Trouble in Nepal

I spent the last two days in transit because I decided to go the discount route and bus to Rishikesh (yoga capital of the world). Somebody snagged my cell phone and this time there's no chance of getting it back. I am also pretty peeved about there NOT BEING ANY BANKS IN NEPAL. WTF. I literally ran out of money and had to borrow a few bucks from a friend I met on the bus just to get to Rishikesh.

Anyway, despite me being really pissed off at Nepal right now, it's actually a pretty interesting country. Here's the breakdown. It's divided into three parts: the mountains, the hills, and the plains. Kathmandu valley is in the hilly part, as is most of the money and education. The Madhesi people who live in the Terai (flat part) are pissed off because they pay high taxes and the money goes to Kathmandu. Farmers rack up huge debts and frequently commit suicide or sell their daughters into prostitution in India (Nepalese virgins go for huge sums of money because having sex with a virgin is said to cure AIDS).

It is in these circumstances that the corrupt communist Naxalites---a Maoist group known for acts of terrorism like abduction and murder of bureaucrats from the hills---are able to thrive on prejudice against hill people, calls for an independent state, and promises of lower taxes. Their tactics have made the Terai region quite dangerous and have done very little to improve the lives of the Madhesis, who frequently migrate to places like Bangladesh for education and work. Here they face yet more prejudice. The college kid who loaned me money was born and raised in India but is legally Nepali and doesn't tell his friends about it because "they would dominate [him]."

And yet the country is one of the most stunningly beautiful places I've ever been. They have some of the best trekking in the world too (including Mount Everest). Hopefully one day I'll go back, after the Raja has been deposed and a proper government has been formed. For now I'm glad to be gone though.