My imagination has been running wild vividly envisioning the duel of two super-heroes, the clash of an irresistible force against an immovable force, like Superman versus a black hole. Well, that was just to help you get a sense of magnitude for my real query, wondering which city has worse air pollution: Mexico City or Kathmandu. Without getting into an ecological study I imagine that both cities could compete well for the title. Mexico city is considered to be among the world’s worst cities for air pollution because of its location surrounded by tall mountains. Its position locks in all the smog, fire and dust from the city and perpetually keeps the skies in Mexico city a thick brown haze. I believe the conditions would be the same if the perimeter of Kathmandu were also lined with inescapable mountain passes.

Yesterday I got started talking about the news media in Nepal. I’m sure you can draw the same conclusion that the transparency and freedom of the press are things we can’t take for granted and the people of Nepal should be diligent to keep them growing. I’d like to point out some of the online news resources for reporting from Nepal. Other than the countless blog entries from free-spirited hikers who pass through the established sight-seeing trails (myself included) there are a few active news sites published from Nepal that give its citizens and the world outside an update on daily matters. Of course there is a lot of debate and criticism of conditions in the country in the villages and city centers, but people generally feel they need to watch their backs for the wrong ears hearing their critical opinions. English language news organizations within Nepal are closely monitored and somewhat constricted by the political administration, but there are also some news agencies reporting from outside the country’s borders that take an interest in Nepal’s issues.

Of course getting internet access was a keen interest for me as I arrived in Kathmandu at the beginning of our adventure in Nepal. I was already typing up daily reports on Richard’s laptop computer and I wanted to make sure I would be able to upload the text to the SherpaTrek.com website. Staying at the Amari hotel in Bangkok was worry-free with the open wireless connection in the downstairs lounge. Scurrying through Thamel was another story though. True, there are lots of internet stations tucked between souvenir and money trader shops and they’re really cheap (1 Rupee per minute), but the connections were really slow. Of course I couldn’t complain about any of that either because the prices, the access and the connections speeds got much less luxurious as I hike up into the Khumbu. Actually I can never complain about net access again after hiking the hills around Namche for quick stops at the Everest Cyber Cafe.

Since I returned from trekking in the Himalayas I’ve gotten into the habit of checking the updates on our Nepal News page. I’m watching for signs of anything improving over there, but I realize things can get a lot worse. Just as we were leaving Nepal we heard how the government was hemming in the media and that it wasn’t that safe to speak openly about certain issues. It was interesting to be in that environment to help adjust my perspective a little. In the US we average citizens are barraged with news reports and editorial commentary coming from all biases and viewpoints. We get so much news that we don’t really pay attention to it, or we don’t go too far to test the views expressed. A lot of the news we get can seem petty, but the value is that the media do watch and report on the issues. In a place like Nepal the government does censor the media sources and works to sway them to their agenda. In the United States we sometimes feel disaffected with the news media because they seem to have a political bias or they beat sensational stories to death to draw more viewers.