Yesterday, Jan 31
I've returned from dropping my passport for stamping and stickering at the Kingdom of Nepal's Mission to the UN. Dreary walk to across mid-town to the grim grayness of the UN area. The flags fluttering about the traffic lights don't cheer. Nepal's office is on the 17th floor of a mostly UN building - the front desk log a friendly jumble of little-guy missions: Liberia, Samoa and the Solomon Islands (8th floor), Federated States of Micronesia, Nicaragua...
Nepal's office does not represent the country proudly, or even that adequately - the posters are tired and the country map faded. There's no one behind the counter, only the sign:
"Bad planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part."
Compared to the snaking lines, deli numbers and chatty hubbub of the Indian Consulate's Visa Office - Nepal's office inspired neither confidence nor a will to tour. Nepal has wandered off itineraries and doesn't seem inclined to climb back on. I imagine in its pre-Maoist, pre 2001 heyday the Visa room would have been filled and the backpackers many deep.
C - pulling for a Hindu kingdom
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