I love to walk. Looking at everything that goes on, feeling the smells, watching the colours and imagining the lives of the people around me if I don’t get the chance to speak to them.

Walking in Kathmandu is my everyday challenge. The roads are used for all purposes, street selling all around the sidewalks -with plenty of fresh vegetables, hot chillies, face-masks for the polluted air, all kinds of clothes and underwear, hair brushes and cotton swabs- wait for costumers next to a Ganesha statue around the always present temples on the streets. The cars, motorcycles and bicicles go freely in every direction, horning right and left to the brave population who loves to walk. Then, also appear the rickshaws trying to pick up any tourist with some rupees in the pocket.

On rush hours, the micros (public transport vans) travel with their doors opened due to the 25 persons packed in the inside who overflow and stand with their body half out.
I was astonished to see that there is another public way of transport called TucTuc which works with electricity rechargeable batteries, to which we have to give a sincere thank you for not contributing to the massive air pollution of the valley.
On the road there are almost no signs who will guide you about when or where to cross safely, and the ones there are, are not respected…being a pedestrian, you just need to dare in this daily jungle.

Lately I have had the chance of riding a scooter (when the other girl with permit at the NGO is not free) I have that duty. It took me a couple of drives to understand that the language of traffic here is the horning. I can now understand why so many noise is ‘needed’ (or not, but it’s fine). The thing is when you are passing over someone on the road, you have to let them know by horning, which makes me think that no-one uses the vehicles mirrors -but anyways-, the special factor is that the horning does have an effect on the other driver who fairly pulls out on the side of the road and lets you free driving!
I do try to sneak in the most silent I can, but I know now that you don’t have to think you will be safe by not horning, because you will be horned…