Oct. 30^th, 2012 – Bus ride home

I had a restful night sleeping in the dormitory. After walking 9 hours the day before, I was pretty much out for the count.

The buses are cued up and scheduled to leave at 5:30 AM and 6:30 AM. We decided to purchase tickets for the 6:30 AM bus.

So, you know those photos of people setting on top of the bus's racks? Here's the deal. All these buses are privately owned and operated. They will sell you a ticket, even if the cabin is sold out. You can wait for the next bus the following day, or you can stand in the aisle or sit on the roof. Same price. My guides assumed, and rightfully so, I would not want to sit white knuckled on the roof for ten plus hours, so we purchased tickets early and secured three seats. Our forth team member stood in the aisle for part of the way then went up on the roof until we reached the Kathmandu city limits. At which time the bus company made every one come inside the bus.

At what point in time do those of us living in countries that have been through such exploitation, and evolved past it, stand up for the less educated and tell them this is not acceptable? Do we have that right? That duty?? Do land borders supersede human, or for that matter, animal rights when it comes to the basic needs of a society or the individual? Greed and selfishness seems to be inherent in our species, but I would argue that we are better than that. By this point in human history, reason should have long since over ridden the selfish gene we've been passing down from generation to generation. I had a lot of time to think about this topic on the ten plus hour ride into Kathmandu.

Once back in the city, I sorted out all my dirty clothes, packed up my scat samples, and made preparations to leave Nepal the following afternoon. A short plane ride to Delhi, India, then a 14 hour flight back to the States.