'Bye-bye to the Sub-Continent

A lion stands guard as a boy and a dog share a rest.

Today is our last day in Nepal and the last, after nearly two hundred, in the area geographers refer to as the Indian subcontinent - the expanse bounded by the Himalayas to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Indian Ocean to the West. I rose early today for walk around Kathmandu's old central square trying to absorb every trademark impression; commit to memory in some tangible way all the sights, sounds, smells and any sensations that make the Hindu heartland special. When I force myself to acknowledge that these last hours are all that's left, my heart shivers at leaving behind this taxing but familial chaos.


Puja (prayer) offerings for sale

At one of the many temples just after dawn the smell of the burning butter lamps and incense wafted all around. The devout stood in line to ring bells and hang chrysanthemums and daub colored tikka powder on the antiquated stone idols.

After the sun came up, I bantered one final and, as always, unpredictable time with the man - the clearly over-educated man - who, from before dawn to well after dark, squats on a very low wicker stool in front of a grimy kerosene burner making and selling tea to the students and merchants in the square in front of our hotel.


The best tea shop in Kathmandu

He combines his preparations with solicitations to all the passers-by with the frenetic energy of a trader on the floor of a stock exchange. Every day he finds time to intersperse our morning cups with pearls of humorous wisdom culled, if he's to be believed, from a life path more circuitous and full of surprises than I can guess at. I will miss his smile, his barking exhortations at potential customers and even the confusion I feel at not knowing which of his eyes to respond to as one wanders randomly in its socket the other bounding back and forth or up and down in rhythm with his animated head. I will certainly, certainly miss his tea.

I'm plotting how I might fit in one last taste of naan; chewy flat bread hot out of the tandoori oven. Before I leave I want to eat one last bag of Kurkure, the Frito Lay snack seen only in these parts because it's too spicy for anywhere else.

This has been a good time to be in Nepal. The government, such as it is after years of turmoil and fragmentation, has signed a peace agreement with an insurgent opposition group. The revolutionaries (that's really the only fair term for them) fought an eleven-year battle to dislodge the world's last Hindu monarchy who've ruled the country as a fiefdom for almost two and a half centuries. The good political news for Nepal started in April with a cease fire agreement and culminated last week with the signing of the peace agreement. Since then, the streets of Kathmandu have been filled with celebratory Nepalis buoyed with optimism that peace and more equitable opportunities might become the norm in their lives.

So, five countries in ten or so months. Tomorrow we move on to a new region. As when we pulled out of our driveway, before we left New York for Barcelona, departing Europe for New Delhi and, now, flying to Bangkok, southeast Asia projects the gravity of another major chapter. The warm weather, warm Thai people, fantastic Thai food and the beaches should, with luck, help make the transition tolerable.

'Bye-bye.