Nepal: A recent tourist’s view

Imagine my horror on Saturday when I switched on the TV to see piles of rubble where stunning, intricately built temples were captured on my camera in Kathmandu.

The road to the cultural gem of Bhaktapur, 12 kilometres away, was destroyed and impassable and its fantastic Durbar Square left a scene of devastation.

I scoured the internet to find the location of a collapsed hotel in Thamel, Kathmandu, the area where we stayed for a few days.

It turned out to be about 200 metres away from ours. We had walked past it numerous times during our stay.

Thousands of people have died and many have been left homeless and without even the basics of life.

Pashupatinath, where we watched families cremating their loved ones, has been shown on the news under a constant cloud of black smoke.

I feel privileged and lucky to have been able to visit before disaster struck but this is a country which relies heavily on tourism, from trekkers and sightseers.

The cost of bringing these heritage sites back to their former glory will be phenomenal and the likelihood is this poor country will have few visitors for some time.

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