Friday 26 April 2013
The monkey temple and Here is The News
Today at the orphanage, we put up the clean curtains in the clinic and made a list of equipment and basic medicines necessary. Another chief, Ganesh, took us to a district where every other shop sold surgical or medical supplies. Barbara supervised the purchases while I looked around in amazement. One shop was like a medieval torture chamber with, forceps of varying sizes, tongs, rib retractors, etc, hanging from the walls in a gruesome display. Everything was, as always, filthy with dust as the shops all have open fronts so the dust blows straight in. A deal was stuck after much head waggling. The problem is, I am now catching myself having a quick waggle every now and then.
This evening after returning from the orphanage, we got a taxi to the monkey temple on top of a hill with spectacular views over the city, smog permitting. I had expected a large temple with monkeys running every where. In fact it was like a small town of Buddhist temples, stupas, stone ornaments, steps , towers, prayer wheels, monkey pool, loads of stray dogs and a few scabby looking simians. A toothless man, offered to tell me the history. I told him quite plainly that I had no money and showed him my purse. I had paid for the taxi and entrance fee for all three of us. He insisted, so I listened but only got a few facts. Something to do with lotus flowers, lightening, all religions and the path of truth. When he had finished he looked expectantly at me and I repeated that I had no money so he said, " but your friend does". I suggested he asked her himself.
I took lots of photos and so did Barbara but I will probably post them tomorrow as I am dog tired tonight. It was very hot and the steps up to the temple just about put the cap on it.
Here is the news.
If you couldn't read the newspaper article I posted last week, it was from the Kathmandu Post which I try to read everyday now. The article was about a mother who brought her toddler into hospital with stomach pains and diarrhoea. Because he was not cured as quickly as she had hoped, she decided to take him back to his village because the local witch doctor said that he would be cured instantly by sacrificing a billy goat. Why doesn't the NHS get some if they are so good?
Next week is International Tattoo Convention so get on down here for all your tattoo needs to YetiYak.
Nine housewives have been killed by their husbands in the past six months in alcohol fuelled arguments.
A hundred kilometres of highway have been widened but only a few kilometres have been black topped due to a dearth of asphalt in the Kathmandu valley. If you saw the state of the roads you would understand why this is such a problem.
A man sold his newborn grandson on Facebook for 45000 rupees.
There is to be a trialling of a new driving test. At the moment, one can obtain a licence for a two wheeled vehicle by crossing 5 sticks and a four wheeled vehicle by clearing a T shape at the test centre. For the new test, an aspirant has to go round a figure of 8-shaped marking without the ignition being switched off. The prospective driver will also have to drive uphill and downhill. And do you know that of the 76 candidates who took the new test yesterday, only 16 passed? I'm not surprised. The roads are sheer chaos, partly because they are so crammed, and it is almost acceptable to drive on the wrong side of the road, partly because all the traffic lights are broken and non functioning and obviously partly because the drivers have only passed a test requiring them to drive through a
T junction.
I just love this newspaper.
If any of you have emailed me, I have replied but you don't seem to be getting the replies. Sorry
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