Thursday, March 20, 2008

Chapter 8: INTO NEPAL. Tibet, Lamplight Unto a Darkened World






Chapter 8

Entering Nepal






Tom dreaded the prospect of a very long day of rough bus travel on treacherous roads; yet, it unfolded into an interesting experience. With an unspoken calm and intimacy surrounding the new friends, Tom and Jacques floated through the day. However, the new driver was an absolute madman on the road; and the day proved to be eventful.

Their departure was intense. The bus was an island, rising solitary amongst a frantic sea of hawkers, hucksters, scam artists, and vendors. Once the travelers had forced their way onto the running bus, everything quickly disappeared; as the bus roared out of the little border town. The jungle immediately swallowed their bus, and only the narrow road and occasional tiny village broke through that dense green mass. At a slow point of traffic through one village, Jacques reached out a window with his long arms, and bought Tom some bananas and roasted corn on the cob. Street vendors clamored to the bus every time it slowed through a village; arms raised and waving wildly, as they tried to sell the passengers all manner of things. The bananas and the corn were the safest to eat. The Lonely Planet guide warned visitors not to eat, or drink, anything that hadn’t been boiled, well cooked , or was something that could be peeled. So Tom felt safe in eating the bananas and corn. Besides appeasing his nagging hunger, it was a double pleasure because Jacques had bought them for him as a special favor.

Tom enjoyed the drives through the small villages. The rural Nepali people bore ready smiles, and were non-confrontational in their selling. It was a major departure from India; but then again, Tom considered that life in Nepal was better, due to a manageable population.

Although the Nepali people didn’t seem to have much, they appeared to be fairly content and well fed. Tom didn’t find them as desperate as the poorer Indians. Also, the emphasis was on selling something that they were proud of: food of quality. This was very different from the nearly spoiled food that was sold on the streets of India. Tom shuddered to think of the food that Philip had eaten at the train station. Tom visualized swarms of intestinal parasites waiting to invade his body each time he considered street food in India; so he had refused to eat it. Philip, however, told Tom that he wasn’t being culturally sensitive; and that they should eat what the natives ate. Tom didn’t think he was breaking anybody’s heart by not eating rancid food. “Just don’t buy it,” was his motto. “Its not like I’m refusing food in anybody’s home, or anything,” he considered. He knew he’d would deal with that awkward moment when the time came, if ever.

So, compared to India, the experience of the rural Nepali vendors was fun. As Tom ate his corn, he felt an invisible load lifting off of his shoulders. Between meeting Jacques, and the more positive and sane existence in Nepal, he felt safer and happier. He had been surprised to fine that he really loved Varanasi; but he was also relieved to leave. He didn’t feel like he had to watch his back quite so much in Nepal. With this thought, the realization of the extreme poverty of Indian cities finally sank in; he had blocked it out while there. The pervasive sense of sincere spiritualism in Varanasi ameliorated the meager conditions. But the people in the larger cities lacked the ability to further themselves; and they lacked the solace of a calm spiritual existence, like those in Varanasi.

Without the opportunity to raise themselves, or their children, out of dire poverty, they fought like dogs over the scraps of the ruling castes. The lack of hope was reflected in everything. Hope had been replaced by a desperate struggle for basic survival. While Tom was considering this, his observations were further confirmed as Jacques pointed to the Nepali farmsteads in the rolling countryside. There were small fields everywhere. The lowland ones were bordered by neat mounds of clay to retain water, and the higher level ones were located on small manmade plateaus that had been carved into the mountainsides. They contained rice, sugarcane, corn, and various vegetables. The homes, in stark contrast to those in India, were fully completed....if simple. Tom remembered the houses in India, haphazard in construction, and nearly always lacking the upper floor or major portions thereof. All of them seemed half completed, with metal reinforcement bars sticking up in the air in random ways, waiting forever to be tied into the upper supports that would never come. In Nepal however, there was an intrinsic sense of balance between the small farmsteads and the natural environment.

They stopped at Jhawani for a bathroom break, and picked up more passengers. Tom had trouble getting used to the idea of ‘open bathrooms,’ but he was adapting. Everyone just scattered when the bus stopped at small roadside shops, and did their duty wherever they could. The funniest ‘real’ bathroom to Tom was one that had four outhouses in a row - bordering the porch of a building that hung over a steep cliff. As he went inside, he looked down the ‘toilet’ hole in the floor and was surprised to have a clear view for hundreds of feet - all the way to a river far below. Jacques wasn’t so concerned, having traveled around India extensively. As they drove deeper into Nepal, Jacques seemed more relieved to Tom; but at the same time, he became increasingly maudlin and quiet. Tom couldn’t figure out the mood shifts of his friend, and continued to point out funny things to him to no avail. After a while he gave up.

“Must be a French thing,” he thought; and left Jacques to his unknown thoughts.

Two of the new passengers were from Moora, Western Australia. They were a wonderful couple who sat alongside Tom and Jacques, and began an animated and interesting discussion. Jacques became further sullen, but Tom was intrigued.

“Yes, we are spending a couple of years traveling around the world trying to take an inventory of sorts.”

“What kind of inventory?” asked Tom inquisitively.

“Well, we are assessing needs. We have been sponsored by a wealthy benefactor, an elder of our church, who wants to make donations to needy countries; but, he wants to give responsibly. So we are out and about to see what the ‘state of affairs’ is in all the countries.”

“All of the countries?” Tom asked incredulously.

“Yess-a-ree mate!” Daniel said jovially, with a deep hearty laugh that only an Australian could make.

“We look to see if there is already an organization in place that is already doing good work. If that’s the case, and they just need funding or certain supplies, then its much more efficient to help them do their job than to replicate their services from the ground up. See what I mean?”

“I think, but I’ve never even thought about people doing things like that. I mean its great, but in America we give money to organizations who do those things.”

“Well that sounds good, but we’ve found that those organizations don’t always do what your thinking these doing wit the funds you be giving ‘em,” he said with a strong Australian twang.

“Really?”

“Yes, Reeely!”

At this point, Jacques jumped into the conversation.

“Americans are so foolish with their money. They just give blindly, and assume that all is done well. They are generous with their giving, but not so clever with how they give. So you see, it is very easy for corrupt peoples, or groups, to subvert good intentions.”

“Actually, e is very correct in his thinkn! Giving blindly often causes more harm than good! We certnly seen it in Africa; dindin we dear?” he asked his vibrant young wife.

“Yes, Africa is a terrible mess. So much suffering. Its really too much to handle, with AIDs so prevalent and the warlords stealing relief foods and medical supplies. Tragic! Its simply tragic!” she said with a strong British affectation, in a stylish vernacular.

“It was a very painful experience visi-tin Africa, it was,” Daniel concluded.

“Anyways, we see similar things down the road for India and China. Both are woefully overpopulated, and lack any real spiritual solace or grounding. People, thayz believe in nothing but things, power, and money. Its a terrible state of affairs, reelly.”

“I just got back from Varanasi,” Tom chimed in; “and it was very devout and spiritual.”

“Well, the Hindus can be, At their temples; but few who go to temples are really serious, and fewer still even go to temples anymore.”

“That's true,” confirmed Tom. Varanasi is the center of Hinduism, and many people there don’t even understand their religion.”

“Well, oo can? There’s no mention of charity to others there, is there? Itsa tough religion for people facing a horrible existence with hopeless odds. Very bleak, it is.”

“I don’t know....” started Tom cautiously, but he knew he couldn’t really defend Hindism either.

“You got ta be remembering.....both India and China haven’t the will to feed their own people. Both societies are about to implode. Our sponsors want to be ready when that ‘appens, and help ‘em pick up the pieces. Its quite an ugly proposition we have here, eh?”

“That's interesting,” commented Tom. “I think you’re right about the explosion of the societies. India was horrible in the cities, and I didn’t even go to Calcutta and Bombay.”

“You missed nothing but pain, mind you, Thomas.”

While Tom tried to take in everything that they were saying, his respect for Daniel and his wife grew dramatically. Their work had to be the most fulfilling thing Tom could think of; their lives were selflessly dedicated to the betterment of less privileged people. They obviously came from affluent families. With their pleasant dispositions and engaging personalities, they could live and do whatever they wanted; and yet, they chose to do for others. They were traveling at ground level to get the real story about conditions in each country. That took courage, effort, and a real commitment to years of real discomfort.....forestalling their own careers. Tom wasn’t sure he’d ever met anyone that he admired more. As he was considering all of this, Jacques spoke up - with a typically French concern.

“So, they get help and a big dose of religion when they are vulnerable, oui?”

“I see what you might imply, but that isn’t the case,” answered Daniel without hesitation.

“Showing people love and compassion when they are hopeless and lost is a mission of caring. We don’t force any religion on them. Of course we are strong Christians, otherwise we wouldn’t be caring about ‘anyone. But that isn’t a hidden agenda to convert everyone. Its just our personal path to follow. But, I teel you dis. If they had Christian values they wouldn’t be in their current states. You can say whatever bout religions, but the lack of any is been the downfall of many societies.”

“I hate to admit it,” said Tom, “but he’s right. Not all countries have the education of the French. Us Westerners have to discern a healthy path to follow, but we do so in a safe environment that’s imbued with Judeo-Christian values. You French certainly have had your very real issues with the Catholic Church, but the values and laws of our societies are heavily dependant upon Judeo-Christian beliefs. So while we don’t have to go to church to live decent lives, our cultures have absorbed those values, and that provides guidance as to right and wrong, charity, character, and honorable lives. They have a whole different view of life in India and China. It’s so different in fact, that it’s almost impossible for most Westerners to even fathom the cold, and ruthless, nature of these cultures. They simply don’t get it. And, it seems like Westerners are edging that way themselves.”

“Tom is right on the money with at one! Thinknig we are so smart now, that we don’t need a spiritual life. We are only infants in the world of deception, and ruthlessness. We still have some notion of the value of human life. To these cultures, human life is no more important that a dog on the street. It makes a big difference, it does!”

The more Daniel talked, the more he impressed Tom. His perspective was novel and fascinating. Tom was encouraged to know that there were people in the world that thought and lived this way. It was the way Tom wanted to live the rest of his life; so he was incredibly curious and inquisitive. But a full conversation wasn’t practical on a hot and noisy bus ride. He resolved to meet up with Daniel in Kathmandu, and to retain contact with him after he returned home. Just then, the bus ground to another quick stop, and twenty local people tried to push their way onto the overcrowded bus. It was already stifling, and Tom was having trouble seeing the beautiful mountainous scenery as they traveled. All the windows were blocked by people’s contorted bodies or their baggage.

“Ay Thomas? Want to ride atop the bus?” Asked Daniel eagerly.

“You read my mind! This place it too cramped for me.”

“Darlin, you want to join us?” he asked his wife.

“Not in this lifetime, I’ve seen these guys drive. I’ll stay inside, thank you very much!”

“Suit yourself,” he said. “Cummon Tom, lets make a run for it!” he said enthusiastically.

“Want to go on top, Jacques?” Tom asked him politely.

“Seeing Tom’s eagerness to get out, and being more cramped than anyone due to his extraordinarily long legs, he replied quickly.

“Try to keep up with me! But, you better be ready to hang on tight!”

They had to forcefully squeeze their way out of the crowded bus, as people rudely shoved their way onto the bus. It seemed impossible; but once the local people realized that people were leaving, and therefore making room, they backed off until the men had gotten out. About fifteen adventurous people got out, and climbed up the ladder on the side of the bus, to the luggage rack above. Each found their own place on top of the battered old bus. It seemed comfortable enough to Tom, but he began to worry because the rack wasn’t very deep.

“I’ll just have to hang on tight!” he thought, nervously.

Just as the last person climbed up, the bus suddenly lurched forward, and sped off; causing a long-haired muscular young Greek man to slide across the rooftop. Tom and a few others immediately grabbed different parts of his body to keep him from sliding off the moving bus. It had been a narrow escape from a brutal death over the steep cliff that ran alongside the road. It was then that Tom realized that he had made a serious error in judgment in riding atop the bus. He had seen local people doing it, so it seemed safe enough.....he assumed.

“Boy was I wrong!” he lamented, silently.

The bus accelerated past 70 MPH. The view was beautiful, and everyone enjoyed the panoramic vistas from the mountain top; but as the road went downhill, it became a terrifying ride.

“My God,” Tom screamed above the roaring wind. “What the hell is wrong with this driver?” he asked Daniel.

He was thankfully squeezed between Jacques and Daniel, but they all held on for dear life…..especially when the driver passed other busses. Daniel laughed nervously, and replied: “They are all like this. It’s a sign of their manhood to not yield the road to other vehicles. The longer they control the road, and the faster they get to their destinations, the more manly they are!”

“God deliver us from the short man, and small dick, complex!” yelled Tom. Both Jacques, and Daniel roared at Tom’s joke.

“Oui, it’s so very true. But now, we hold on for life .”

Jacques was so tall, and long limbed, that he was able to stretch the full width of the bus. He positioned himself at the very end of the rack, and therefore had plenty of railing to hang onto. Daniel was facing towards the back of the bus, with his back to the front, and hanging onto tied down luggage in the middle. Tom found himself between them, at a precarious angle. As the bus shifted and moved, everyone grabbed onto whatever, and whomever, they could - to stay aboard. It was a scary ride, yet quite pleasant and visually beautiful when the bus slowed to climb a mountain . Everyone smiled at each other silently, and enjoyed the crazy ride - until they encountered other, oncoming, busses. Tom, from his position on the inside railing, saw the bus first.

“Surely this guy is going to slow down,” he thought logically.

But instead of slowing down, the bus driver accelerated. There was another bus bearing down upon them, from behind; and their driver didn’t want to be passed, so he sped up. Their bus careened down the narrow mountain road, towards the oncoming bus. Half the people on top of the bus, including Thomas, screamed as the buses flew by each other. Tom’s arm was hooked on the outside of the railing, and he felt the side of the other bus brush his skin as they passed each other. His heart nearly stopped. Jacques just laughed at Tom’s reaction. As Tom tried to slow down his heart rate, the bus driver made a sharp turn and suddenly came upon another bus on their side of the road. He increased his acceleration, and began to pass it.

“Oh my God, we’re going to die! Say some prayers for me Daniel, I need them!” Tom screamed out as their bus attempted the pass. The manuver itself was insane, on the treacherous and narrow roads; but Tom was the only one to see that there was another oncoming bus in the lane they were in as they passed the slower bus. The road was barely wide enough for two buses side by side, and didn’t even the pretense of guard rails. Looking down the Cliffside, Tom couldn’t see the bottom. Onward came the new bus directly, and straight towards theirs, in their lane.

“Oh my God, its going to be a head on collision, and we’re all flying over the frickin cliff!” Tom yelled out, in a panicked scream. “I love you kids,” he said to the sky, as if his children were there. “Sorry I won’t be able to see you again,” he said, as he closed his eyes and readied himself for the inevitable, and fatal, impact. “This wasn’t how I saw myself dying,” was his last thought.

In a whoosh of air, and a sharp swerve, it was over. Tom didn’t have a clue how they avoided a crash; but he didn’t care. He opened his eyes, and laughed out loud in near hysterical laughter.......as did everyone else. The men found themselves all holding onto each other, and thanking whatever God they believed in. It was too much…..overwhelming. As the road began to climb again, and the bus slowed, they were able to talk to each other again. They loudly tried to reassure each other, as they bravely faced their shared fate.

“I swear there isn’t a roller coaster ride on the planet that’ll scare me after this - if we live, that is!” Tom yelled.

Everyone laughed, affirming their greater appreciation of life.

“Hey, look there,” yelled Daniel, as he pointed down the cliff.

Tom leaned over to look, and Jacques stretched sideways to see behind himself. It was the remains of a charred passenger bus, far down the mountainside; laying in a tangled wreck on top of another burned out bus.

“If I live through this, I swear I’ll live a good life,” Tom promised aloud.

“Hell, mate, you already do. Give your’s self a credit, a?” Daniel said sincerely, and kindly - with a big smile.

Tom looked directly at him. The moment was frozen in time. His long blond hair was flying almost horizontally with the wind, and he looked every bit the part of a Greek God. In front of Daniel, the real Greek smiled, and shook his head to let the wind flow through his long, black, and curly hair. Jacques just grinned, ear to ear. His even longer hair was tied into a pony tail.

“Jesus, guys! Am I the only geek here? You all look like you are angels, about to fly off.”

“Its clean livin, mate. Clean livin!”

They were all dashingly handsome, aware of it, yet completely unassuming and unpretentious. That little fact only made them that much more attractive.

“Yeah, I buy that!” Tom laughed. “I don’t know about you, but this one can’t claim that!” he said as he pointed to Jacques.

Jacques just smiled, and took it as the compliment that he knew it to be.

“Well, we do our best mate.....and that's enough, a?” Daniel said with a devil may care smile. It was then, that Tom understood the real truth of Daniel. But in Tom’s book, he was still an angel.

The remainder of the bus ride was a series of near misses; and repeated incidents of their driver playing ‘chicken’ with other buses. Whenever Tom thought that their ordeal was over, another incident would occur. The driver didn’t abate, until they made their final approach into the city …riding around the wide circular rim of the Kathmandu valley. By then, everyone atop the bus was pretty savvy at riding out the dangerous incidents with apparent ease. While Tom adapted to it, his heart didn’t; and he was eager to stop for good.

“If I never ride another Nepali bus, it’ll be too soon!” Tom exclaimed, as it was obvious that the danger was over, and they could talk normally at the slower speed.

“They say, you know, that they lose 52 busses a year off of the roads in Nepal. Full of people, mostly locals! They just fly off the roads, and crash and burn,” Daniel said smugly in his knowledge of the startling factoid. “Given that there are only a handful of main roads through the country, the occurrence of deadly accidents is really very high. I thought that number was an exaggeration, but now I do believe it is true.”

“Now he tells us!” Tom said, half serious, half laughing.

“But now you have an adventure to tell your friends at home, Thomas!” he added, jokingly.

“I have plenty, thank you. And Jacques, remind me to never trust this guy again, ok? He has a wicked sense of humor. Funny thing though, you looked as scared as anyone else to me!” he said to Daniel.

“Naw, I have a personal relationship with God. Nothing scares me!” he joked, sarcastically, with a mischievous wink.

“I am soooo going to tell your wife you said that!”

“Don’t you dare! I’ll deny it!” he panicked.

“Ahhh, the true man shows through,” quipped Jacques sardonically, but in good humor.

Daniel just continued to smile, and let the negative reference pass by. Tom was impressed by his ability to let negative things roll by; without being judgmental, or appearing aloof.

“You’re class act, Daniel,” he complimented him aloud.

“Thank you mate, and I return the compliment,” he replied sincerely.

Jacques just rolled his eyes, and said: “Phhhhhp!!”


























Tibet, Lamplight Unto a Darkened World…the American Delusion, a Parody of life ( L'illusion Américaine, une Parodie de Vie); is copyright protected, by author, Patrick Mahoney. Online Internet Reproduction/Propagation/Quotation Encouraged, with this citation. Any Printed reproduction, other than for personal reading, requires written permission by author, patrickm at http://patrickm.gather.com/ or patrick1000000000@yahoo.com




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