“In this jungle, there are seven things which can kill you.”

Our young guide counted on his fingers.

“These are tiger, leopard, rhino, crocodile, cobra, python and spider. If we see such creature, you must do as I do. If I run, you must run. If I climb tree, you must climb tree. Okay?”

I thought he was teasing us.  If it was really dangerous, wouldn’t he carry a gun, like safari guides in Africa? All he had was a thin bamboo walking stick. Dead tourists can’t be good for business.

Moments later a crashing sound in the thicket to our right. Our guide immediately ran away and scurried up a tree. After a moment’s confusion, we scrambled after him. Two rhinos trotted out of the brush.

“Don’t worry. They are so blind they will charge a tree if the wind moves it. Just wait.”

After a long twenty minutes, the rhinos wandered off and we all climbed down. For the rest of the four-hour walk we had big nervous eyes and a new attitude. We saw more rhinos, but no tigers.

If the weather is good, for $50 you can fly around Mt. Everest in a small plane.

There is a small village in the jungles east of Katmandu. Surrounding the jungle are enormous snow-capped mountains. Every day around 4pm, a troop of monkeys runs through the village, hooting and knocking over all the bicycles. The locals call them “the bad monkeys gang.” Also, in this same village, there is a buddhist thief who will break into your hotel room and steal exactly half of your cash. Greed, after all, is not enlightened.

Nearby jungles mean good fruit, even in the high mountains.

You will be gazing at the mountains and temples, your mind drawn to the ethereal and sacred, then realize you have just stepped into human shit. A cosmic joke. No one has plumbing or sanitation.

The Nepalese are hard-working and honest, but very poor.

These men were shoveling river rocks in the hot sun.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“We collect these rocks for sale to the construction industry.”

“What are those frames?”

“We build wire mesh with different size holes. Shovel the rocks in. They separate the rocks into three piles – big, medium and small.”

“How long is your work day?”

“Sunrise to sunset. At this time of year, about twelve hours.”

“That seems like very hard work. How much do they pay you?”

“Standard wage. For each day, we earn one dollar.”

Across the river someone’s body was burning on a bier.