Random hits on the keyboard

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." — Saint Augustine "One must travel to learn." — Mark Twain "To travel is to live." — Hans Christian Andersen Travel quotes are beautiful. They make me want to quit my job, buy a backpack, and disappear into the mountains with nothing but a notebook and an unreasonable amount of optimism. Then I remember I have bills. I also admire the people who wrote these famous travel quotes. They all lived before commercial airlines, budget airlines, baggage fees, airport security, visa applications, and the invention of the middle seat. Back then, travel was a genuine adventure. You packed your belongings, mounted a horse, boarded a ship, or simply started walking. If you returned, you wrote a book. If you didn't, someone else wrote your biography. There was no climate guilt attached to every journey. Nobody calculated the carbon footprint of a camel. There were no traffic jams stretching for fi...

Not an extraordinary weekend, but a simple and joyful time. My morning began, as it often does, on the road. I had a nearly 20 km run. As the saying goes in Kathmandu , "All roads lead to temples", so I found myself running past many of them,  Pashupatinath Temple , Naxal Bhagwati Temple , and Aakash Bhairav Temple , among others. It was the nicest way to start the weekend. After reaching home, we discussed lunch and decided, with a two-thirds majority vote, to drive toward the hills for lunch. The path led to the Dakshinkali Temple route. Passing the winding roads, ahead of Chovar, there were a few restaurants built along the cliffs, looking down toward the Bagmati River . To the north, there was a wide view of the valley. That day, sadly, the Himalayas were shy, hiding behind the clouds. Although there was a nice resort nearby, we wanted to enjoy lunch at a small local restaurant. Choosing one among four or five was not easy, as we were unsure about the quality. My son qu...

I had a nice run on Saturday up to Nala. Surprisingly, it was not as hard as I had imagined. My preparation was perhaps a bit overdone, but since it was my first run to Nala, I was ready for rain, sweat, and all sorts of challenges. I was joined by a friend, which made the experience even more enjoyable, with a bit of sightseeing in Bhaktapur and snippets of history along the way. I’m getting there, I mean, near to nature. I have now started to love the pain of running.  I love the paddy fields beyond Bhaktapur, and the uphills and downhills gave me energy. Along the way, I found myself thinking about why people stopped running. Evolution has shaped the human body over millions of years through trial and error. Every function and organ is part of a system designed to improve our chances of survival. Our physiology and cognition were made to flee or fight, and running was the most important part of human survival. It was essential for hunting and running away from danger. Today, I n...

""What you see is all there is" is the way our mind treats the information that is currently available and information we do not have. The mind constructs the best possible story that incorporates the idea currently activated. But it does not allow the information it doesn't have." The mind only accepts the information that supports the preconceived conclusions and fits it to reinforce the story. And the stories are powerful, it is probably the only thing that makes humans superior to other species. 'What you see is all there is a beautiful phenomenon. We rely on information that comes to mind and construct a coherent story to make sense of the information. The illusion of knowledge and illusion of solutions based on past experiences delude the reality that world affairs are linear.  These biases are apparent. No one is to blame for these cognitive biases. They were, possibly, required for human survival in prehistoric time. Now, the world is much more compl...

'The first' is overhyped. The first of its kind, the first to be on ....... The first to climb to .... The first person to drive................ The first to reach.... etc etc. And here is 'the first' week after my return. I can't help myself to further hype 'the first'. I am readjusting myself to this dry air, windy evening, and cool morning. The coffee once again starts to start the daily routine. The morning is beautiful today. It is sunny for a while and gets cloudy by 2 o'clock Ethiopia time (which is 8 o'clock). Cloudy means we put on our jackets. It is seriously cold. Getting out in a street and having a bit of a walk early morning is refreshing. More greenery is around because of the rain. Being from a monsoon-hit country, I am trying to overcome my belief about rain - rain does not have to create flooding and landslides.  Local cafes began to open and an aroma of roast coffee fills the street. The cafe is decorated with local grass on the fl...

This weekend is full of 'good time'. Having a good time is a relative term, what is a good time? When we are home, the threshold is high. Being here, the good time is having internet, and having uninterrupted internet to have a video call is an 'oh my god' moment. :) I moved from one hotel to another, and today, I had to move from one room to another to have a shower, because the shower in my room was broken. So, having two rooms is a 'good time' and I felt having an apartment. This day went by - and it is almost the evening. I going to have a coffee and a local beer to celebrate the day. I had rice today, with vegetables. There is no meat - due to the 'fasting month'. And having meat is a 'good time' sometime. There is no electricity in the town for the last three days. So, the mobile network is very poor and now electricity has also been a luxury. I see many colleagues are in the office - work pressure plus internet. The work-life balance is a ...