Chapter 558 Do You Need a Tour Guide?

South Asia, Nepal, Kathmandu.

As the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu is not so prosperous. As the poorest country in the world, the capital of Nepal will not be more prosperous than any third- and fourth-tier cities in China next to it.

And even in the capital, there are still frequent power outages here, because of the lack of energy, except for a few places where power must be guaranteed, such as hospitals, power outages in other places are commonplace. Even hospitals experience frequent power outages.

Because Nepal does not produce any energy itself, whether it is oil or coal, it relies on imports. There are several hydroelectric power plants in the country, but they are just a drop in the bucket, which is better than nothing.

Nepal, which has been strangled by India all year round, has a hard time. Nepal relies on two big countries, one is India and the other is China.

India annexed the two countries of Sikkim and Manipur in the 1970s. In fact, India is also ready to move for Nepal.

Nepal has thought about relying on China, but there is a Himalaya mountain in the middle, the roof of the world is not so easy to climb, and Nepal has no outlet to the sea. The places on land suitable for bordering the outside world are basically India's sphere of influence.

This has always put Nepal in an embarrassing situation. I want to get rid of India's control, but I cannot do without India's support in terms of materials and resources. In addition, Nepal itself is too barren and the people are poor.

Several states in India have opened up work permits for Nepalese. Although they go to India to work, most of the Nepalese can do work as mountain movers (mountain movers, because the Indian states close to Nepal are all mountain states and Nepal Almost. It’s more like the stick stick army in Chongqing’s early years.)

The money that can be earned by carrying two 75-kilogram oil barrels up a three-kilometer mountain road is less than 300 rupees (about 31 yuan).

However, there are still countless Nepalese who go to India to pan for gold. Sorry to use the word gold pan is not appropriate, this can only be said to barely make ends meet.

Most of the Nepalese who do these jobs don't live past fifty, and most are seriously ill by the time they are forty. But the job is at least able to support my family in Nepal.

If you are lucky, you can save a little money before the age of 40, and maybe you can buy some fields in Nepal. Although the mountainous areas are not suitable for planting, you can always produce something, which is much better than living in a foreign land.

As a result, countless people went to work in India, and some of them came back alive. They can bring back tens of thousands of rupees (thousands of RMB) every year, which is the best gift for their families.

Some people only had their bodies carried back by fellow countrymen, most of them died of exhaustion in India, and some died of diseases caused by exhaustion.

These people can only be buried hastily.

For example, the father of the only young novice monk in this small temple on the outskirts of Kathmandu is like this.

When **** was young, his father went to India to move mountains. He only went there for three years. When he came back, he was only carried back with a corpse and less than 20,000 rupees. ****'s mother couldn't bear this blow, and died of illness within a year.

So the family of the seven-year-old **** was broken up like this. **** There are too many such children in Nepal, and this country does not have so much money to build orphanages.

Except for a few lucky ones, most people's children are wandering on the streets like this, either grow up strong and live, or die and no one cares about them.

**** is a lucky boy, he was taken in by the old monk of this temple.

I didn't starve to death on the street, I was able to be a little novice, although sometimes I was hungry, but at least I could survive. It made him feel extremely lucky.

But now he feels that his life is more fortunate, because a teacher came to the temple. Rubes Banner.

Not only did he have outstanding medical skills, but he also used his reliable medical knowledge to heal the sick villagers in the surrounding villages, so that the temples that were originally full of incense began to have a lot of offerings.

More offerings mean that I don't need to be hungry anymore, and I am very happy.

But the happier thing is that Mr. Banner is not only willing to treat everyone, but also willing to teach himself and other children knowledge.

As a country where 80% of the population is illiterate, being able to learn is a luxury. Especially Dr. Banner is willing to teach everyone English.

Don't underestimate the role of English in Nepal, as a country with tourism as the backbone of the country. Because it relies on the southern foot of the Himalayas, there are a lot of climbers who come here every year.

Most of them are Europeans and Americans. Fluent English is a decent job whether it is a tour guide for tourists or a buddy in a mountaineering supply store.

You can get a high salary that is unimaginable for others. The English-speaking guy can get a monthly salary of more than 6,000 rupees (less than 700 RMB) whether in a mountaineering supply store or in a hotel!

If you are fluent in English and speak well, you can become a tour guide, or even become a mountain guide for mountaineers after you have mastered mountaineering skills.

Excellent mountain guides can earn millions of rupees (hundreds of thousands of RMB) a year, which is the highest paid job in Nepal.

****'s dream is to become a mountain guide, and he wants to make a lot of money. Because the old monk is old, **** wants to make money and take the old monk to live in his home.

If the old monk is unwilling to go, then he will spend a large sum of money every year to help the temple.

**** is a child with determination and perseverance. He and Dr. Banner have only studied English for one year, but he is very eager to learn.

He cares more about English textbooks than Buddhist scriptures. He doesn't want to be a monk, but he wants to repay the kindness of the old monk. The old monk didn't force sex either.

So **** except for the morning class every day, the rest of the time is holding English textbooks, which is much more than Buddhism.

For these low-level people, a foreign language may be a step to change the whole life. It's just that knowledge is more expensive in poorer countries. Not everyone has the opportunity to receive formal education, especially a good teacher like Dr. Banner is even more difficult to find.

****Although the spelling is still not good enough, he has already mastered quite a lot of oral communication skills, which is learned from the daily communication with Dr. Banner.

And today is the first time **** has come to Kathmandu alone, and he wants to do something. He is thirteen years old this year, and a thirteen-year-old boy in other families is already an adult. Need to go out to work to help reduce the burden.

Although the expenses of the temple can be supported now, **** still wants to help his teacher and old monk. For example, go to Kathmandu as a guide for foreign tourists. As a young novice, I am naturally more likely to gain the trust of European and American tourists than those oily adults.

If you take your guests around Kathmandu by yourself, you can naturally get tips. These are what he observed from other tour guides.

Right now, for example, he is standing at a tourist attraction in Kathmandu observing his potential clients.

****'s eyes suddenly lit up, and a team of three appeared in front of him.

A muscular white man, a fat white man, and what appeared to be an Amerasian man were walking the streets as if looking for something.

**** ran forward immediately, he needed to get in touch with these tourists faster than other adults to make this business possible.

He nimbly shuttled through the crowd, approached the three of them quickly, and said in fluent English: "Gentlemen, do you need a tour guide?"