South Asia Network Operators Group (SANOG)

Fri Nov 29 03:41:42 UTC 2002

>  >From multiple news sources. Please correct me if I'm wrong, your message
>happened to come out as I hear about "possible" issues in Nepal.
>
>Denis
>

I arrived in Kathmandu on Oct 17 2002, flew to Lukla on october 19th, 
spent two weeks treking near everest and flew back to kathmandu on 
november 2 where i stayed until november 7th.

I loved every minute of it.  kathmandu is one of the most wonderful 
places on earth.  Yes there is a maoist insurgency underway.  Yes 
there are soldiers in the city.  And no I saw no maoists.  All the 
folk I talked to are, in fact, somewhat optimistic.  The King has 
asserted power over an army of crooked politicians and seems 
enlightened regarding the country's future.  Remember while nepal has 
maoists, washington dc recently had snipers.  I looked long and 
hard...high and low and saw not a single maoist.  i'd gladly go back 
tomorrow

I met Gaurab Raj Upadhaya <gaurab at lahai.com>.  Talked at 
length...fascinating guy.  And damnit,  in my opinion, a trip to this 
meeting would be worth while just to meet Tsering Gyaltsen Sherpa. 
32 years old and  from Namche Bazar , the Sherpa capital which is 
nestled at 11,000 feet 15  or 20 miles as the crow flies from the 
summit of Everest.

In 99 and 2000 there was an internet cafe in Namche.   It depended 
for connection to the outside world on a microwave link on towers 
between Lukla and Jiri.  In January 2001 the Maoists blew up the 
repeater towers leaving namche and the everest region without 
internet and telecom of any kind.
For all of 2001  and most of 2002 Tsering went back and forth between 
namche and kathmandu, picking the brains of the ISPs and trying to 
reestablish internet and bring local phone services to the  the towns 
of the Solu Khumbu.   Finally with VSat and radio telephones and a 
PBX and copper wire, he brought up a small asset based 
telecom/internet system in the solu khumbu on october 19, 2002.  he 
doesn't have a web site up yet.  But by the Sanog meeting he should 
have an excellent site up.  I spent several hours with him every day 
from november 3 through november 7th.  His plans are fascinating and 
testimony to both his creativeness and that of the Nepali ISPs who 
are helping him.  i intend to assist him in a number of ways as well.

If he does all he is setting out to do, he will put a floor of 
economic and political stability underneath the everest region.  That 
region will be connected to the rest of the world as never before and 
there will be a web based repository  of the region's history and 
culture and detailed information on all treking and climbing 
activities.  I am much inspired by what i have seen and heard.

you have here the smarts of the nepali internet combining with a 
creative inspired person to do stuff that could ultimately become a 
model for internet development in nepal and many other parts of the 
world.

this SANOG meeting should be a MUST attend for a for a LOT of people. 
I apologize to the SANOG organizers for this unsolicited commercial. 
Gaurab has met Tsering.   As far as i know Tsering will not be on the 
official program.  But I do think it likely that he will attend the 
meeting.  And people, if you like mountains, Nepal is Nirvanna.  GO!

-- 
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