TRAVEL FEATURE - N epal
CHRIS FOSTER
A MAD MAX
ADVENTURE
S
hiva, Karma, the Himalayas,
Mount Everest, prayer flags, and
yaks … all words and images
that come to mind for the new
and returning visitor to Nepal, that
unique mountain kingdom, buried
between the countries of India and
Tibet.
Nepal has had a challenging
history, within its borders and with
its immediate neighbours. Internal
political issues ended with the over-
throw, and assassination, of the royal
family in 2001. Then another blow to
the national well-being occurred in
an unfortunate chapter in the king-
dom’s history, the devastating earth-
quakes of 2015, where 9,000 people
were killed and 22,000 injured.
The quake with a magnitude of 7.8
leveled many historical and religious
locations. These catastrophic events
had a devastating toll, both physically
and to the psyche of this special place
on Earth.
Sandwiched between the two his-
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torically contentious countries, Nepal
has had a protracted history of mov-
ing borders and the artificial separa-
tion of thousands of years of culture,
religion, and people.
After a trip over twenty years ago
during the turn of the millennium,
I returned twice in as many years to
ride the Himalayas on a motorcycle.
The motorcycle, due to its inherit
physical vulnerability, helped to bring
me close to nature, the elements and,
ultimately, to the people who, from
previous explorations, were deep in
my mind. These people make the
country what it is – only added to by
the natural beauty and the ingrained
spirituality that permeates every Ne-
pali saying and action.
All trips start with the love-hate
relationship of Kathmandu. The old
section of the city is a maze of small
streets filled with Hindu and Buddhist
shrines and at times the road is built
around a very small, ancient, sacred
spot that is almost invisible to the