London to Freetown

After a whirlwind trip to London, just enough time to see the family, eat some junk food, be amazed by the pursuit of shopping in oxford street (so much shopping going on- what did people do before shops?) and of course to catch some of live earth on tv  ( I am going to have to kill a few cows to make up for the carbon or something)  I’m back Nepal side.

I know I’m back.  The toilet smells like a toilet, I’m sharing my room with a geko , complete strangers have enquired as to my marital status and my stomach doesn’t feel quite right.  But these things are dwarfed by the friendly, welcoming, generous people and the breathtaking beauty of nepal.

I decided to do some pre-travel revising on Nepal on the plane trip with my newly acquired lonely planet guide.  Maybe it could tell me some things I didn’t already know.  It did and here are two of many illuminating facts under the ‘women travellers’ section;

 ‘ in 2005 landmark rulings gave women under the age of 35 the right for the first time to apply for a passport without their parents or husbands permission and safeguarded their right to inherited property.’

‘ the rural custom of exiling women to cowsheds for four days during their period was  made illegal in 2005’.