In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening to bring down the regime, especially after a negotiated cease-fire between the Maoists and government forces broke down in August 2003. In 2001, the crown prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. While stopping short of reestablishing parliament, the king in June 2004 reinstated the most recently elected prime minister who formed a four-party coalition government, which the king subsequently tasked with paving the way for elections to be held in spring of 2005. Citing dissatisfaction with the government's lack of progress in addressing the Maoist insurgency, the king in February 2005 dissolved the government and assumed power. To be updated
November 11th 2009Asia » Nepal » Lumbini We got a night train from Varanasi to Gorakpur (north India, on our way to the boader with Nepal). The people in Varanasi train station must have know we were to be leaving India because they pulled o ... 13 photos[full story]
November 19th 2009Asia » Nepal » Annapurna It’s hard to say what I was expecting as the local bus rumbled to the border at Sonauli for us to cross into Nepal. Tired and sore - we’d all been duped and put on a local bus rather than ... 15 photos[full story]
November 18th 2009Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu Having met up with Jan and Dan..the tandem cyclists....and I was sure that was the end of my wonderful coincidencental meetings. But on my last night in Kathmandu I went to a Thai restaurant...Yin an ... [full story]
November 18th 2009Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu Just a quick post to say that we arrived in Nepal with no problems. We spent a couple of days in Kathmandu before flying to Pokhara to start our trek. We are in the second day and so far it has been a ... [full story]
October 30th 2009Asia » Nepal Ok, so we fly from India on Jet Airways. I’m not holding to much hope as I read they were a budget carrier - basically an Easy Jet. Oh how I was wrong, they are awesome. In-flight entertainment ... [full story]
November 18th 2009Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu » Lazimpat It’s time to start a new chapter for my work here in Kathmandu. Since returning from my trip to Tengboche I’ve had the opportunity to reexamine my project, evaluate what I’ve done s ... [full story]
November 18th 2009Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu Valley Den Himalaya von der Nepalesischen Seite aus zu sehen ist fantastisch. Vor dir Grün und hinten in der Ferne die RIESIGEN Gipfel der 8000er. Die Grenze von China zu Nepal haben wir schnell und unkompli ... 14 photos[full story]
November 17th 2009Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu » Thamal Hey Guys!
I am in Kathmandu! I managed to give myself food posioning the day I got here, so this blog is slightly delayed. Silly me, I thought if my stomach could handle anything in China I could ... [full story]
October 25th 2009Asia » Nepal » Lukla Namaste all. I'm going to split the tale of our trek to Everest base camp over several blogs because it is too long for a single entry - better than squashing it all into one. I'll try and keep it b ... 25 photos[full story]