TRAVELS IN NEPAL SUMMER 2002 In a small room on a side street in Kathmandu, the dusty capital of Nepal, an outgoing local student gave me a first-hand lesson in cooking Nepalese food. My family and I were a few days into the Nepal leg of our China-Nepal trip, and my sister Jenny and I had met Rabindra at a local bookstore where he worked. After helping negotiate a good price on some kitchenware, he invited us to come to his home the next day for the traditional Nepalese daily meal of dal bhaat. Of course, we accepted, and the next day, we found ourselves traipsing through the noisy, steep streets of Nepal's capital. On a side street, up a few steps and past a Hindu shrine, we entered Rabindra's room. It was a model of efficiency: no larger than an American walk-in closet, he still managed to fit in a bed, a couch, and a small kitchen. The kitchen consisted of two small gas burners, a few pots, a bucket of water (for cooking and cleaning), and the essential Nepalese spices: turmeric, cumin, and garlic. A brief stop at the tiny market across the street bought us the vegetables we needed, and before long, the meal was underway. Spiced were ground with the garlic in a mortar; potatoes were cut with a small machete. The end result? A fabulous meal made from the simplest of ingredients. This kind of hospitality was the norm in Nepal, the country in which I grew up. After 20 years, the city and the political landscape had changed, but the kindness of the local folks had not. Other trip highlights included the chance to see our Nepalese family, eat the most divine food on earth for shockingly low prices, and fly around the Himalayas.

Read more about the trip and see lots of pictures here Flying to the Himalayan peaks Visiting with our Nepalese family General Nepal pictures Return to my homepage Read about my accompanying travels in China