Wrap Party, Nepali Politics, Miami and Morocco, Don't Drink the Water

So the past few days have been very busy(fun).

Monday night was the wrap party for David's filming project. It was hosted at Cafe Mitra in Thamel, Kathmandu. This place has some amazing food, and a great atmosphere. I had the opportunity to talk to Renu Chatra, David's translator for his film, and starting that day she is a senior journalist at the Kathmandu Post. First day on the job and she got on page one. After many congratulations and some red wine I asked her to describe her perception of the political situation in Nepal. I figured if a senior journalist didn't have an opinion about it, no one would. Here is a run down of what information I was able to gather.

The Maoists essentially ran on the platform of we will fix Nepal and repair the shattered(and mostly non-existant) infrastructure. Renu was kind enough to remind me that what little infrastructure Nepal had was in fact shattered by none other than the Maoists. Despite their violent history, Renu felt that the Maoists were the best bet for the rural and more-backward regions of Nepal.

That being said, even though the Maoists control most of the 601 seats of their "Congress" They are essentially crippled due to the fact that they do not have an overwhelming majority. Due to this lack of voting majority, the Maoists have been forced to form alliances with other parties. The other 2 major players in the congress refuse to deal with the Maoists on principle, so the Maoists are forced to court the smaller WGF. The WGF is a brand new political machine in Nepal that was formed in the wake of the Maoist success. This party is largely located in the Terai region of Nepal, that realized its power and influence when it decided to completely cut Nepal off from all Indian imports for a few days. The Terai region of Nepal is the low flat land that shares a border with India, and most, if not all of Nepal's imports come through this region.

This interim government has a 2 year time-line to write a new Nepali Constitution, and they haven't even started. So Renu, and many other locals I have spoken to, are not optimistic about the way the government is heading, but they are happy for peace, and security.

After the wrap party, we joined a woman named Wanda for some drinks at a very stylish place called Thomas. White sheets hung from steel rafters, low lights and dramatic shadows, and low table with couches around it gave this place what David Driver described as a "Morocco meets Miami" feel to it. Good drinks, and even better company ended the evening on a very high note.

More to come, My stomach problem is back.