“ Himalayan spring is a being-there, culture-shock story… ”

Neolithic humans moved into the Himalayas at least 9000 years ago . The first records date back to Kirati people , who lived in eastern Nepal . Stories of their exploits begin around 800BC

Brahmanic Hindu and Buddhist legends relate tales of ancient Nepali rulers : these Tibeto-Burmese peoples feature prominently in ancient Indian classics, suggesting that close ties bound the region almost 3000 years ago .

A pivotal moment in Nepal's history was the birth of prince Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.) of Lumbini. He became known as the Buddha, the enlightened one.

Nepal covers 147181 sq. km (56,827 sq. miles), sandwiched between China to the north and India to the west, east and south in a locked land . Same latitude as Florida with a much wider range of climate zones :

From the southern Tarai Plain with tropical hot 40°C summers , drenching monsoon rains and bamboo-mango-palms fields…

… through the central hill-lands and subtropical jungle , full of rhinos, tigers and elephants, severe thunderstorms, flooding and landslides …

… through the wild-goat’s highland, where the large mountain-ape Gigantopithecus (my brother Yeti ) was roaming half a million years ago…

… to the countless extremely cold and increasingly dry Himalaya snowy peaks - spirit and soul for the Sherpa

where the brave Snow Leopards hunt their prey killing animals three times their size in rocky regions at an altitude to 6000 m (20000 ft). ...and the black jumping spider , living at 6700 meters (22000 ft) is the highest non-microscopic permanent resident on Earth.

< between > Himalaya Mountains <> India’s colossal tectonic force Hinduism (86.2%) <> Buddhism (7.8%) <> Islam (3.8%) Tibeto-Burmese language <> Indo-European groups Central Asian culture <> Indian culture Deforestation <> Contamination Pride <> Poverty Bravery <> Death China <> India <>

< between >

Himalaya Mountains <> India’s colossal tectonic force

Hinduism (86.2%) <> Buddhism (7.8%) <> Islam (3.8%)

Tibeto-Burmese language <> Indo-European groups

Central Asian culture <> Indian culture

Deforestation <> Contamination

Pride <> Poverty

Bravery <> Death

China <> India

<>

… the only country with voluntarily selected Communist regime and Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency, where in 2001 the Crown Prince massacred 10 members of the royal family, king and queen and then took his own life…

Diverse population 30,000,000 people , most of them living in extreme poverty 103 castes and ethnic groups (Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Tamang, Rai, Sherpa, etc.) 107 spoken recognized languages 6500 species of plants and 800 species of birds Awesome nature Best destination for mountaineering, adventurous trekking, rafting, wildlife jungle safaris, cultural and mystical tours and even golf. Himalaya Range, including the world's tallest mountain Mt. Everest - Saragmatha - Chomolungma, standing at 8,848 meters (29,028 feet) Buddha’s birthplace Combined Hindu & Buddhist practice in many temples, sharing two faiths Rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops, milk, water buffalo meat Tourism, carpet, textile, cigarette, cement and brick production

where… … the highest country of the world is one of the poorest and least developed … you get Altitude sickness or altitude addiction from 70m to 8848.3m … where the agriculture economy is providing a livelihood for over 82% … power potential is equivalent to the combined installed hydroelectricity capacity of Canada, USA and Mexico, but less than 1% is developed … forest cover dropped from 45 to 29 percent in less than 30 years … mortality rate is 91 deaths/100 live births for children under 4 … 24% of the population lives on less than one dollar a day! … where 68.5% Nepali lives on less than 2 dollars a day! … 65,000 people between 15-49 have HIV / AIDS! … 1 doctor available for every 18,400 people! … only 26% of all women are literate! … the GDP is only $260 per year! …

Fragile economy Technological backwardness Remoteness and land-locked geographic location Severe lack of skilled labor Producer of cannabis for the domestic & international drug markets Transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West Poor telephone, telegraph and mobile cellular telephone network Susceptibility to natural disaster Civil strife with over 40% unemployment rate Self-Castigation Sedimentation flows into the rivers, polluting the water Indoor air is polluted by the burning of wood for fuel, without chimneys! Outdoor air is polluted by automobiles, industry and dust storms

Fragile economy

Technological backwardness

Remoteness and land-locked geographic location

Severe lack of skilled labor

Producer of cannabis for the domestic & international drug markets

Transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West

Poor telephone, telegraph and mobile cellular telephone network

Susceptibility to natural disaster

Civil strife with over 40% unemployment rate

Self-Castigation

Sedimentation flows into the rivers, polluting the water

Indoor air is polluted by the burning of wood for fuel, without chimneys!

Outdoor air is polluted by automobiles, industry and dust storms

“ There are more people in slavery than at any other time in human history” Slavery is hidden behind many other names, thus disguising it from society. “To buy all bonded laborers out of slavery could cost as little as $40 per family” (*the Center for Global Education, New York. Kevin Bales ) Women trafficking is “the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world.” A woman from Nepal testified in March that she had been drugged, abducted and forced to work at a brothel . (The UN and Madeleine Albright estimate trafficked human cargo generates $7 billion a year.) Childs are abused and beaten by their uneducated alcoholic parents and living on the streets is better than living at home, even used by older street children, foreigners and junkies. In the “ haven for pedophiles “, over 40% of child abusers are relatives and Nepal continues to ignore the issue. (Voice of Children – VOC and CPCS, 2008) Do you buy slave-free products, marked with the Fair Trade certificate ?

Khumbu region , which was opened in the 1950s for trekking, is awesome! You can trek with a daypack and spend over a month there at a tight budget . A great holiday of fresh air, breath-taking views, great people and culture .

In 1964 only 14 foreigners visited the region. Today they are over 25000 ! Independent teahouse trekking is the most flexible, free and economical way to enjoy the mountain. You can stop or rush whenever you like…

One of the great joys is that you meet common-minded people everywhere : - at the airport, hotel, bus, lodge, on the trail. Another great experience is to help orphans and mingle with the locals for a culture-rich adventure.

“… temperatures can dip to very low levels, combined with snow-blindness and frostbite of any body part. Death by slipping, falling or high winds are also a potential threat. The atmospheric pressure at the top of Everest is about 1/3 of sea level pressure. Lack of oxygen, exhaustion, extreme cold, injury and the dangers of the climb all contribute to the death zone, since it is often impossible to carry someone out, and impossible to use a helicopter. You are just left behind… Over 207 bodies have never been recovered and are visible near the standard climbing routes. A Death Zone , where you die just because of life-threatening supply theft from your high-altitude camp or because of low level of available oxygen, vastly increasing your breathing rate of 80-90 breaths per minute, leading to exhaustion just trying to breathe…”

Check my HD video about the great world beyond laptop/ iPhone / facebook horizons and the Nepali-inspired music with western instruments, recorded in my studio back home. Slides, Photos, Video and original Music by Vellyslav Petrov granted to www.SlideShare.net under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 June 2009, BrandMover