Last year I was staying in a mountain hut in Nepal, near the Annapurna range and a 3 day hike to the nearest road. A helicopter flew up from the nearby city (a

Last year I was staying in a mountain hut in Nepal, near the Annapurna range and a 3 day hike to the nearest road. A helicopter flew up from the nearby city (a 10 minute flight!) and I was surprised to see it contained buddhist monks. They took a bunch of photos, had a cup of tea and then all piled back in the helicopter for the flight back to the city. A helicopter ride like that probably costs $500 a head, in a country where the average annual income is $862. I think it was so surprising because my naive western viewpoint was that monks live a simple life. I'd love to know more about the reality of organised religion in that region!