Alive and doing well!

Namaste folks back home! :)

John and I have returned to Pokhara, one of the major cities in Nepal where hippies abound after about 3 weeks or so in Nangi, where we have spent the time volunteering (or at least claiming to be volunteers!). It has been quite an interesting past while and I'm sitting here on the computer trying to figure out how best to sum up my experiences.

Firstly, Nangi is quite a remote village about a 9 hour trek (give or take a few hours depending on packs and such) from a city called Beni, which is accessible by motor vehicle. It's situated on the peak of a smaller mountain with the Annapurna mountains as a backdrop (stunning). We stayed at the school where the Nangi community spirit is quite impressive- the Nepali people are always game for conversation with lots of smiles and giggles (especially when our Nepali runs out and the conversation is a little more awkward!!) and we made plenty of friends with the teachers and students. We also had the chance to try to master Nepalese cooking (Daal bhat- rice and lentils) which despite consciously cooking in fewer pots than the Nepali folks, wasn't too bad! I'll be ordering lentils and rice in bulk form from now on in Canada. Oh, and have even tried to master the Nepali way of eating- with our right hand (even John who is naturally left handed is looking quasi-pro, or at least not too laughable!!). :)

Despite not doing much actual "volunteering" (the power was out for weeks and the students were busy studying for their final exams), we were quite fortunate to be adopted as sati-haru (friends) by the locals and enjoyed many opportunities:

Highlights include hiking for a few days to a place called Kohpra, just below the snowline, where they have a week long yak festival in which the locals drink the blood of a yak for medicinal purposes. You know what they say... "when in Rome..." Yes, I ended up tasting a little bit, cause how often do we have the opportunity to do so in Canada. It was warm and salty and a little egg-like tasting and stuggled to keep it down. There was no way I was going to down the cup!! We camped in one of the stables where we spent much time getting warmed up and woke up the next day to a white morning accompanied by buffalo in the stable! We also had the opportunity to try "Roxi", the local brew of millet to warm up (which does the trick quite well- it's strong stuff!) and yak meat and soup. hmmmm, hmmmm!

We also were invited to the school staff picnic which featured a goat roast (oh, so much goat!) with no part going to waste! There was much meat passed around (I got a chance to refresh my anatomy... hmmm, yummy!!) and also more roxi. But the dancing and singing was classic- lots of fun. Though I'm sure I'm one of the worst dancers anywhere, John and I joined the festivities. Unfortunately John got some on film- so I'll be trying to snag his camera one of these days!!! :p From 10am to nightfall, we dances and sang up a storm while the children played with the rhododedrum flowers (oh, Grandma have I got some pictures of rhododedrums for you- they are trees here!!). Then the group headed to a teachers house after the sun set where more meat was shared, and yup- more dancing and singing!! John and I were beat and finally headed back home for some good'ol shut eye!

We also made friends with some of the students and enjoyed a homestay one evening and they also cooked for us in the student accomodations (a hut shared among a pair of students). It was neat to share pictures and try out some more dancing (which was rewarded by many giggles).

Besides trekking, exploring and chatting it up with our Nepali friends, we did manage to hold a couple conversation classes with the "class 10's" (the girls are SOOOO shy!!) and went on a few excusions with the older man who runs the plant nursery. One of which was into the jungle (a sacred forest that is protected) in which we saw a Hindu temple and many smaller temples errected for lamas which have passed on, as well as orchids and lots of rhododendrums which I mentioned above.

What a wirlwind of an entry... we spent the past few days in a village called Baglum (with cars and much noise!!- not used to that at all!!) with a sati, Hira, where there was a celebration of Desai. We went to the Hindi temple where many many people were praying and worshiping and I joined the rest of the community by taking a red tikka on my forehead. It was great not to see any other tourists, though we received many stares as we walked by. The city was celebrating with carnival rides and a cultural program (singing and dancing- of course!!), as well as a volleyball competition. With the help of Hira's wife, I had a kurta (traditional Nepalese dress) made, which is bright red and now I'm regretting my choice of a bright colour, but was swayed by all the zillion other red dresses at the time and it didn't seem so bright!!! :)

Alas, that takes us back to Pokhara where the first thing we did was bathe! You wouldn't believe how good it feels after 3 weeks of stinkiness!! I don't think I have ever smelled laundry that bad in my life!! It's also strange to see tourists, but Pokhara is at least a lot more laid back than Kathmandu so it's an appreciated transition.

Wow, I feel like I've written a book and yet there are so many things I've forgotten... save some for stories later. We will be spending a few days in Pokhara while John renews his visa and then we will return to Kathmandu (Bodhnath) where we will be learning about Tibetan Buddhism (yup, I'll be returning much enlightened, I'm sure!!!) and then doing some trekking! We're also considering going down to explore Northern India...

Pheri batola ("see you later!").

Much love and smiles and all that good stuff! :)

Your sati (friend), Kristy

Bodha!

Namaste!

Boudha or Bodhnath is definitely a pretty spectacular spot. Not too far from Kathmandu is distance, however is quite a nice retreat from the business of the big city. The area is home to exiled Tibetans and is filled with the maroons of the traditional garb of monks all over the city. Central to the Buddhist character of the place is the Bodhnath Stupa, a huge white temple, a dome-like structure atop a square base. There are Buddha eyes near the top and of course, prayer flags and bright coloured murals everywhere. It is pretty neat to join the Buddhists circumabulate the stupa, surrounded by a miriad of maroons, chanting and prayer wheels and beads (ooh, and insense as well). Pretty cool, you can't help but feel a little enlightened!

We also ventured up to Kapan, a Buddhist monastery not too far from Boudha. There are monasteries all over the place, beautiful buildings with stunning murals and gold relics. Kapan offers introductory courses in Buddhism that John and I are considering as it would be a neat spot to learn about the belief system.

It's been a pretty interesting visit thus far and I am completely mesmerized by the sites/sounds/smells here. It's hard to translate into text, but hopefully I've managed to describe it not too poorly... Pictures hopefully will help, but both John and I have been reluctant to take too many, as we find ourselves getting caught up in the experience of it all, but we will try!!

Hope all is well at home! :)

I think it's appropriate to end on... may peace be with you!
Kristy

The above image is Bodhnath Stupa, a huge structure which the Tibetans circumabulate to accumulate merit and good karma. It's pretty neat getting wrapped up in the crowd in the morning at during the evening, with hand-held prayer wheels being twirled around and prayer beads being handled. The wheels on the right hand photo are payer wheels and they have inscribed matras which are rotated counter clockwise. They are found all over the place... the most common inscription in "Om many padme hum" (which means roughly: "Om and salutations to the jewel of the mind that has reached the lotus of the heart", referring to aquiring both wisdom and universal compassion to all sentient beings).

Boudha!!

Delayed, but safe entry into Kathmandu!

Namaste folks back at home!!

(I just wrote a quite elegant and well thought blog, or well, at least according to a quite jet lagged mind... but apparently it didn't go through... so here's to take 2)

I've arrived safely in Kathmandu after a few bouts of flying chaos (including a winter storm in TO that caused some delays, hanging out in London awaiting flight details, and finally an unexpectant evening in Doha, Qatar, filled with half-hazzard sleep and lots of confused travellers) but it's all good and some international friends were made!

Anyways, now to Kathmandu! It's quite a happening place with vehicle beeps, people, curios and temples of plenty! I've successfuly met up with my friend John, without too much trouble at all! He was just recovering from a festival called Holi, for which the Nepali people through coloured water balloons to celebrate the death of an evil goddess (so I understand) and there are many colourful remnants (and people) still visible throughout. Sounds like good fun! I'm thinking perhaps Canada should adopt a few more festival days! :)

We ventured on a walking tour today to Durbar Square, apparently a heritage site which is filled with beautiful and very colourful temples. The intracracies (please blame my lack of spelling on jet lag, vertigo... conveninently perhaps for the rest of my blog entries!!) of the building architecture is quite stunning and a lot of it is carved out of wood (which makes my work quite bland really- hopefully I'm being inspired!). We even spotted a few monkey friends up in the trees.

After the Square, armed with the Lonely Planet (so of course knowing all we need to know about our new home!), we decided to stroll through the older and less touristy part of Kathmandu. Here and there and way off the map, it was neat to see all the shops, streets, people that characterize the urban landscape of Kathmandu. We are staying in Thamel, where most international people stay, so it was neat to see the contrast between touristy and not so much.

Now I'm quite tired and am looking forward to my bed! The temperatures here range from quite cold at night to t-shirt weather in the day time, so I'm glad I packed my fleece! There's also an abundance of "North Face" gear, so I'm sure we won't get cold!!

Well, hope everything is going well at home! Hope the snow isn't causing too many troubles and perhaps is even skiiable! :)

Namaste!
Kristy

ps. If anyone needs any Tiger Balm, apparently this is the place to find it as it is sold on almost every street corner. I could hook you up... good price! ;)