Alcohol consumption is a customary part of Sherpa culture, and it seems that it is available to everyone of all ages in Nepal. Traditionally the Sherpa people brew their own “chang” (rice beer) and drink it heavily for social gatherings and parties. This is actually a very mild alcoholic drink, with an alcoholic content comparable to weak American beers. It is served warm (like Japanese sake) and it is a little sour with a yeast smell (like pizza dough). The Sherpas will prepare a batch and let it sit at least a month to get a richer flavor and higher level of alcohol. The Sherpas prepare “rakshi”, distilled from potatoes like vodka, but again it’s kind of weak (Pema will be hurt). I didn’t see anyone passed out from the drink, and I never heard any complaints of a hangover while we were on the trails, so it doesn’t seem like there is much of a drinking problem in the mountains. However, you would think someone was hitting the sauce pretty hard by seeing all the porters carrying enormous stacks of beer cases up from Lukla. Those cans of beer (San Miguel) are priced a little high for the Sherpas I’m guessing, so it’s for the benefit of the trekkers.

In Kathmandu western style alcohol is widely available and relatively inexpensive. Hard drinks like Everest Whiskey are sold at all of the small snack shops, and the price is comparable to buying a soda. I remember being in Seoul the hard liquor for sale at the 7-Elevens was cheaper than the sodas. Again I doubt that most Nepalese can afford to shop at those tourist stands, but since I’m cynical of human nature I’m guessing that in other parts of town it is sold even cheaper and no one enforces or even checks a standard for a legal drinking age. It could be that these western liquors are not that popular, but I did notice a few prominent billboards towering over the decimated urban hovels. Shovan tells me that people in Kathmandu like rakshi a lot. He fondly reminisces when he tells me about it. Again, I didn’t see any public drunkenness, and I didn’t see the standard pee and puke puddles beside a stinking heap of a drunken bum passed out on the pavement (well, at least I get them in my neighborhood). By American standards the lack of enforcement and the easily available alcohol is alarming, but perhaps through the Nepalese lens of seeing things it’s not a big problem. They’re a little more preoccupied with issues lower on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.