Parts of Nepal are devastated. I say parts because I expected my plane to land in a rubble-piled waste land; it didn’t. There was a runway, an immigration officer, and a functioning baggage carousel. Kathmandu’s ancient temples, however, are in ruins. Many multi-storied buildings have toppled down. But the capital city, still in shock, manages to keep pace at least somewhat. I still have the bandwidth to make this blog post, after all. Upon exiting the Kathmandu valley, things become steadily worse. Driving north-east into Sindhupalchowk District, paradoxically away from the epicenter of the earthquake, homes are flattened and people sit in uncertainty on the side of the highway, while others comb through the wreckage of their former dwellings, searching for food or possessions. I begin to experience a sense that I never have before – an eerie sixth sense that comes from gaping at mountain grandeur and pristine rivers, blanketed by piles of debris and the[…]