The scissor sharpeners.

I took this picture just this afternoon near our hotel. The men were sharpening scissors. They had this wheel on a spindle thing and the man on the left was pulling a chain, just like a bicycle chain, back and forth which turned the wheel. The man on the right was sharpening the scissors on the wheel. Very interesting I thought.

Banana boy, Chitwan.

This boy, about age 9 I suppose, sold bananas to tourists to feed to the elephants at bath time. It was fun to see his business skills. He'd shout out "bananas, bananas for the elephants" in English. Then when somebody came over to buy bananas they would ask "how much?" and he'd look them up and down and say a price according to what he'd think they'd buy! To some he sold for 5 rupees a banana, then to some 10, and they'd buy!! He did a pretty good little business. It was a school day and I asked him why he wasn't in school and he said his parents made him do this 'business'. So I had a good talk with him about the importance of school. I saw him playing with some kids when they got off the school bus so I'm sure he would like to go to school. What child would rather be alone on the street doing 'business' rather than be at school with his friends? I asked the waiter at the restaraunt at our hotel if he knew the boy who sold bananas and he said, "yes, I know the banana boy". Evidently the boys parents live quite aways away, he didn't know where the boy stayed. I asked why the boy's parents made him sell food instead of being in school and he said he didn't know but two times he had talked to the boy about the importance of school, the importance of learning. He said the boy's parents were 'short minded', in other words thinking about today instead of the boy's future. Somehow I liked this boy. One day we sat by him as he sold and a woman was grouching about the price of bananas and I got fed up and told her the boy was wanting to go to school and trying to earn the money. She bought a few but she continued to complain that she didn't know how many boys she was helping go to school! Then I told the banana boy that since I helped his business he must know that I thought school was very very important and I hoped he would go. There are many private schools here (big money machines for the rich who can afford to open one--they're usually boarding for the kids from the mountains) but there are also government schools that are free for 10 years. They have to pay for paper, pens, books, uniforms and small amounts for test taking during the year. This is another story but from what I have read many of the boarding schools are little more than fronts to get small children and sell them into prostitution in India. Very sad stories. Last week in the paper was a story about a group of older children found in India who were rescued and brought back to their parents in Nepal, in the mountains. They had been gone for many years but found and rescued, a great story.

Farmers fields near Sauraha, Nepal.

We see mustard growing in fields in California but I've never seen clothes drying on clotheslines in the fields like in this picture. Alisa, I'm glad you like to dry clothes on the clothesline outside. Don't the clothes smell so sunshiny good?

Dad enjoying the trip back to Kathmandu!

Evening photo of Chitwan National Park

Our elephant.

This is the elephant we rode on. Dad had seen other elephants take the tip money in their trunk and raise it up to give it to the mahout so he tried it and 'our' elephant did it too! It is fun to ride the elephants and all that but it makes me sad to see such a magnificent animal corralled, forced to do unnatural things, etc. Seems like all animals should do what nature intended them to do. I like the story of the elephants in Africa who are turned loose every night but return every morning of their own free will to take tourists for rides. The incentive for them is that they are given free food. But the elephants are really free to come and go as they please. Would love to go for a ride on those elephants.

Ma, the Mahout and the elephant.

We had watched this mahout give this elephant his bath in the river and he invited us back to the place (right in town) where they lived. He is mahout #1 but we didn't meet mahout #2. This elephant is 27 years old and seemed quite docile but it is important to be cautious around them. I really didn't want to sit there but the mahout insisted and dad wanted his picture!