Tragedy in Pokhara

Pokhara is the most popular tourist resort in Nepal.  It is beautiful, serene and perhaps the only place I've been that makes *me* feel at peace.  Sadly, water backed up after a landslide and when it finally broke through the rush of water swept away 60+ people and many homes.

I found out about this from my friend Sanjaya - a hotel manager I met two years ago and we've kept in touch.  He was with me on my last trip when I took this picture of the river that tragically killed many two days ago:

Here's the latest news story.  It mentions that the victims of the families will receive 125,000 rupees and those who lost their homes will get 25,000 rupees.  That's $1,500 per death and $300 for a lost house.

Nepal is a spectacular country - beautiful in an almost fairy tale way.  It is also poor, poor beyond the imagination for this Iowa boy.  The people could easily be resentful of foreigners yet they are unbelievably nice.  If ever there was a country and people deserving a break it is the people of Nepal.