phacops
22.03.2004, 14:54
Die derzeitige Situation in Nepal wird ja in verschiedenen boards durch unterschiedlichste posts beleuchtet.
Einen kenntnisreichen Beitrag hat IMHO im TT Nepali Ann beigesteuert, den ich hier wiedergeben möchte:
Zitat (Auszug):
Should I stay or should I go?
So much talk these days about whether Nepal is safe or not to travel to. Even on the TT there have been some alarmist emails that make the situation sound well, like an Iraq here in Nepal. So, I thought I might humbly share a few thoughts on the situation which you can take or leave as you choose. Those who know me, know i try to write honestly and unbiasedly, to give picture accurate information to plan their travels.
First to take a more holistic view of Nepal, things have been bad for quite some time, although many tourists wouldn't have known it a few years back. Starting from 1994, there has been atrocities committed in nepal, it wasn't widely reported, so it wasn't an issue. If the media doesn't report it, does it mean it didn't happen? It's just to put what is currently happening into perspective is to understand that things are bad, but not like it just started overnight, like Nepal was Shangri-La yesterday and Iraq today. Then, one needs to understand nepali geography and know that what sounds like a short distance of say 100 km, can be days away because of the mountains, the lack of roads, and hilly footpaths. Its what makes the maoists so successful is the remotest of much of Nepal, and no, the Annapurna circuit is no longer remote in the true sense. The tourist paths are well worn in nepal and because of that, remain safe for tourists, but i get ahead of myself. The geography of nepal means that when you read about something terrible happening, maoists killing police, etc, etc. its generally far from the tourist path. Last year there were rumors of a firefight right on the Ktm-pokhara highway on the tt because someone read on one of the online internet sites that something had happened in dumre, but what they failed to realize was that it happened in dumre VDC and not dumre bazaar, and dumre VDC is a large area. Its things like that, that exaggerate the situation in nepal.
The next thing to understand is that i am not on the TT to tell people where they why they should and should not travel to a certain place. It is not for me to say why would you consider going to nepal at this time. I would rather give an accurate portrayal of the ground situation and let you decide yourself. Of course, for the casual tourist, nepal might not be the ideal destination because of everything that is going on right now. A vacation, in the true sense, doesn't usually include a heavy military presence, frequent strikes which halt transportation, and the thought that there is an insurgency going on in your Shangri-la. But that is not for me to say. Instead, in my own opinion, informed by studying Nepali politics and anthropology and living here for much of the last five years, for the globo-hobo, nepal remains a safe place to visit with many rewards and low risk of actual physical harm, if they can put up with the hassle that has no become a daily part of life in nepal.
....
If you stick to the beaten paths, go with local guides when trekking top handle any situations that arise, can deal with the delays due to checkpoints, are not scared off by military men with guns, don't mind walking around during strike days (didn't you come to trek anyway?), avoid demonstrations which can turn dangerous if unruly boys get riled up, then you will be 'safe' in nepal. this is not meant to be sarcastic. nepal is not for everyone, and people need to think twice what they want from their vacation and then decide if Nepal is still where they want to go. But there is little actual risk as of yet, that tourists will be directly harmed by the insurgency. But that doesn't mean no risk. There is always the possibility of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But i personally think, that if you are coming to the third world, there is more danger from the transportation system (buses fall off roads in developing countries with alarming frequency) and a tourists cavalier attitude towards things like altitude sickness than from being caught in a bomb blast from the maoists.
i have written elsewhere on the tt in more detail about the situation here in Nepal, but in short, the economic bloackade is over today, but it will take some time before things get back to normal. Even during the bloackade, there were some tourist buses running, those going btw ktm-pokhara were fine, but many tourists who wanted to cross over to India by land were stranded because that was where most of the problem was. During the blockade, a few buses were burned, but all passengers were taken off beforehand, so no one was injured because of traveling during that time. There will no doubt be more strikes called for the future, so if you do come, come with lots of flexibility in your plans or willing to fly instead of ground transport. places like Thamel are remarkably normal given the situation. Bands play late into the night, tourists heartily party in the bars. And the maoists are now requesting a 1000 rps donation from tourists but they give you a receipt so you dont get hit twice. Do keep cameras and binoculars tucked away when you meet them or they may be tempted to take another donation for the 'cause.'
Nepal ist seit Jahren Bürgerkriegsland. Dessen sollte sich jeder bewußt sein, der dorthin reist. Uninformiert reisen ist IMHO unverantwortlich.
phacops
Einen kenntnisreichen Beitrag hat IMHO im TT Nepali Ann beigesteuert, den ich hier wiedergeben möchte:
Zitat (Auszug):
Should I stay or should I go?
So much talk these days about whether Nepal is safe or not to travel to. Even on the TT there have been some alarmist emails that make the situation sound well, like an Iraq here in Nepal. So, I thought I might humbly share a few thoughts on the situation which you can take or leave as you choose. Those who know me, know i try to write honestly and unbiasedly, to give picture accurate information to plan their travels.
First to take a more holistic view of Nepal, things have been bad for quite some time, although many tourists wouldn't have known it a few years back. Starting from 1994, there has been atrocities committed in nepal, it wasn't widely reported, so it wasn't an issue. If the media doesn't report it, does it mean it didn't happen? It's just to put what is currently happening into perspective is to understand that things are bad, but not like it just started overnight, like Nepal was Shangri-La yesterday and Iraq today. Then, one needs to understand nepali geography and know that what sounds like a short distance of say 100 km, can be days away because of the mountains, the lack of roads, and hilly footpaths. Its what makes the maoists so successful is the remotest of much of Nepal, and no, the Annapurna circuit is no longer remote in the true sense. The tourist paths are well worn in nepal and because of that, remain safe for tourists, but i get ahead of myself. The geography of nepal means that when you read about something terrible happening, maoists killing police, etc, etc. its generally far from the tourist path. Last year there were rumors of a firefight right on the Ktm-pokhara highway on the tt because someone read on one of the online internet sites that something had happened in dumre, but what they failed to realize was that it happened in dumre VDC and not dumre bazaar, and dumre VDC is a large area. Its things like that, that exaggerate the situation in nepal.
The next thing to understand is that i am not on the TT to tell people where they why they should and should not travel to a certain place. It is not for me to say why would you consider going to nepal at this time. I would rather give an accurate portrayal of the ground situation and let you decide yourself. Of course, for the casual tourist, nepal might not be the ideal destination because of everything that is going on right now. A vacation, in the true sense, doesn't usually include a heavy military presence, frequent strikes which halt transportation, and the thought that there is an insurgency going on in your Shangri-la. But that is not for me to say. Instead, in my own opinion, informed by studying Nepali politics and anthropology and living here for much of the last five years, for the globo-hobo, nepal remains a safe place to visit with many rewards and low risk of actual physical harm, if they can put up with the hassle that has no become a daily part of life in nepal.
....
If you stick to the beaten paths, go with local guides when trekking top handle any situations that arise, can deal with the delays due to checkpoints, are not scared off by military men with guns, don't mind walking around during strike days (didn't you come to trek anyway?), avoid demonstrations which can turn dangerous if unruly boys get riled up, then you will be 'safe' in nepal. this is not meant to be sarcastic. nepal is not for everyone, and people need to think twice what they want from their vacation and then decide if Nepal is still where they want to go. But there is little actual risk as of yet, that tourists will be directly harmed by the insurgency. But that doesn't mean no risk. There is always the possibility of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But i personally think, that if you are coming to the third world, there is more danger from the transportation system (buses fall off roads in developing countries with alarming frequency) and a tourists cavalier attitude towards things like altitude sickness than from being caught in a bomb blast from the maoists.
i have written elsewhere on the tt in more detail about the situation here in Nepal, but in short, the economic bloackade is over today, but it will take some time before things get back to normal. Even during the bloackade, there were some tourist buses running, those going btw ktm-pokhara were fine, but many tourists who wanted to cross over to India by land were stranded because that was where most of the problem was. During the blockade, a few buses were burned, but all passengers were taken off beforehand, so no one was injured because of traveling during that time. There will no doubt be more strikes called for the future, so if you do come, come with lots of flexibility in your plans or willing to fly instead of ground transport. places like Thamel are remarkably normal given the situation. Bands play late into the night, tourists heartily party in the bars. And the maoists are now requesting a 1000 rps donation from tourists but they give you a receipt so you dont get hit twice. Do keep cameras and binoculars tucked away when you meet them or they may be tempted to take another donation for the 'cause.'
Nepal ist seit Jahren Bürgerkriegsland. Dessen sollte sich jeder bewußt sein, der dorthin reist. Uninformiert reisen ist IMHO unverantwortlich.
phacops