snow and darkness

Today it snowed in Kathmandu for the first time since 1952… or something like that. Alas it was nothing more than a few snowflakes, and possibly could be best described as sleet… and indeed I didn’t see it at all as I was working in the dungeon that is my office. However the aftermath of 24hrs of rain (and 5 minutes of snow) is amazing. The temperature has dropped to freezing and the air is crisp, cold and best of all FRESH (except around the piles of un-cleared rubbish, as rubbish collectors are still on strike). I have been doing pleanty of breathing… oh and it tastes sooo good. The extent of the pollution here was hit home again this evening as we drove back from work. Looking out of the window at the view I have looked at everyday coming home from work these last 3.5months, there in front of me were some wapping huge big mountains… now I had never seen these mountains before today as the smoggy-haze just hid them from view. It was incredible, surprising and disconcerting to see them, a curtain had been lifted and the previous reality was suddenly not reality but a smog induced illusion.

So I think I mentioned that load shedding (power cuts) are increasing. Today the power was on-off-on-off at work and I found myself using my head torch at one point to be able to see my keyboard – it was that dark. The local papers report that we will be having 6hrs power cuts 2 days per week and 7hrs power cuts 4 days a week, and then the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) seem to expect us to be grateful that one day per week we will have no power cuts… the NEA call this a ‘load shedding holiday’. Apparently some power is being imported from India, but they are unable to bring it very far into the country because of “technical reasons … that would entail a lot of transmission losses". Apparently current load shedding is not saving enough power, and people are just shifting electricity consumption to different times of the day, hence the need to deprive us of so much electricity that we cant help but use less. Load shedding may increase to 8 or 9 hrs per day in March, should the situation not improve. It is an interesting experience, especially coming from a society where any power cuts are met with distress. I think it spurs on my desire to live in an eco house, or someplace where I am not dependent on supplies of non-renewable energy…