- Joined
- Feb 23, 1999
- Messages
- 4,855
I got to talk with Kami Sherpa for a couple of hours during his layover at SEA-TAC. He seems to be doing very well. We had some tea and donuts, and some good conversation. The conversation was somewhat impeded by the language barrier.
He mentioned that there is still a lot of trouble with Maoists in Nepal. He said they’re killing Nepalese but pretty much leaving the westerners and other tourists alone. He also mentioned that the hills are very dangerous, and he hasn’t been back to his home in the hills for quite a while. They occasionally have trouble getting horn in from India because of the unstable situation. Also, every once in a while the Maoists come knocking on the door at Bir Gorkha to extort money.
He said they currently have 13 kamis and 2 sarkis working at Birgorkha.
I asked about old Ganga Ram, and I believe Kami Sherpa said he had passed away some time ago. I may have misunderstood this. Perhaps Bill can shed some light on whether Ganga Ram is still alive or not.
I asked about the convex vs. the flat edges. Kami Sherpa said the flat edges were better for swords, but they were not as strong. I asked him if Bir Gorkha would still make convex edges and he said that they would if the customers wanted them. (Hear that, Yvsa?)
I asked Kami Sherpa about the news reports we had heard concerning the possible banning of khukuris in Nepal after all of the Maoist atrocities. He said that that was kind of silly. Those kind of things happen in America, but Nepal is not that silly.
We searched SEA-TAC for a place to smoke, and finally went outside. Just after Kami Sherpa lit up, a loud voice came over the PA system 'SMOKING IS NOT ALLOWED ON THE AIRPORT DRIVE. SMOKING IS ONLY ALOWED IN DESIGNATED AREAS OUTSIDE OF BAGGAGE CLAIM." So we went inside, down a level, back outside, and after a search found a solitary little bench with a picture of a cigarette over it. That's where they segregate the hostiles with potential cigarette bombs. Kami Sherpa got a chance to have a smoke there prior to boarding his flight for Asia.
Namaste all.
He mentioned that there is still a lot of trouble with Maoists in Nepal. He said they’re killing Nepalese but pretty much leaving the westerners and other tourists alone. He also mentioned that the hills are very dangerous, and he hasn’t been back to his home in the hills for quite a while. They occasionally have trouble getting horn in from India because of the unstable situation. Also, every once in a while the Maoists come knocking on the door at Bir Gorkha to extort money.
He said they currently have 13 kamis and 2 sarkis working at Birgorkha.
I asked about old Ganga Ram, and I believe Kami Sherpa said he had passed away some time ago. I may have misunderstood this. Perhaps Bill can shed some light on whether Ganga Ram is still alive or not.
I asked about the convex vs. the flat edges. Kami Sherpa said the flat edges were better for swords, but they were not as strong. I asked him if Bir Gorkha would still make convex edges and he said that they would if the customers wanted them. (Hear that, Yvsa?)
I asked Kami Sherpa about the news reports we had heard concerning the possible banning of khukuris in Nepal after all of the Maoist atrocities. He said that that was kind of silly. Those kind of things happen in America, but Nepal is not that silly.
We searched SEA-TAC for a place to smoke, and finally went outside. Just after Kami Sherpa lit up, a loud voice came over the PA system 'SMOKING IS NOT ALLOWED ON THE AIRPORT DRIVE. SMOKING IS ONLY ALOWED IN DESIGNATED AREAS OUTSIDE OF BAGGAGE CLAIM." So we went inside, down a level, back outside, and after a search found a solitary little bench with a picture of a cigarette over it. That's where they segregate the hostiles with potential cigarette bombs. Kami Sherpa got a chance to have a smoke there prior to boarding his flight for Asia.
Namaste all.
