Immediately upon seeing the challenge word that Ailsa of Where’s My Backpack selected for this week’s Travel Theme — Tangle — we thought of one of the first sights we saw in Nepal. In 2011, when we journeyed with our group to that country to build houses for Habitat International, we stayed in the Thamel District in Kathmandu. Naturally, we wanted to do some shopping in that teeming, crowded, exciting district.
Tangled wires in the Thamel District of Kathmandu, 2011
But we were unprepared for what we saw tangled around poles on every street corner: wads and wads of wiring! No wonder blackouts were common even then.
And there’s no telling what this scene is like today after the April 2015 earthquake. Even more tangled, probably — and in more ways than one.
To get even more tangled up, click here to view all the postings for this week’s Travel theme: Tangle.
annetbell
LOL. . .. I have seen this so often in India!
Oh, the Places We See
We saw this in India also, but it was quite pronounced in Kathmandu. Have no idea how the folks in either country manage, but they do!!!
annetbell
Wow, hard to imagine even more wires than are put up in India. Amazing!
Curt Mekemson
Always in third world countries and some first and second, I am amazed by the tangles of wires and can only wonder how fires are avoided. –Curt
Oh, the Places We See
You are so right, Curt. I don’t know how fires are avoided. And now I’m wondering if any of the poles survived the earthquake. Definitely problematic. Thanks for taking a look.
Marion Driessen
That is indeed a tangle. Good luck for the maintenance people!
Nice entry 🙂
Oh, the Places We See
Marion, you are so right — good luck. I really don’t know how they know which tangle at which pole is the culprit when power goes off. They all look like this.
jmcguin7
We saw lots of wiring like this in Cambodia!!
Oh, the Places We See
Now that’s a place I want to see. It could be that many countries are like this. We just hadn’t seen it before.
Judy @ newenglandgardenandthread
And, we think our electrical infrastructure could be improved? 🙂
Oh, the Places We See
Judy, you’re doing the same thing I did — comparing notes on the two countries. But no matter how bad we think we have it, someone else is worse off. Thanks for commenting. Best wishes for a good week ahead.
Sue
Oh my goodness! Mind you, Cuba was similar….
Oh, the Places We See
I’ve heard that many countries have infrastructure that barely supports what we know as essentials in the U. S. I don’t know how they manage, quite frankly. Thanks for commenting.
Camp That Site
Crazy, it’s interesting how uptight we are all.
Oh, the Places We See
Thanks for visiting the site. Happy Memorial Day!
Carol Loves to Travel
Growing up in America, where we are very careful about wiring, seeing that total tangle of wires from Nepal was a shocker! I sometimes forget how different America is from so many areas of the world.
Oh, the Places We See
Carol, you are so right. Our country is very different from so many third world countries. We take for granted so many things. And travel helps us connect cultures, impressions, realities, etc. Thanks for commenting.