Hello. I got back last night. Nepal was really wonderful. The people there are some of the nicest in the world, and anywhere I went, I felt perfectly safe. Well, almost anywhere. The drivers are crazy, and pass anywhere, on blind hills and curves, although they blow their horns constantly, so you can hear them coming. Also, at the end of the trip I took a jungle walk in territory occupied by quite a few rhinos. You couldn't see them because the grass was too high, but you could hear them and see motion in the grass. Once we came very close to one, and had to run to a tree and climb it in case it decided to charge. Our guide carried a big stick, also, in case we were attacked by a sloth bear, which are very dangerous. We followed some fresh sloth bear tracks, but didn't get to see one. I took a couple of elephant rides to see rhinos. This is safer, since a rhino won't attack an elephant, and you can see over the grass without having to climb trees, like we were constantly doing on the jungle walk.

Before going to the jungle, I had spent most of the trip in the mountains. First I did a 20 day trek in the Everest region, where I climbed a couple of 18000 foot hills for views of Mt. Everest. People there are originally from Tibet, and are Bhuddist. They have an interesting monastery there, where I saw a ceremony. It was very cold and barren there. Then I did a 10 day trek in the Annapurna region, which was very different. Most of the walking there was through high jungles, with bamboo and monkeys and tropical fruits. It was only cold at the Annapurna Base Camp, which is at 14000 feet.

I hired a guide, named Lal, for these treks, so I would have someone to walk with and to help carry my stuff. He was very nice and spoke good English. He was constantly bringing me tea, and whatever else I needed, at the lodges. He was 24 and has 3 children at home. I visited him there twice in Kathmandu. Before I came home his brother, a professional chef, cooked me a delicious meal, with a big piece of baked, spicy chicken and a beautifully arranged salad plate with tomato flowers, among other things. This must have been difficult in his one-room apartment, where the only furniture is two beds and a small table, and the cooking must be done on a one-burner kerosene stove, and there is no running water. Lal got altitude sickness the night we stayed at our highest lodge, above 17000 feet, and I had to look after him. I didn't have any altitude problems myself, but got sick from bad food a few times (only once seriously).

I carried two cameras everywhere I went, one for slides, and took 50 rolls of film. All the walking made me lose 15 pounds, and I am down to 155 now. There was a big election in November, and the Communists won. Almost everyone in the rural areas supported them. They had big victory parades in Kathmandu on a couple of the days I was there, in which the streets were full of very happy Communists. The Communists there are nice too, and I never found anyone who didn't like Americans, though there are probably some radicals who don't.

In general, the trip went even better than I expected, and I think it is the best thing I have ever done. Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries, and when I left the airport upon arrival, there was a bit of culture shock, since I felt like I had just stepped into one enormous slum, with animals everywhere and crowded, chaotic streets with no names. However, it didn't take long to come to like the place, and to realize that I was perfectly safe there. I walked all over town and visited many Hindu and Bhuddist temples, and took lots of pictures. There are very few beggars, except for cripples and "holy men" at temples, or some children in the Terai villages.

The restaurants and hotels are very cheap, and the quality is not bad. I had one of the best meals of my life at the ultra-fancy Indian restaurant at the Hotel de l'Annapurna for about $12, which is 4 or 5 times the cost of a typical Khatmandu meal. In the mountains, it is hard to spend as much as $10 a day, unless you drink a lot of beer or buy a lot of candy bars or Cokes. When I left, I was very sad about leaving.

It took 38 hours to get to Knoxville from Kathmandu, including a total of 16 hours in airports. When I called home, I found out that my brother had gotten engaged on his trip to Italy with his girlfriend last month.

Scott