Wednesday 1st September
No work today. Got a phone call this morning advising me to stay inside as there are demonstrations going on. The demonstration is to protest against the
killing of 12 Nepali's by Iraqi militants, so as you can imagine they are pretty wound up. They came past here not long ago (10am) and it was pretty loud, sounded like a football or soccer match. Now that they are gone, the silence is eerie. Normally there is this constant cacophony of animals, people, cars, buses, horns, etc ... so the silence says more than anything else. Once the noise level returns to normal, I'll know its safe to go outside.
And what do I get for registering at the embassy ... a nice email reminding me to vote !!! Doesn't matter where you are, there is just no getting away from it.
Geez two emails in one day .. the second one is about the security situation here. In the words of the Australian Govt.
Violent protests have been reported in Kathmandu on 1 September following the execution of 12 Nepalese hostages in Iraq. The situation remains unpredictable and Australians in Nepal are urged to observe curfews and maintain a low profile until order is restored.
By the sounds of it, between the protests and the maoists, theres going to be more curfews and problems for at least the next 7 days, followed by another bandh on the 8th. I better get some supplies in as I usually only buy a days worth at a time. The biggest one is water, when you can't take it straight out of the tap, it suprises you how much you go through. I seem to need at least 2 - 3 litres a day.
With all this spare time on my hands, I've gone mad updating the site, I finally put in some categories, have added yet again to the galleries and you will notice Israfel now on the home page. PS. If you want to see a bigger version it is also in the
Bits & Pieces gallery.