as the high mountain passes. (19) But
things were not all rosy in the valley.
Political tensions erupted in 1990 when
a democratic movement challenged the
king’s outright authority. A short but at
times frightening (even for us holed up in
hotels in Thamel) rebellion swept away
most of King Birendra’s powers, replacing
WKHPZLWKDÁHGJOLQJGHPRFUDF\IXOORI
hope. We were still leading treks during
that period, as more areas of the country
opened, such as Upper Mustang and
Dolpo.
Kathmandu was changing very fast by
then, as thousands of people migrated
to the cities, especially during the long
Maoist insurgency at the start of the
new millennium. The narrow lanes could
QRORQJHUFRSHZLWKLQFUHDVLQJWUDIÀF
pollution began to obscure all the fabulous
mountain views from the rooftops. Once
again in 1999–2000 we were able to
drive from London to Kathmandu in our own
converted Swansea city bus, with a group of
clients all over 55 – those who had missed
out on the travellers’ trail in the 1970s. The
HYHQWVRI ²ZHUHWKHÀQDOQDLOLQWKHFRIÀQ
for overland travel, and we became ‘prisoners’
of the airlines in order to reach Kathmandu.Our newfound occupation was editing out-
of-date books for Pilgrims Book House. We
learnt a great deal more about the culture,
the religions and a whole myriad of historical
facts about Nepal and Tibet, which opened
in 1985 to independent travellers. We still
headed to the mountains to revitalise body
and soul; no one could sit around Kathmandu
for weeks, despite the obvious attractions of
Thamel. The string of regular annual visitors
meant a full diary of social engagements
to catch up on – returning western friends
and Nepalese tourism colleagues, Sherpas,
porters, restaurant staff, hotel owners, taxi
drivers and even fortune tellers.VALLEY OF THE GREEN-EYED YELLOW IDOL
http://www.himalayamagazine.com TRAVEL HIMALAYA SPRING 2019 | 53