Asia

[Visited: April 2007]

Visitors come to Nepal for the nature, the culture, and perhaps the food, but another reason to visit this Himalayan kingdom could as well be for the people. By and large, they are very friendly and open towards the visitor, and even in the most touristy places in Kathmandu (and they are very touristy!), I did not have a bad experience (not even with taxi drivers), or a show of the bad influence of tourism on the local population. On the contrary.
The first impression of the Nepalis was very positive; they also reminded me of Indians, even though some of the Nepalis can look almost Chinese. It was often a pleasure to just sit down somewhere and look at people going about with their life. Especially the women add colour to public life: many wear those beautiful, elegant saris in bright colours, often combining various colours: red and green, blue and green, yellow and orange... Seeing a group of women in saris walk around was like watching a parade of brightness right under your eyes.
The sari fashion might disappear overtime, as many young people are wearing fashionable clothes, accompanied by handbags or sunglasses that are not Nepali at all. It is fascinating to see how the traditionally dressed people mix with the avant la garde youth into a curious exotic cocktail of colours and styles. What Nepali all seem to have in common, is that smiling turns any face into a cheerful and beautiful display of contrasting white and brown. But Nepalis can also be dedicated to what they are doing, as is proven by yelling rickshaw cyclists, beggars approaching you in the street, saddhus with brightly painted faces asking for a picture, touts trying to sell you a trekking tour or the quiet guys whisperingly asking if you are interested in buying drugs, a waitress in a restaurant doing what she can to give you the best food...

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Nepali people (Nepal). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Nepali people.
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Nepali people > Nepal > Asia

[Visited: April 2007]

Around the World in 80 Clicks