Christmas in Pokhara

In a country that's 80% Hindu, we were somewhat surprised at being wished Merry Christmas by just about everyone we met in Pokhara but even more surprised at finding a Christmas pageant being held in the middle of a street near our hotel. And even more surprising was that some schools and government offices were closed. We're reading in the papers that the government has made today an official holiday. Since 2006, Nepal has been a secular country, and they are trying to treat all religions equally. Right now there's a Christmas parade going down the street, including a group of Santas on motorcycles playing Christmas music and some bus loads of kids.

People here are eager to talk about politics, economy, Obama, and the problems of life in Nepal. The economic recession is hitting Nepal, and prices are rising while jobs are disappearing. Many Nepalis are moving to other countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. One thing I didn't know is that the US has a Diversity Visa program for countries with low immigration rates, and many Nepalis are moving to the US under this program. Nepali communities are forming in places like West Virginia. Our waiter tonight has a sister in Berkeley and a wife in Oakland.

During dinner we saw our first demonstration. Our waiter said it was about enforcing the minimum wage.

Tomorrow we head off into the mountains for a couple of nights, to Sangarkot. This is a place for a great view of the Himalayas (if it's not cloudy) and a starting point for some mountain hikes. We don't know yet if we have internet access. Our place is the Sherpa Resort, sherparesort.com.

KR