Tuesday, June 17, 2008
plug ya nose cuz the 'du is stanky
my peace corps friends will immediately get the reference in the title...but, for you non-pc folk (peace corps, not politically correct...) it's suffice to say that, well, kathmandu is becoming a little...shall we say...ripe?! because of the fuel strikes and shortages, the normal, below average and inadequate garbage pick up service here is even worse. it's actually non-existent at the moment. this means that there are piles of trash lining most roads and gutters are full of rotting crap that inhibits the water drainage from the heavy rains we've been having. slushy, muddy, decaying trash, mmmm. i used to think (and still do) that what we have non-affectionately deemed the stink river...(sung to the tune of 'moon river') was really bad. you have to hold your breath while walking over any bridge or traversing a waterway in a taxi. not like some game we played as kids...remember 'bury the cow,' or not breathing over bridges? well, that was fun to see how long you could hold your breath, but this is more like self preservation. the river is gross, sludgy brown and really putrid, full of garbage narrowing its banks. but now, with the fetid stench most everywhere, it's a completely different walking home experience! today i went to wenddy i house to wrap up a couple things and on my way back i noticed on one pile, about 5 or 6 cows chewing on whatever they could find, including fruit rinds and plastic bags. another pile found local kabaris (recycle guys) rummaging through the debris pulling out anything that they could take in and get a few rupees for, at the recycler. another pile was overtaken by ravens delighting in the smorgasbord. i've heard kathmandu is notorious for garbage strikes and i can only assume that it will soon be remedied, but never have i experienced one, let alone in the summer heat and monsoon season. i guess this is what i bargained for when moving here, eh? ...new experiences!! : ) hope you're all enjoying the smell of summer in your town! lots of love, j
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3 comments:
GROSS!
Will you come home?
We have clean streets and also the water is drinkable. there is also a dairy queen calling your name!
Seriously though, I saw a documentary about plastic bags on PBS. it is tragic what the animals in india and nepal, for example, go through. Because they are allowed to roam freely and eat freely in cities, they eat whatever is available. Many of them die from these plastic bags, there was a sea turtle from greece and a cow from india that died and they did an autopsy. The sea turtle had plastic bags stuck in his entire digestive system. It was from throat to butt and they suffocated him to death. The cow had 57 pounds of plastic in his stomach! This is absolutely tragic. These innocent animals are still falling victim to our "brilliant" inventions. Please use your hemp bag for all of your shopping, never take a plastic bag. Oh! also in India, they have outlawed the thin plastic bags, like the ones we get everywhere over here. They actually have a police force that patrols the open markets and busts people for having illegal bags! This police force was put in place because of all the cows that were dying! I find that fascinating that the cows are so sacred that they have put a police force in place to protect their well being. Maybe I will move to India afterall. Yeah, that's gonna happen.
I do wish you were not having to walk through the piles of garbage to get to and from work, or to take a walk somewhere. It's just a matter of time before the maggots take over! But, the good thing is that there is a reason for it, the garbage workers want better treatment and better pay and you can't fault people for wanting to be empowered.
Please come home, its like disney land here! You only see the clean pretty stuff...
W.O.W.
bandana soaked in something pretty
smelling... a life saver.
I guess you take the good with the bad, eh? Not stinky enough to come home, though!
Love,
Mick
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