Culture shocks while visiting Kathmandu, Nepal. I'm here for Harris' friend's wedding, and the country is way poorer than I realized. GDP per capita is just under $1400 (in 2023), 2022's HDI is ~.6 (medium human development), both of which are apparently among the lowest in South Asia.
- The roads are crazy! There are very few stop lights or stop signs at intersections. There are some large traffic circles with police directing traffic. Mostly it looks like it's just a free-for-all (with some order I can't decipher), with cars, motorcycles, bikes, trucks, buses, and pedestrians sharing the road. A yoga teacher at our hotel told Harris that they're pro-Trump and glad that the US is stopping aid to Nepal, because the money goes to oversea bank accounts/corruption rather than actually improving things in the country. The sentiment was somewhat echoed by a nice taxi driver we had (on Pathao, the Uber equivalent), who apologized to us for the state of things in the country.
- I've seen several people on the streets (porters?) transporting heavy loads (like large appliances) using straps tied around their foreheads.
- Preservation of history - we visited the Patan Durbar Square yesterday, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was remarkably accessible to visitors (few things were even cordoned off), probably a similar situation to what the Forbidden City was like before they started closing sections off for repair/preservation. The most surprising thing to me was how little historical information they have about the site and its function, given that it was built in the 17th century.
- Momos here are way better than the ones I've had in the US