Goodbye Nepal
on Mel and Steve in Nepal (Nepal), 21/Mar/2010 06:39, 34 days ago
Namaste everyone and welcome to our last blog from Nepal.Since the last blog, we have been in Kathmandu and Kaski. In Kaski, we visited possible areas for volunteers to work and met with some of those who will be working there. Lucky them, working in schools with views like this:In Kathmandu we've been mostly sorting out our visas, changing our travel plans, writing reports and complaining about the pollution and traffic.Our latest travel itinerary is to fly (unfortunately) to China, due to Tibet being closed to visitors. We will however, be making the most of visiting the Chinese province of Yunnan, before taking the train towards Beijing. In Beijing, our paths will split, with Steve heading West on the Trans-Siberian railway, stopping in Irkutsk, Moscow and Berlin. He is due to arrive back in the UK on 26th April. Mel is heading East, with more polluting flying! She will be visiting her sister, brother-in-law and nephew in Los Angeles, before heading home to the UK in mid May.After being here for two years, we thought we could reflect on the things that we will miss about Nepal ... and the things that we won't.We'll miss:Friends and colleagues who have shown us kindness and generosity. They have invited us into their homes and taken the Nepali tradition, that 'the guest is god', literally. Here is Harikala, below, after some persuasion, allowing us to buyherdinner for a change. Other friends and colleagues appeared on the last blog and in the albums.The laid back pace of life in Nepal. This isn't always a positive point but the fact that there is no pressure to be slaves to the clock, results in people showing less stress. Anger is an emotion almost never shown (at least in public). Here is Steve taking his time to read the guide book, with a rickshaw driver taking a break from 'pedalling' his business:Exploring the beautiful natural environment and discovering exciting and interesting wildlife:Being able to communicate in another language (or so we think!). Here is Mel, sharing a joke with Ambika, the most cheerful member of staff at our guest house in Kathmandu:The abundance of fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables (especially lychee and mangoes!)The general colourfulness and unexpectedness of Nepali life. Walking home from the VSO office, we came across this colourful display:And most importantly of all, we will miss Nepali children. Their cheerful, contented attitude often contrasts with their surroundings:And it would be dishonest of us to pretend that there is nothing that we won't miss. Here are a few:Feral dogs, worrying about everything we eat and drink (one of us more than the other) and, more importantly, the hierarchical and often discriminatory nature of society.We also won't miss the lack of logical thinking in many areas of life.Suffering from toothache? Worried about your teeth? No need to change what you're eating or clean your teeth more carefully. Visit this old tree stump and stick a nail in. Problem solved!Somewhat more logically, a business-minded dental surgeon has set up shop nearby to catch those who want to hedge their bets.Reliance on fate and the gods to keep you safe affects everything. One recent, alarming example of this, was when we were travelling down a steep, windy hill on a bus. We soon realised that the bus we were on did not have any workable brakes. No fear though, because after much excitement and alarm, the bus boy found the incense sticks, which he lit to appease the gods.Let's hope that the gods can protect this old Newari house, especially in this earthquake prone region.Despite annual accidents including deaths, these young men are eagerly building the nextIndra Jatrachariot as dangerously as ever.It's certainly been interesting for us to learn about a different culture and world view.We won't be forgetting our two years in Nepal. We're grateful to the Nepali people for making us feel so welcome in their beautiful country. Dhanyabad!We'll try to blog on the way home. So watch this space!