Donatella Lorch appears in the following:
Doggone It, Why Do They Make It So Hard To Take A Pooch On A Plane?
Sunday, April 10, 2016
'I Hope The Hospital Has Enough Diesel For Their Generator'
Sunday, December 06, 2015
By the time I was taken to the operating theater, I was groggy on painkillers, but I remember admiring the earthquake cracks creeping up the walls and snaking across the ceiling. Just before I drifted under anesthesia, my last thought encompassed my worries of my last two months in Nepal: ...
It's Nepal's Biggest Holiday And Goats Are Not Happy About It
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
This week, Kathmandu is a city of goats.
People are walking goats on leashes on the sidewalk. On motorcycles, goats are sandwiched between the driver and the passenger. They teeter precariously on bus roof racks.
And Nepalis are eviscerating freshly butchered goats by the roadside in the suburbs, while the ...
The Red God Had The Earthquake Blues — But Now He's On A Roll!
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
The Red God of Nepal is on the move again, riding in a chariot pulled by dozens of intoxicated men. The April earthquake slowed the god down and left him homeless, but there's no stopping a determined deity.
The Red God, or Rato Macchendranath, is both a Hindu and a ...
'I Am In Nepal Now,' Says New Tourist Campaign, But Nepal Is In Chaos
Thursday, September 10, 2015
In mid-August, the British ambassador to Nepal was photographed on a trail on the Annapurna trekking circuit holding a poster that declared: "I am in Nepal Now." More than four months after a devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake, this was part of a campaign to revitalize tourism, a main foreign ...
Kathmandu Is Cowed By Abandoned Cattle
Friday, July 10, 2015
In post-earthquake Kathmandu, it is now cows and calves that are a problem.
Stray ones that is.
Hundreds have taken over the streets, casually strolling or curled up in the middle of the road, oblivious of their traffic-aggravating role amid the cacophony of buses, trucks, motorcycles and cars trying to ...
Nepal's Peaceful Revolution: Citizens Rise Up To Aid Mountain Villages
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Nepal's mountains are achingly beautiful. And extraordinarily dangerous.
Since April 25, when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake tore through central and eastern Nepal, the most affected were the hamlets, villages and towns in Nepal's Himalayan steep foothills. These have become more inaccessible than ever, places of death, dread and fear.
On ...
A 10-Year-Old's View Of The Nepal Earthquake
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
When the earthquake hit, my son, Lucas, and I were in the car and he was trying to find "The Piano Guys" on my iPhone to blast through the car speakers. He didn't realize anything was amiss until the car jolted violently up on two wheels then slammed back down. ...
Dog Team Races To Rescue Lost Hiker In The Himalayas
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
The night before he disappeared, Dennis Lee Thian Poh called his wife in Kuala Lumpur. They chatted about the bitter cold in Nepal's Annapurna range and he said that dinner in his small lodge had consisted, yet again, of vegetable fried rice.
Lee, 47, had been hiking for six days ...
You Think Your City Is Full Of Trash? Ha!
Monday, March 23, 2015
They don't call it Trashmandu for nothing.
In Nepal's capital city of Kathmandu, garbage is pretty much everywhere. It's stuffed in plastic bags and dropped in drainage ditches. It's piled high in empty lots, on the roadside and on the edges of the city's sewage-filled rivers.
It is thrown out ...
On Happiness Day, 6 Nepalis Tell How To Not Worry And Be Happy
Friday, March 20, 2015
Nepal, a country of 25 million, is struggling out of poverty after a decadelong civil war. Squabbling politicians have paralyzed government, and high unemployment means 1,500 youth leave every day for jobs in Malaysia and the Middle East.
So, as the United Nations International Day of Happiness dawns, Nepalis ...
So How Did They Get That Crashed Plane Off The Runway In Kathmandu?
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Maybe you read the story about the Turkish plane that crash-landed on March 4 in Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), skidding off the runway and plowing its nose into the rain-soaked grass.
Fortunately, no one was injured. Unfortunately, Nepal didn't know quite what to do about the Airbus 330 ...
Turkish Airlines' Near Miss Creates Big Problem At Kathmandu's Tiny Airport
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
Turkish Airlines has the first slot for landing at the Kathmandu airport, just after 6 a.m. In winter, this often means long hours circling over the hills south of the Kathmandu Valley and waiting for dense fog to lift. Wednesday wasn't any different. About 6 a.m. local time, Flight TK726 ...
Please Don't Let An Earthquake Hit When I'm In The Shower
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
What would you do if you lived in a city where you faced the world's greatest risk of dying in a catastrophic earthquake?
I like to believe that I'm prepared. I have water, blankets, sleeping bags, a tent, dry food, a crow bar, shovel, charcoal and "go-bags" for each ...
When A Stray Dog's In Trouble, Katmandu's Canine Rescuers Jump To It
Monday, December 08, 2014
The phone calls start in early morning. They are strikingly similar.
"There is an injured dog on the street. Can you take care of it?"
Ram Nagarkoti, the 31-year-old ambulance driver at the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre (KAT Centre), often spends his days zigzagging through traffic, waving at police ...
Hello Flowers, Bye-Bye Stray Dogs: Nepal Preps For South Asian Summit
Monday, November 24, 2014
Katmandu is giving itself a facelift.
Tomorrow is the opening of the 18th summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Seven regional heads of state, whose countries are home to large numbers of the world's poorest and hungriest people, are arriving in the city for two ...
Holy Goats! They're Kind Of A Big Deal In One Nepali Town
Monday, November 03, 2014
Like a weather vane pointing east, a goat stands motionless on top of a Buddhist temple. Others slumber interlaced on its main pedestal. And one or two nibble orange flower petals a devotee left as an offering on the lap of a stone Ganesh. Without hesitation, they walk into ...
Blizzard In Nepal Deals A Blow To Porters As Well As Trekkers
Thursday, October 23, 2014
In early October, blizzard conditions in Nepal killed more than 16 foreign trekkers and 17 locals, most of them lightly-dressed porters who were carrying the trekkers' gear. The tragedy calls attention to the dangers of trekking — and the risky life of local porters.
At 42, Rane Tamang knows the ...