Nuts And Bolts And Fish Heads Between Friends

     Okay, I was all set to write a seething, unpleasant blog post a couple of days ago, and had about three pages of venom all edited and evil and ready to post. I was upset with the Nepal Golf Association, with being back in Kathmandu, and just wanted to take a hot shower. I was told thought I was told that the NGA would no longer be able to pay for the housing for HYGA professionals.

I like this kids swagger

This was on the heels of being told that I couldn't use any of the sponsors that we had lined up for the junior tour, despite being willing to actually buy the tee times. Why, I asked, couldn't we use the sponsors? The problem is, according to some people in charge of golf in this country, that it would make us all look bad if we ahd to use multiple sponsors. Basically they would lose face somehow. Clearly this is different than America, where if someone is willing to even toss in ten cents to help sponsor an event, we'll take that shit with a smile and not think twice. So I swallowed that bitter pill, and we eventually came to an agreement that I could use the sponsors, but it had to be a maximum of one sponsor per tournament. Is this boring you yet? No? Okay then.....
     I had a meeting with the head of the NGA just this morning to clarify everything, especially the not being able to house the pro thing. The real problem with this is not the money, as HYGA could afford to pay, but it's that this needs to be a partnership, with both groups working together, not a one way street. I was told that I misunderstood what I was told. Got that? I won't go into all of the details of the meeting, but it was mostly polite, sometimes volatile, and ended up in a good way, with a clearer understanding on both sides regarding communication and follow through.

Kathmandu marathon. Those aren't vehicles helping the runners. It's just traffic!

     Next order of business- The Faldo Series Tournament. After quite a few emails with Tom Phillips, the CEO of Faldo Series in Asia, and some meetings with NGA people, I have brokered a contract that has Faldo waiving the $5000  ($10000 total) sanctioning fee for the next two years, as well as getting Gokarna to waive the normal $1000 competition fee in order to bring a truly international tournament to Nepal with players from Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Northern India. All that's left is to get all three parties to sign the contract. If I can at least accomplish this before I go, it would be a giant success for this country.

You know you can't get enough of this mug.

     Sorry for the nuts and bolts type of post this time - next one to include a festival where all Hindus are allowed to smoke hash without penalty for an entire day, babies lying naked on the side of the road, and the three hour walk I took around Kamaladi trying to find a miniscule airline office that was closed due to a Buddhist holiday.

I never want to see this bathroom again. Neither do you, I'm sure. And I know Becks has no interest, with the amount of time he spent in it!

Left to right - Deepak, Ramesh, your hero, Pashupati holding a fish head, and Sachin