European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 03, 1964, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The 20th  a by Bob hover staff writer is noon of a Bright worm Day. The in glares Down on a Dusty Square when squirming children play tag in the Shade of ancient pagodas. Across the Square a cow nibbles vege tables from the cart of a Vendor and a procession of solicitous Rickshaw boys lop at the heels of a sweaty tourist. Back and Forth along narrow Street lined with ornate shrines trudge Little men and women their mongoloid Fea Tures devoid of All emotion their backs hunched under the Burden of heavy wooden yokes. A tall Soldier in an Olive uniform slops to Chat to a smiling Little Man. The Man is wearing tight fitting trousers and shirt and a Black Fez. The contrast is striking. Two mongrels take turns sniffing Abrass reptile in rant of a shrine then Trot mischievously into the Square nip Ping at the heels of cows pausing to receive the pats of Friendly children. You ask where you Are and for the moment you can t remember. You Are lost in the wonder of it All. Then you know Itta Nepal. Specifically it is Katmandu the capital City of thai ancient Himalayan kingdom. The name Nepal inspires images of forbidding mountains of marching gurkha soldiers. The mind drifts on. Concentrate again on the Square. Its scene of centuries past and on the surface at least it has t changed Muchin the 20th Century. It s this enduring Quality which is Lur ing on increasing number of tourists 7.mo in 1h to Nepal. Yet there s Anionic note in the statistics. Behind the scenes changes arc brew ing. Students of Nepal who first came to the country a few years ago  vast change. Georges Lebec a tourist adviser of the French government is qualified to speak about the rapid transition which has taken place in nepalese life. Be spent five months in Nepal in 1938and came Back for three months this  fears that too much exposure to the outside world could produce disastrous results in Nepal. These people Are so hungry for Anfor fog 19 motion about other cultures that the embrace everything which is foreign in a Way that is almost frightening he said. There is substantial material help be ing offered. But this is not enough. Material help alone can be ruinous. We must always make people do something for the help they  s True these people arc poor. But they Are proud people and we Don t wan them to lose their  Lebec said that a european visitor attracted Large crowds wherever he went in Nepul five years ago it s still that Way in the Remote towns he said but Katmandu has be come quite cosmopolitan. When 1 was Here before there Wasno transportation. Everyone walked everywhere. Now there Are buses an cars some of them quite modern. There weren t even bicycle rickshaws in at that time electricity was  you stayed in a hotel you had to buy candles to Light your room. Service i hotels was abominable. There was no hot water. In fact there was hardly an water. The Telephone service was very Badland the operators could t understand you and you could t understand  you had to communicate via foot Mes sengers even in the  the service is acceptable and operators sneak English. 1 am amazed at the interest of the people in learning foreign  the american Library is a popular place in Katmandu where Young people Brush up in their English breading books periodicals and news papers. , i ?r�11 is my in or in the country and spent weeks in Isol ated villages helped the government prepare maps. There were no maps at All when came Here in 1938," he said. Even to Day most maps arc crude. And most Olathe streets and the squares Are unnamed. One of the complaints of tourists i that they Don t know where they Are or what they re looking at even herein  huge Strong Ilont an Mali guard a Shryln in the heart of capital dry. Lebec is a vibrant Salesman. He tries ? a Vel one he meets on the future Scep Wal Len be let " Tec Amethe Switzerland of Asia. He recommends visits to two ancient cities in the Katmandu Valley Palan three Miles South of Katmandu Andoh Adlaon nine Miles East of Katmandu. Patna is a City of Buddhist and hindu Rines. By Adlaon is known for its shrines and ancient crafts. A half hour drive to  the route is paved but the last four Miles arc a dust  a Hudgson Liny nepalese men and even smaller children sing Tor tourist sin the Street. They accompany Thorn Jav in uni Etc Rob instrument which they play with u Bow. It s a memorable scene. At the government tourist office a attempt has been made to gather statistics on  the visitor will learn that Nepal is about the size of Arkansas or Greece that it has a population of 10 my Ollun and that it is a nation of isolated valleys running North and South along the Riv errand thai a is divided into three sections the Northern Snow Region Home of the great Himalayan peaks the Middle Hill Section and the Southern Ter Al which is largely Jungle. Nepal i bar dered on the North by Tibet and on the cast South and West by India. The our office provides numerous mis Cellaneous facts about Nepal. It u the Home of Gautama Siddhartha. Founder of buddhism. For centuries the cultural catalysts of the nation have been ancient hinduism and buddhism. Altitude of Nepal varies from 200 to 21.002 feet the Peak of mount Everest which the natives Call Sag Armatha. Many tribe make up the population but most Nepal use arc of indo aryan mongoloid Stock  officials arc confident that tourist traffic will increase. They Point to the project to lengthen the runway at kit Nin Ndu Airport from 2,100 feet to 8.000 feel As a sign of the times. A than the stars and stripes since the nepalese opened their nation10 the outside world after world War to. Aid has been provided by the United slates the United kingdom India. Bus ? Slu and red China. Saturday