A Swiss Odyssey

FROM ISSUE # 165 (September 2009) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Here, I am in Switzerland again, on my round-the-world bicycle tour. Nepal's leaders keep saying they want to make Nepal like Switzerland. That is going to take some time.

First of all, our leaders havep to change their culture, become less selfish and greedy and look at the national interest first. Nepali politicians are so stoked about the mere idea of being in the government that they forget what they were elected for in the first place. They are so involved in grabbing power (and money while at it) that they forget their responsibilities towards the people and the nation. We need sustainable peace and stability, without which no nation can progress.

This time in Geneva I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director General of United Nations office here. At the UN headquarters, I was escorted to his office. Although our meeting was originally planned only for five minutes, we ended up talking for more than fifteen minutes.

Last year, when I first visited Switzerland, I travelled the length and breadth of the country on my bicycle. Actually, the scenery is so much like Nepal it made me homesick.

Yet, the two countries couldn't be more different. Switzerland is the capital of diplomacy, world centre for banking. It may be a model for federalism in our new constitution. But more than anything else, it is well-governed, the taxes people pay are put to good use and the Swiss decide on every thing, big or small, in a referendum. There is so much money deposited in these banks that even in the event of global economic crisis, Switzerland will survive 100 years without any trouble.

Here is wishing for a New Nepal: New Nepal, Sammunat Nepal!

Journey started: 29 Nov, 1998
Aim: To cycle around the world to spread the message of peace.
Countries travelled: 150
Total miles: 220,000