RANGE OF DAMAGETHIS MINI-DOCUMENTARY SHOWS THE RANGE OF DAMAGE IN THE KATHMANDU VALLEY, FROM THE LARGELY SPARED URBAN AREAS OF KATHMANDU AND LALITPUR TO THE DEVASTATED VILLAGE OF HARISIDDHI. |
APRIL 2016
You might get the idea from media accounts that Nepal is virtually destroyed by the earthquake(s) last year—a pile of bricks. But most of the urban areas, well-built houses, and concrete buildings were spared. This mini-documentary shows the range of damage in Kathmandu and the Kathmandu valley.
It starts in Harisiddhi, not far from downtown Kathmandu where we interview a village elder and get the scoop on what happened there during the earthquake and afterwards. This particular village was featured many times on YouTube including live footage as the earthquake struck. Here's a link.
We then move on to Kathmandu and the relatively posh neighborhood of Dhobighat in the Lalitpur district. Here we meet Dilasha Singh (our landlord while we were there in the fall of 2015). Educated in London, Dilasha and her home represent the other end of the spectrum. The neighborhood has fine restaurants, beautiful, strong houses, high-rise buildings, department stores—you name it.
We think it’s important that people realize that Nepal and Kathmandu are open for business. Even in the fall of last year it was going strong and hungry for tourists. If there is one thing that a Westerner can do to help Nepal it is to visit.
This film hopefully broadens the perspectives of those that see it and makes everybody realize that it is safe in Nepal, as well as awesome. There is very low crime and no daily shootings, or much of the violence we take for granted in the states.
Not that Nepal doesn’t have problems—obviously it has some of the most severe issues a country can face including political volatility (it is a brand-new democracy), power shortages, and, oh yeah, it is still recovering from one of the worst earthquakes on record. But its problems are, in many ways, no bigger than ours, just different.
We hope you’ll also take a look at the other videos on our YouTube channel and check out our previous blog posts to get a better feel for what it’s like over there. Take it from me, going there helps one see the contrasts and hopefully lets visitors go back to where they came from with new ideas and perspectives. Especially after spending time with some of the nicest people on the planet…and they with you.
You might get the idea from media accounts that Nepal is virtually destroyed by the earthquake(s) last year—a pile of bricks. But most of the urban areas, well-built houses, and concrete buildings were spared. This mini-documentary shows the range of damage in Kathmandu and the Kathmandu valley.
It starts in Harisiddhi, not far from downtown Kathmandu where we interview a village elder and get the scoop on what happened there during the earthquake and afterwards. This particular village was featured many times on YouTube including live footage as the earthquake struck. Here's a link.
We then move on to Kathmandu and the relatively posh neighborhood of Dhobighat in the Lalitpur district. Here we meet Dilasha Singh (our landlord while we were there in the fall of 2015). Educated in London, Dilasha and her home represent the other end of the spectrum. The neighborhood has fine restaurants, beautiful, strong houses, high-rise buildings, department stores—you name it.
We think it’s important that people realize that Nepal and Kathmandu are open for business. Even in the fall of last year it was going strong and hungry for tourists. If there is one thing that a Westerner can do to help Nepal it is to visit.
This film hopefully broadens the perspectives of those that see it and makes everybody realize that it is safe in Nepal, as well as awesome. There is very low crime and no daily shootings, or much of the violence we take for granted in the states.
Not that Nepal doesn’t have problems—obviously it has some of the most severe issues a country can face including political volatility (it is a brand-new democracy), power shortages, and, oh yeah, it is still recovering from one of the worst earthquakes on record. But its problems are, in many ways, no bigger than ours, just different.
We hope you’ll also take a look at the other videos on our YouTube channel and check out our previous blog posts to get a better feel for what it’s like over there. Take it from me, going there helps one see the contrasts and hopefully lets visitors go back to where they came from with new ideas and perspectives. Especially after spending time with some of the nicest people on the planet…and they with you.