Where to get the money?

No pictures today, as this is fresh from the press:

The government here has an ambitious and expansive budget for next year, and they expect foreign donors to double their contributions to this budget. That will be a long shot, with the lack of auditability and the haphazard ad hoc grants Nepal showcases so far.

In an effort to strengthen the revenue-base for the government, customs here recently revised the entry-forms for foreigners coming to Nepal. Since they have obviously tired of watching all people arriving hauling stacks of tricycles, arrivals will now only be allowed to bring one. I'm not joking, it's true. Only one tricycle per person. Some bureaucrat deserves an award for coming up with this.

Fishermen are also targetted, so only one rod per person please. And now for the piece de resistance: Only one USED fountain or ball pen per person. Better check if you have a spare pen in the bag somewhere, as it may land you with a hefty fine!

On alcohol, they are remarkably clear: Liquor up to 1.15 liters or 12 cans of beer. There's no mention of wine, but it seems to be OK with 2 bottles. At least I carried that and was waved through. Whether this is from the well-known gweilo/laowei effect is not know.

But why stop here, why not get more creative: "Excuse me, sir, but are you bringing more than one pair of shoes with you? You're going hiking you say? So these boots will be all you need then, sir. Your sandals look nice and are my father's size, thank you. And is that two backpacks you're carrying, sir? What on earth for, sir? You aim to take advantage of our people and use them as porters for the big one while you haul the light one? Sorry, sir, we can not agree to this attitude to the proud people of Nepal. Which one will you keep? The big one? Excellent, my daughter can use a new school-bag and this day-pack looks just the thing! How many pairs of socks do you have, sir? 7? Well you can only wear one pair at a time, with one pair drying - that's why we have the 2-pair limit, sir. Same applies to underwear, sir."

And I thought the US had the award for most inane entry-forms and -processes locked up. This is one area where I'm not happy to see competition. I invite other examples of entry-form madness from my readers!

Let me as a small postcript add that on my entries and exits to and from Nepal, Custom's have been nothing but professional and courteous, so there is evidence that the frontline has more sense than the desk-jockeys.