We have a new member in the family. Her name is Helena. She will be one year old in October. She is my niece and my godchild. Helena was there to meet me at the Tribhuvan International Airport of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, with her beautiful European-Asian smile. My niece is born to a Filipino mother, my younger sister and to a Belgian father. She was born in Kathmandu. Helena is the second grandchild of my parents. The other one is Paulina who lives in the US. You have met her in my previous articles.

Nepal is a beautiful country in the Himalayas. I spent my Easter holidays here with my sister's family. Her husband is a diplomat working for the European Union in Nepal. My sister is a fashion designer with her company based in Kathmandu. The last time I was with her was Christmas 2002 when she visited me in Europe together with the rest of my family.

Nepal is famed to be a very exotic mountain country. It's Mount Everest and the surrounding mountains of the Himalayas lure many trekkers. Nepal has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains. It is also the birthplace of the Gautama Buddha. Kathmandu is the biggest city of the country and is also the capital.

The country has a constitutional monarchy since 1990. It has a very long political history dominated by various rulers. It recently went through various political changes. In the recent past, the royal family died, rebel insurgents became powerful in the countryside and the new monarch became authoritarian curtailing civil liberties. After a quick public upheaval, the country is trying to rebuild itself with power restored among the Nepalis.

Nepal's economy is hinged on the economy of India since it is its major economic partner. Nepali rupee is pegged on the Indian rupee. It has a strategic position since it is bordered by two economic and political giants, China and India. It is also a neutral and convenient base for other countries monitoring the development work in Afghanistan, the dispute between India and Pakistan, the insurgency in the Moslem countries nearby and the developments in Tibet. Nepal is part of the eight-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the equivalent of ASEAN, of which the headquarters is in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu is a very old city nestled on a valley. Buddha is known to have walked in its areas. The city is very distinct for its unique architecture dating back to the Malla dynasty from the 12th to the 17th century. This architecture is what makes the whole Kathmandu Valley world-famous. The valley was been listed as a World Heritage Site in 1979 and declared to be in danger in 2003 by UNESCO because of rapid urbanization. There are seven groups of monuments and buildings affirming the historic and artistic achievements of the Kathmandu Valley—the Durbar Squares of Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu), Patan and Bhaktapur, the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Bauddhanath, and the Hindu temples of Pashupati and Changu Narayan. The other cultural world heritage site of Nepal is Lumbini, the birthplace of the Lord Buddha. Its gardens, one of the holiest places of Buddhism, is a major pilgrimage center.

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