Him
And lost myself;
The drop merged with the Sea -
Who can find it now?
Looking and looking for Him
I lost myself;
The Sea merged with the drop -
Who can find it now?"
    - Kabir, Perfume of the Desert

Much love to you all!

Namaste,
Jamie