It’s been a lot of toil and struggle getting up to Namche, which is really just the start of the trekking adventure. All of the largest and the smallest touring groups make a stop through Namche to get supplies and porter crews rightly organized, as well as stopping for some baked apple pie from one of the many enticing German bakeries. This is the central trading and meeting point for all hikers and villagers from all of the region, and the variety and the fantastic though fogged over view are worth stopping for. Namche is still a growing village, as you hear rock chippers from across the amphitheater valley who are setting together stones in perfect plane and order to make the shape of a new lodge or a coffee shop or even a gear rental. Coming from the United States our group may not have been the lengthiest travelers to converge on the village of Namche. The renown of the trading bazaar stretches across the border of China into the region known as Tibet, where pastoral merchants pack in clothing (knock off) and jewelry from their home region to trade for essentials or even cash. Their transit from home takes them over a week over bitter cold Himalayan passes and hardens their haggling senses to resist the low price bids from greedy American tourists.

Stepping off of the plane at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport from an international flight you will pass through the visa checkpoint. This is your last opportunity to unload some of your US dollars before entering the realm of the Nepalese Rupee (NPR) in paper and coin. The exchange rate has hovered around 75 NPR to 1 US dollar for the past five years. In early 1995 it was just under 50, and in January and November of 1998 there were sudden jumps (or drops from the Nepalese perspective) in the rate of exchange, with a shift of 11 NPR within a year. This is probably not the most telling statistic when it comes to describing the state of Nepal’s economy and their international trade, although it is of interest to tourist who make up a significant part of Nepal’s revenues. The most significant trading partner with Nepal is India, and considering the relative magnitude of their neighboring economy it seems that India could easily crush Nepal with any misstep. Nepal does have a heavy trade deficit, and that is primarily (~55%) with India. Nepal does not have that much to offer as export, but relies on many industrial and foodstuff imports.