Near Godavari

Yesterday's adventures took us out of the city - all six of us went out on motorcycles for the day! Here's a picture of me hiding in the trees on our hike. Not showing are Rajiv (OMG crazy driver!), Emily, Allan and Manju. Motorcycles are the main way to travel here, cheaper on petrol, easy to get around the cars and buses, and you can conveniently fit up to 3 or 4 adults and two children on one, plus groceries. The most I've seen yet is 5 people, and I haven't seen anyone try to fit a goat on one....however, I'm still only a month into my trip! I did see two goats tied to the top of a bus on Friday on my way home from Bhaktapur to Kathmandu....which kept me laughing all the way home! They looked particularly terrified, perched atop the bus, legs just sprawled apart, holding on for dear life as the bus careened toward the city, screeching to a halt every 40 feet to jam in more passengers. I really wish I'd been there to see just how they struggled to get them there in the first place! But I digress.

So yesterday, we went deep into the Kathmandu Valley, along twisty, curvy roads, up, up into the hills to a gorgeous park, the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was a gorgeous sunny and crisp winter day here, until the moment you entered the park, where it was like entering a tropical rainforest. Huge tropical plants, ferns, babbling streams, and amazingly little garbage (this was unusual as there is garbage EVERYWHERE in Nepal, you just burn it, or let the cows, goats and dogs eat it). Back to the park...you could walk for ages here and not run into a soul. Yet despite the remote location, there was still someone around who found us and was ready to serve chiya (masala tea) for 25 rupees (40 cents). This liquid is heaven in a glass, I have to say, hot, sweet, and spicy milk tea, and just exactly when we needed it. Post-tea, we wove back down the narrow passages toward the city, and the temperature plummeted to a just about freezing with no sun. To warm ourselves up, we piled into a restaurant in Thamel, and by candlelight (no power) stuffed ourselves with tasty delights like butter naan, hot soup, chicken masala curry, and rice. Then it was back home for the rest of the evening, ready to recharge for the next day's adventures. Ah, I love Nepal.

Durbar Square, Kathmandu

Here we are touring close to Durbar Square - seems each city has one, and I don't know what the Durbar part means in Nepali, yet.  This is one of my favourite pictures so far, I just love the marionettes they make here, they are each carved with much love and then hand painted.  On an unrelated note, it does remind me of Team America, so I do need suspend that thought while they are lined up through all the markets!  

This square is about a 15 minute walk from Thamel, near my house, just past the spice market, close to where I got my sari made.  I just can't believe that I'm starting to get to know my way around this city.  It is still confusing, though, and at night time it is another navigational challenge altogether, which is not dared solo.  Even if the Maoist leader lives around the corner from my house, it still isn't safe.  That is an odd thing to write, by the way.  

Trapped in Kathmandu, and while on the subject, making nachos

So, trying to get to my placement yesterday was short circuited...my plan was to go to leave Kathmandu to go to Bhaktapur yesterday (by motorcycle, how terrifying and fun!), however there were protests all over the city; fires burning, police, tear gas, rock throwing, and even more smoke in the air than usual here.  I heard that they had something to do with the increase in propane and fuel costs, which is a big deal.   Most people don't have electricity, so we all have one or two burner propane stoves to cook food (no ovens here).  No propane, or an increase in the cost, tremendously affects life.  

On an tangent, now, while on the subject of propane stoves.  I made nachos here the other night for our dinner, thanks mostly to a late night craving.  Ever try that without a microwave or oven?  It is not as easy as you'd think.  Never mind the fact that you can't buy nachos.  You make them.  Starting with the dough, you roll it flat, cut it into triangles, deep fry....then you make the salsa, then grate the yak cheese - it is quite the process!  Then trying to melt the cheese over top was interesting.  The trick is to insert a plate into the frypan (loaded with the nachos and cheese) and place the frypan cover overtop.  Eventually, eventually, the cheese does melt. It turned out amazingly well, I'll say, mostly due to some excellent direction in the kitchen, mind you, and very little to do with any ability on my part.  Thank goodness for DC, our most excellent chef!

So, as a result of the strife yesterday, all the volunteer plans got cancelled, as no one could get around, so all six of us ended up at the local pool hall playing snooker and drinking tea for the afternoon!  It was really funny, too, as life grinds to a halt, you just dream up other things to do in the interim.  Playing pool here is different, too, as each pool table has their own "didi" or Nepali sister who manages the table, keeps the score, gets your tea, and whose job it is to hand you the pool cue.  How funny!  It probably helps with employment - good thing, too as the unemployment rate is about 37-40%.  Never mind, underemployment, and that is a whole other thing. So we played pool for about 4 hours for the grand total of 250 rupees (4$).  My pool playing skills are still abysmal.  A few more protests, and I'm sure they'll pick up.

Mount Everest

Here it is...Mount Everest, Goddess of the Sky (seen on the left side, south view), otherwise known locally as Sagarmatha. This is the tallest peak in the world standing at an astounding 29, 028 feet.   We took an early morning flight at 7:30 am to take a glimpse of this wonder, and it was breathtaking, a perfectly sunny and clear day, due to great wintertime conditions here.    

It was sad timing, really, as Edmond Hillary, who was the first person to summit Everest in 1953, died in New Zealand the day just before we flew over the mountain. It seemed that all of Nepal was in mourning here, as Hillary left behind not only a legacy of climbing, but also great local support of clean water initiatives, schools, and hospitals in the Himalaya region.   The local papers all reported on how incredible his influence has been, and will continue to be, here in wonderful Nepal.  

Post birthday....

I'm writing from an internet cafe in Bhaktapur, the city of my placement. In this internet cafe, they are playing "Summer of 69" by Brian Adams for the 5th time in a row, this version is in Nepali! It is so funny to listen to!

Bhaktapur is a medieval city, no cars allowed, and chocked full of cafes and shops at every turn. My host at the hospital, Shyam, is pretty much the mayor, owns most of the city and founded the hospital. He's THE MAN to know. Last night he put on a traditional show for the foreign guests, and we had the best seats on the third floor of one of his restaurants overlooking the square where the show occured. It was a visual feast.

So my birthday was a tremendously memorable event...after the traditional Newari dinner (complete with dancers, yeti, peacocks, and more dancers), my lovely Nepali hosts Rajiv, DC and Neer, had arranged a surprise birthday cake for me! The entire restaurant burst into song, and I had so many blessings of "May god be with you...". How entirely thoughtful! We went to a traditional Indian dhori for some dancing, then hit the foreigner pub in Thamel, Tom and Jerry's, then off to a Nepali dance club. Neer, one of our Nepali friends, seemed to know everyone, and got us back door entrance into this swanky club. Up the back staircase, up to the 4th floor and the bar opened up to a club, much like those at home. It was a really funny experience, as everyone there was dressed in western wear, and there we were in our saris! However, when the heck else will I be so adorned? Interestingly enough, the bars here are 90% men, and they can dance!

The evening ended late, and the next morning started early, at 5:30 - with a flight over Mt. Everest! It was breathtaking - a clear sunny day and the views were spectacular. Afterward, Emily and I headed to Nagrakot, a village in the himalayas, for some pampering. Massage, hot tub (overlooking 360 views of the mountains), great food - up to and including a hot water shower! It is incredible how the little things become so appreciated. The next morning, we hiked down the mountains to Bhaktapur with a guide (thank god for Krishna, our fearless leader or we'd still be hiking today if it weren't for him). The path included dusty roads, rocks, cliffs, and wandering through farmers fields on no less than a 1 foot wide path. Krishna took us through villages with incredibly lush surroundings, it was almost like wandering through the rainforest. Kids from the houses would come out calling "Hello! Money!" and we'd amaze them with our Nepali language skills. Mostly, we sounded like 2 years olds with poor vocabulary and grammar, although I think they were amused.

Although the hospital is very interesting, and my work is about to really begin tomorrow, I'm already looking forward to going back to Kathmandu this weekend to stay at Basecamp with the other volunteers. It is a bit isolated here!

Birthday in Nepal!

My birthday in Nepal!  

I never ever thought I'd be celebrating such an event here...how lucky am I!   We've finished our orientation program today, which included 5 days of language instruction.  Very tricky, this Nepali language.  Useful to know, and a few examples:

• malaii piro manparchha (I love spicy food!) 
• ma swayam sewak hu (I am a volunteer) 
• tapaaiko keti saathi (do you have a girlfriend!)

That is the extent of my Nepali pick up lines so far.  I do have much help in learning the language here as Nepali men (the ones I've met so far) are quite forward. Perhaps a little too much so!  Like the man dressing me in the sari shop for example, there was a point where he was dressing me in the sari, and had to tuck the yards of fabric around my waistline.  He seemed to really enjoy that part!  Hmmm, we all had a good laugh over that one!  If I were going to chose who would spend some time around my waistline, he may not necessarily have been my first pick!  Oh well...he was tremendously helpful though, and personally escorted us into the market to help us get the proper adornments for our saris.   Nothing would do but to get a perfect match.  It feels very Las Vegas, all the bling that goes along with wearing a sari.  So now I am the proud owner of a sari, green bracelets (they are a whole other story), face jewelery (tikka) and a necklace to match my lime green sari.  

Tonight we'll celebrate the end of our orientation programme and my birthday with a traditional Nepali festivity tonight.   Which is where the sari comes in...the good news is that Didi, our cleaning lady, is around to help fold all the fabric into the correct places.  

Tomorrow we are flying over Mt. Everest in the morning, then heading out to the mountains for an overnight adventure.  There is a fantastic 5 star hotel/spa where we'll overnight, then trek 5 hours down the valley into Bhaktapur, the city where my placement will be.  

Off to find my way on my own to Thamel....hope not to get too lost!

In Kathmandu, Nepal

Here I am in Nepal, finally. I got here yesterday after a short 3 hour flight from Bangkok (I LOVE THAILAND!). I've landed in uber-beautiful chaos. It is unbelivably crowded with people, bikes, motorcycles, cars, tricycles...all going in all directions all the time. And on the opposite side of what I'm used to. Walking around, you have to watch yourself and where you step - open manholes, garbage, shit, cows, goats, dogs, cats, babies, beggars, and people selling you things you never knew you needed...who knew Tiger Balm is so useful?

So I live now at what is called Basecamp - Volunteer Abroad's house in Kathmandu. It is basically a well put together rooming house for the volunteers. Right now there are three from Canada, including myself, all who started with me, and will be placed in different locations here in Kathmandu. The white house is 5 stories tall, each floor has a bathroom and three boarding rooms, a kitchen on one floor, three indoor seating areas, an outdoor rooftop patio (which gets the sun almost all day! yeah! picture to the left), and of course, a computer area with internet. Very important to feel connected. We have a cook here, a cleaning lady, an IT guy, and three volunteers who live here sometimes, who are our guides. They are just absolutely wonderful and we all have quickly become family.

Today was orientation day one, which was a leisurely start - DC, our cook, made us a very tasty breakfast - porridge, bananas, cooked apples, toast and chai tea. Wow, all served to us in the sun on the rooftop patio. Then we began with learning about the house rules (including very specific toilet instructions), culture shock, a tour of Thamel, the tourist area only 15 minutes walk away. And explicit instructions on how to find our way there and home. Did I say that there are no addresses here? So it is "at the Carlsberg sign, turn right, then at the brick wall go through it, then .....finally, turn at the garbage pile cow area, find your way to the green cement walled bar (not the first one, the second one), then a hard right and straight down the road...." very tricky! And that is only a fraction of the directions from Thamel home. We had a test, too, to find our way back - passed! It may feel different when dark, and that is a whole other set of instructions.

We then shopped our way home, there is So Much To Buy! But, yet, restraint, as I have three months to go, and little room in my packsack.

That is all for now....have to share the internet with my other family members!