I'm goin' to katmandu . . . that's where I'm really really going to . . . .

So, katmandu. Came here to get my visa renewed. It won't be a problem but I have to stick around a few days. Nothing to do here but shop until you absolutely drop, which I'm trying not to do mostly. Or smoke hash. Plenty of that being sold in the traditional freelance method. But whoa! Katmandu night life! Music blaring down the street and flashing neon signs all over. Like times square condensed. Learned to count to 10 in punjabi today and bought some crap. Nepal is really organized and clean, which is pretty good considering I understand tourism is pretty much all they have in terms of generating any GNP. There has been a big initiative lately, and in parts of town there is a 10 pm curfew strictly police enforced. But they run a pretty tight ship and its not a bad place. Shera has been amazed to see women doing jobs like driving taxis and police women. You wouldn't see that in India for sure. This kid can bargain like I've never seen. Gradually learning some techniques, hopefully. Well that's it. If you like night life, this place is worth a visit. Like a cross between ultra-hip and modern and third-world stuff. But somehow it works.

The police can only be described as cute. There is a woman dressed in a baggy police outfit who seems to be perpetually stationed on the corner outside a supermarket. She went up to a rickshaw driver the other day and said, "You're not supposed to park here. See that sign up there? That's where you're supposed to wait for the passengers."

The rickshaw driver became abusive and told her, "My customer wanted me to wait here! What can I do? He said to wait here so I'm waiting here! I don't care about the rules! I have to make a buck you know!"

She said, "Okay, okay. I'm just saying . . . Take it easy!"

All that is translated from the Hindi by Shera. This lady and all the visible cops appear to be teenagers and they are just as mellow as yellow. I like it. 

But buying crap really takes on a new dimension here. I mean, you see all this stuff and say "I'm not going to be suckered into buying that!" Handmade leather bags, colorful clothes, wooden sculptures, etcetera. Then you realize that even if you pay the asking price, you're getting it for less than five bucks or three bucks. If you pay three dollars, you are getting ripped off. Or you could go to America and pay a hundred and feel like you are getting a good deal . . . if you've never been here. Money just falls completely out of perspective suddenly. But I met this great girl, Evelyn, from Lithuania, who is having a far deeper experience. She has been backcountry backpacking for five years, "seeing the results of economic imperialism." I tried to meet her for dinner, but it didn't work out.  I guess the results of economic imperialism will have to remain a mystery to me for a while longer and I'll get back to working on the book. Every traveler has her mission.