Applause to Kunal Lama's well-placed vitriol ('Pico makes an ass of himself', #288) ". It would have been better if it had been published in Time itself. I had written the following letter to the Time editor but it wasn't published:
'In his essay A Tale of Two Kingdoms, Pico Iyer misleadingly suggests that as Bhutan is opening up to tourism, Nepal is closing up. True, due to Nepal's unstable political situation, there has been a drop in tourism. But it's not so that 'streets are silent after dark'-at least not in the vibrant capital Kathmandu where the beat still goes on till the wee hours. Catering to the exclusive niche upmarket, Bhutan still limits the number of tourist arrivals, while Nepal welcomes any and all with open arms. And while it may have been true that 16 years ago, Nepal incarcerated Christian missionaries, it is doubtful whether missionaries of any stripe would be welcome in tiny Bhutan. The so-called Hindu kingdom of Nepal is actually a multicultural society where Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims live in harmony. Furthermore, in Nepal the media is free to criticise the government and even the monarchy-a freedom not enjoyed by its neighbours. While Bhutan may deservedly enjoy its hot flavour-of-the-month tourism status, there is no need to denigrate Nepal as a perennially attractive destination.