In Part 1, the author introduces himself as a young, 20-something American man, who has been living and working in Prague since graduating from college in the United States. Bored and ready to shake things up, Grennan happens upon a brochure asking volunteers to come to Nepal and help at an orphanage. Grennan decides rather spontaneously to travel to Nepal and volunteer at the orphanage for three months. He plans his time at the orphanage to be his first stop on a year-long tour of the world. Grennan admits that his primary motive for wanting to volunteer in Nepal is that it will impress his friends, family, and any attractive women he might meet at a bar. Far less of a concern to Grennan is the danger and magnitude of caring for orphaned children in a war zone. While Grennan understands that a civil war is currently unfolding in Nepal, he downplays the problem. “No organization was going to send volunteers into a conflict zone,” he reckons.

Immediately upon arriving in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital and largest city, Grennan is shocked at the appearance of soldiers and armored vehicles at the airport and lining the city’s streets. From the airport, Grennan travels within Kathmandu’s district of Thamel, which is an embassy-run compound that attracts tourists, such as backpackers.