The lightening flashes and the thunder rolls in long and loud, just a few seconds later and the torrential rain pounds the window next to me as I drink my third cup of coffee at Hinalayan Java!!
My thought was to spend a couple of days at Chitwan National Park, famous for its Rhinoceros and Tigers, but it’s a six hour drive each way. Too long to spend in a car when I only have two full days spare So I’ve decided to revisit some of the sites I’ve seen in past and see if I can look at them from a different perspective…..or should I say camera angle!
It’s still a place that’s very diverse, the customers in the café range from youngsters taking a year out traveling, some not so young hippies, who probably started out taking a gap year, but never left or washed by the looks of them. To the returned trekkers and climbers, looking wiery and waiting to go home to the enthusiastic trekkers and climbers who have yet to venture into the Himalaya!
It reminds me of a TV program called ‘Watching’ a comedy that I remember from the 80’s with Lisa Tarbuck and a girl with multi-coloured hair, her name escapes me for the moment. I’m sat here people watching…..a fascinating pass time. The difference between now and the observations of that 80’s TV program, though are quite stark. There still are a few people either reading or even talking to each other, but most are sat together on their ‘devises’, ignoring all that is around them. I assume they’re on some sort of social media. A couple are obviously on either Skype or FaceTime as they appear to be talking directly to a screen! Or is it something more sinister!! I’m just as guilty, I just happen to be writing down my observations on a ‘device’. Communication has moved on. Instead of communicating with the person next to you, people are talking, whether directly or by social media, to someone who could be thousands of miles away. I’m not condoning it as many of these people are on their own, like myself……although part of me would like to communicate directly with the people around me as the conversation, I’m sure would be far more stimulating, but first contact can be hard work! Maybe being a miserable old sod (like Uncle Les) does have its down side?