STING IN NEPAL AGAIN

Sting has kept his date with Nepal, heading for the Himalayan country for the second time in three years. He checked into Kathmandu four days ago for some vigorous trekking. Keeping him company are his wife Trudie Styler, teenaged son Luke and an unidentified couple. Spotted shopping in Thamel, Nepal’s tourist hub, Sting and his companions also visited the famous Pashupatinath temple, recognised by Unesco as a world heritage site. Despite Nepal’s parliament declaring the former Hindu kingdom a secular state two years ago, the temple of the Hindu deity still doesn’t allow non-Hindus into the inner shrine. On his first day, Sting appeared somber and reflective at the “Hindus only” Pashupatinath Temple, and later spent an entire half day crisscrossing Thamel Heaven´s exotic gullies, marveling at the beautifully crafted Nepali souvenirs, searching for some exotic Tibetean and Nepali hats, and noting the wide variety of CDs and videos available in the Nepali market, including his own. He is known to have taken pride at one Thamel music-video shop in seeing his 10 year old video displayed as a “hot pick of the week” and selling extremely well.
In the past, other celebrities like India’s ruling Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Sister Nirmala, the successor of Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa, had to be content with visiting only the sprawling grounds. Sting is heading for the Himalayas Wednesday.
When he had visited Nepal in 2005 with his son, the duo had gone rafting on the Trishuli river. But the capital had a taste of his virtuosity when Sting did an impromptu jam-up with local jazz band Cadenza in the Jazz Upstairs Bar in Lazimpat.
Sting’s presence will boost the attempts of Nepal’s tourism authorities to promote the country as a safe destination. he will be spending much of his time outside Kathmandu. In fact, the day he arrived he made a flying to Khumbu valley in a chopper. He is scheduled to leave for the upper reaches of the Himalayas tomorrow morning.
A gentleman to the core Sting got a bit upset when a THT lensman Rajesh Gurung, who was lying in wait for him at his hotel, managed to get a photograph as he returned from Pashupathinath temple. He, however, mildly chided the photographer for not seeking his permission before clicking the picture.
For the last two weeks, the world had images of violence and repression spilling out of Nepal as security forces brutally beat up Tibetan refugees, who had been holding peaceful sit-ins demanding an end to the killing of their countrymen by the Chinese government.
Source: Thaindian News, The Himalayan Times, The American Chronicle