Saturday's alright for fighting!!

From this picture you can tell no-one knows who to hug first! awwwww

Angus Walker has left the building.
Due in marital problems Mr and Mrs S have parted company. In the ongoing battle for the custody of nations Ms J. Stanton has will take charge of Nepal and India for the time being and Mr A. Walker will resume custody of New Zealand.

Anyway....As Angus flew away I was undergoing the ordeal of trying to get an Indian Visa. To call it a system would be a massive LIE!! not helped by (brace yourself for massive culteral generalisations) huge groups of israilis who everytime they were told something by the officials at the gate or window, would tell each other but not the handful of others that were there. I arrived at 8 am to already a huge crowd had formed covering the pavement and up the road from the empressive gates of the Indian Embassy. After numerous attempts to form a line (that didnt work!!) they let us in bit by bit. The Embassy is only open fron 9.30 to 12.30 so if you cant fight the crowds in that time you have to come back the next day and do it all over again. Highlights included spotting a pair of brass knuckles hidden in a pot of magnolias (?!?) and a very vocal german man who started shouting at the isralis who were jumping the queue telling them they were dirty and stupid and all looked the same. If that wasnt going to inflame the situation maybe mentioning somthing along the lines of Gaza strip and concentration camps was. We (non-isralis) started to edge away from him at that point....soon after a scuffle broke out. suprise suprise. i should have grabbed those brass knukles while i had the chance. but i made it!! with the banding together of some brits and I (thank god for my 'cute" kiwi accent) we got stage one down but that means another two days of standing for hours pressed intimitly agains a crowd of others (YES!)
Meanwhile.....Back in Thamel Angus off to the airport and demonstrations broke out in Thamel (tourist central) Now this is big news as not only did the police strike some tourist bystanders (big nono) but Thamel has always been a world away from the demonstrations in the city. Up till now all the shop fronts have been closed during the day and thats been it...nothing but an inconvinance but now things are a little more close to home. piles and piles of rubbish are collecting in the street as the essential services are slowing down and the price off fresh fruit and vege is rising as transport can't get into the Kathmandu valley anymore. Rumours are rife over if the government will impose a state of emergency which would mean no flights or anything. all domestic flights have been cancelled and buses stopped a long time before. Roads are off limits to all but a few specially designated buses and taxis for tourists between the airport and Thamel. So happy happy blossum harvest funtimes number one!



well i better go. the A-team is on and sometimes its in hindi and sometimes english! its like a pot-luck suprise as to which it will be. Huzzah! Being stuck sucks on a rainy day. Fool.