In Kathmandu now, after nearly a week in Tibet. Just now I tried to write to you about the train from Shanghai but the paragraphs kept expanding. Writing requires stillness – the dust that settles helps you see the shape of things – and Kathmandu is not the place for stillness. Everything here is in motion – the motorcycles and old Toyotas, the monkeys skittering around at Swayambhunath. Throngs of people crisscrossing the plazas in the old town near Durbar Square. I try to take pictures but something’s always missing; Kathmandu’s is a city more suited for video.
Maybe there’s so much movement because the mountains are so still, says L, a new friend.
So I will keep moving too. This morning I’m packing up to switch hostels, then I’m sorting out gear and permits for a trek. I’ve been trying to find a trekking partner but if I can’t in time I’ll have to hire a guide. In a few days I’ll take a bus to Besisahar and spend two weeks along the Annapurna Circuit.
That means I’ll be off the grid until the beginning of October. I’ll write to you when I’m back, and in a place again for long enough to be still.