By Himanshu Kunwar
Jeff Greenwald is an author and avid traveler. He has traveled extensively through five continents, working as a journalist and photographer. In addition, he has created exhibits, lectures, and educational programs for San Francisco’s Exploratorium, the University of California, The Body Shop, and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. In 1979, during his first trip to Asia, he designed urban playgrounds for UNICEF and the Nepal Children’s Organization. Several months later, at the outbreak of the Khmer civil war, he served as a volunteer water engineer at the largest of the Cambodian refugee camps. He has traveled to Nepal on numerous occasions and written books about Nepal such as Shopping for Buddhas and Snake Lake. The following is The Gorkha Times’ interview with him.
Which books would you say have had the biggest impact on you and why? (Cliché but I find it irresistible to ask writers this question)
Like so many writers, I continue to be influenced by old and new voices in the literary world—from Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut to Ocean Vuong and Ta’nahisi Coates. But I’d say that the books that had the greatest impact on my life were those that inspired me to move from New York to the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1970s: On the Road, The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, and a beautiful Sierra Club photo book called Navaho Wild lands. In Nepal itself, Mary Anderson’s Festivals of Nepal really opened my eyes to the enthralling stories that illuminate the culture of the Kathmandu Valley, and beyond.
What’s the scariest travel experience you’ve had? The happiest?
If I can substitute the word “remarkable” for “happiest,” it’s easy: They were one and the same. I’ll be as brief as I can be (which is not very brief). It occurred in Isfahan, Iran, on August 12th, 1999 while—as the only U.S. visitor in vast Imam Khomeini Square—I awaited the total eclipse of the sun.
It was a beautiful afternoon, warm and clear, and the square soon filled up with thousands of Iranian families. As the invisible moon began to move across the face of the sun, the crowd gradually became silent. All eyes were on the thinning solar crescent— until, shockingly, a group of bearded youths sitting near me unzipped a carpet bag, pulled out automatic weapons, and began firing into the air. Pumping their fists and shouting angry slogans, they set an American flag ablaze. Television crews from all over the Middle East, assembled in the square for the eclipse, rushed over to film the outburst.
At that moment, something amazing happened. Every man, woman, and child sitting close to me rose spontaneously to their feet and, without speaking a word, formed a tight ring around me. A little boy held my wrist; an elderly man placed his hand on my shoulder. Several women, cloaked in rusaris, stood stalwart by my side. This circle of strangers shielded me until the pop-up protest ended—at which point the radical Islamists calmly stashed their weapons, and sat down to enjoy the eclipse with the rest of us.
As the sun at last disappeared behind by the moon, its fiery corona blazed against the stars. A spontaneous cry rose from the crowd. Masha’Allah! What wonders God has willed! I joined right in. It was one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen.
But since you asked… the happiest moment in my lifetime of travels came on September 17th, 1994, as the cargo ship upon which I had crossed the Pacific Ocean carried my under the Golden Gate Bridge, toward my home in Oakland, after my nine month-long odyssey of circling the world without airplanes.
Is there someone specific from your travels that you uniquely remember?
Wow, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so many amazing people, it’s really hard to pick one specific person. But I did have the extraordinary good luck to spend about three days with the late writer Paul Bowles at his home in Tangier – that was while I was writing The Size of the World in 1994. He was so calm, so gracious, so frank, so engaging, and though he was one of my literary idols he put me completely at ease. Interviewing the Dalali Lama for my book about Star Trek – he was a fan of Spock! – was another highlight. And in 1987, traveling through Tibet, I met a high female lama in Tedrom called the Kandroma Rinpoche. It’s a long story, a whole chapter in Shopping for Buddhas, but she taught me a powerful lesson about compassion and forgiveness.
And can I mention a non-human someone? Again in Tibet, in 1994, I found and helped to rescue a baby snow leopard that had been captured by two nomads. The story is told in The Size of the World, and it’s one of my most cherished memories. Numerous humans have made lasting impressions on me, but that gorgeous and adorable snow leopard kitten will be uniquely remembered forever.
What’s one place (other than Nepal of course) that you can’t wait to visit again?
For the profound and colorful art, the music, the food, the culture, and the warmth of the people—and not to forget the mezcal—the answer is Oaxaca, Mexico.
After Nepal, Mexico is my favorite place in the world – and Oaxaca encapsulates all my favorite things about that country. My Nepal equivalent would be Patan; a place the blends the best of the traditional and contemporary.
What initially drew you to Nepal? What stood out to you about Nepal after your first trip?
My first visit to Nepal was during the monsoon of 1979. I’d come here for a single purpose: To reconnect with a woman I’d met three months earlier in Greece. But it was Nepal I fell in love with. The beauty, color, and spirituality of the Kathmandu Vally took my breath away, and I instantly felt at home. The people possessed a spirit and sense of humor I’d encountered nowhere else in my travels. One vivid memory: stumbling unawares into a small parade during Gai Jatra, seeings scores of children dancing down a muddy lane near Asan dressed as cows—some ringing bells, sweet incense burning, locals leaning out their windows and laughing. It was like I’d been whisked away to a magical faraway world, right here on planet Earth. For years after, when I saw a fog bank on the horizon, my heart skipped a beat, thinking for a split second, thinking they were the Himalayas.
Visit Nepal 2020 (now postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic) was an initiative started by the Nepali government to increase tourism to Nepal. As the executive director of Ethical Traveler and a tourist yourself, what would you say Nepal should do to bring in more visitors?
Personally, I don’t think Nepal needs to increase the number of visitors; it already seems overwhelmingly crowded in the Spring and Fall. If the country can get back to pre-Covid arrivals, that would be wonderful. But to make it a more welcoming place for the visitors who do come I’d suggest a number of things: banning motor vehicles (including motorcycles) from all historic districts, tearing down the horrendous billboards, putting strict environmental pollution controls into place, following Patan’s example in creating some architectural guidelines, and freeing the Tibetan community to observe and celebrate their holidays without interference.
What are some pieces of advice you would give to a traveler visiting Nepal?
There’s some pretty good advice for all travelers on the Ethical Traveler website, under the link to “Thirteen Tips for the Accidental Ambassador.” But of all those tips, maybe the most valuable ones for Nepal are: Bargain fairly, be a good listener, and—above all—keep your sense of humor!
Which of your books do you personally connect to the most and why?
You like asking impossible questions, don’t you! For readers new to my work, Shopping for Buddhas in still a fun read. If I could choose one to be remembered by, The Size of the World—about my 40th birthday kora around the Earth in 1993/1994— is my personal favorite. But Snake Lake, which weaves together my life as a journalist during Nepal’s 1990 Democracy Revolution with the story of my brother’s downward spiral, is closest to my heart.
What has quarantine looked like for you?
Peaceful. Productive. Cautious, Grateful. Introspective. And also deeply discouraging. I would have thought that during this first truly global crisis, nations around the world would have put aside their spats and grudges to work together toward a common human goal. But we just can’t seem to do it. And a large part of that shortcoming, I sadly say, is because of my country’s utter lack of leadership.
Are there any projects that you’re currently or looking forward to working on?
I’m currently at work on a new book called 108 Beloved Objects, a collection of stories that I call “flash non-fiction.” I will be finished this Fall. It’s very different from anything else I’ve written, and is in some ways a photo essay of the tangible objects that have helped define my life – from a small sandalwood Ganesha to my grandmother’s Baby Ben alarm clock.
Visit Jeff’s Website to learn more and read his blogs:
You can find Jeff’s Books here:
Shopping for Buddhas: An Adventure in Nepal
Visit Ethical Traveler, an nonprofit organization he co-founded that seeks “to use the economic clout of tourism to protect human rights and the environment”