The Swayambhunath Incident

Christmas crept up on us this year. There are no decorations, trees, or rain to make it feel wintery at all. It’s frosty almost every night now, but apart from the smog, the skies are clear most of the time, and it still gets up around 18-20 degrees. The time is flying by as we enjoy the comforts of Kathmandu. We had some new housemates when we got back from Salleri, and Raven especially enjoyed the company of some girls closer to her age than to ours. The daily morning yoga class was such a treat, but everyone has left for either home, warmer climates, or to Pokhara for the New Year’s Eve Festival. We aren’t very tempted by a 6-8 hour bus ride each way, just to go party. It’s pretty quiet around Pepsi Cola, but we splurged on some Christmas morning treats that we could consume instead of carry, and decided to go exploring. Vincent and I had gone to Swayambhunath, the Monkey Temple, before he left for India, but Su and Raven wanted to see it, and I certainly didn’t mind going back. It’s a beautiful place with sweeping views of Kathmandu, incredible, ancient temples, and loads of monkeys running and climbing everywhere! Afterwards, we would have a fancy Christmas brunch somewhere in Thamel, the tourist district, before heading home for Christmas dhal bhaat.

  We brought a few stale peanuts to coax the monkeys in for some photo opportunities, as I had seen many people do on my first visit. The rhesus macaques thrive in the treed hillsides surrounding the giant, golden spired stupa, with pilgrims constantly leaving offerings for the many Buddhist and Hindu deities providing a steady food source. There are some security guards patrolling with bamboo canes, keeping marauding hoards of monkeys in check. They can be very aggressive, and will bite and scratch readily, competing violently for food. We found some younger, independent and gentle examples to feed our peanuts to. The older ones are grabby, but weren’t too aggressive, allowing the babies to pick their own peanuts from our outstretched hands. Everything was peachy, and after running out of snacks, we parted ways. Su had a geocache to hunt down, so we descended towards the forest behind the main complex. There is a wishing well along the way, crowded with people tossing in coins, soliciting favors from the goddess in the center of the pool. We separated, so Su could wander and Raven and I could find some more cute monkeys to feed. We bought some slices of coconut from one of the many vendors, and went looking for a quiet spot to sit. On the path down to where we could see some benches, an older hungry looking monkey started eying and grabbing for the coconut treats in Raven’s hand.  She charged forward, stomping, hoping to scare off the rude little monkey. Instead of running off, it attacked Raven, leaping up and bouncing off of her chest. Wow, those things move fast! It might have been trying to bite her face, because she had a small red mark rear her lip that went away after a few minutes. I had to get between them because it was still shrieking and baring its teeth.  It stalked us until we could blend into the crowd up near the pond. I don’t think monkeys are going to be on the list of Raven’s favorite animals. She was pretty shaken up, but there was no broken skin, so no need for the nasty round of rabies shots.

  We decided to hide out on one of the ‘roof top’ restaurants at Swayambhunath, and have lunch overlooking Kathmandu. There is no central ‘downtown core’ that you might expect, even from humble Nepal, just a sprawl of buildings and isolated agriculture that disappears into the smog. Su had a decent veggie burger(sorry no buns, just bread), Raven had a cheese burger that seemed to just be a patty of melted yak cheese. I was sensible, and stuck with the chicken fried rice. It’s pretty hard to screw up fried rice. Su and I split a Christmas beer and worked at cheering Raven up. We ended up just heading back home on the bus, to feast on our Christmas goodies:  Red wine, Pringles, Toblerone, and rice and lentil soup. We all went to bed a little deflated, I think. Our first Christmas in a very strange land, far, far from home just wasn’t the same. We were missing our friends and family, and felt a long way away, even though Skype sure makes the world much smaller! With most of the other volunteers away, Raven has been keeping busy with school work, I have been teaching yoga at the school, and Su is, as usual, omnipresent.  We have a few things to do during our last few weeks in Nepal. We still need to get our Indian visas, but at least after three tries, the first step is complete. We need to extend our Nepal visas, so we have time to look for tigers and rhinoceros on the way to Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini. Also, we still need to get over to Patan, one of the jewels of Kathmandu, home to some of the finest temples in all of Nepal. Our time here has gone by so quickly, it’s hard to believe that we’ve already been gone a third of our time away. There are many adventures to come in the months ahead, and I’m sure we’ll look back on our time here as a chaotic introduction to the developing world. The Nepalese are friendly, humble, and resourceful, and will always remind me of the community and spiritual values that have somehow slipped away from our culture.

Random Events in Nepal

The only thing that has been vaguely Christmas-y this year has been the mandarin oranges. They started appearing in the markets in Salleri, and by now they are getting sour again. I thought they were imported from China, but I have been assured they grow in Nepal, in the warmer southern regions. I only half believe this, but I suppose when we travel to Chitwan Forest and Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, we'll see if there are any citrus trees. This may explain why we can buy a kilo for R80, the equivalent of 1$. They have seeds in them and are slightly smaller with a rougher peel than what we are used to. Oranges are the only fresh food we have in our diet, besides a random apple and the slice of carrot and a slice of radish with our typical twice daily daal baht.

Christmas breakfast looked like this: 

We each received a hard boiled egg. It appears the Nepalese aren't satisfied with just the boiling of an egg- they like to take it a step further and fry it in a bit of oil and spice after peeling off the shell. It does add another dimension of taste. Turmeric is cooked with all the vegetable curries, especially by Kumari, our homestay mother. My toothbrush is stained yellow due to the prolific amount of this spice in our food! We appear to be served eggs only when there are no other volunteers at the house. This may be a cost saving measure- or perhaps Kumari likes us best? She seems quite fond of our chori (daughter), Raven. 

Dec 26

We went to town for another early morning attempt at applying for our Indian visas. The night before, we filled out the very detailed forms online, and printed them off to hand in. Questions on the form asked about our parents' previous and current nationalities as well as our Nepalese, Indian, permanent and work addresses. We arrived at the entrance at 8am, and waited until the gates opened at 9am. It wasn't as crowded as it was last time, probably because we are in the middle of the Christmas – New Years week. Being first paid off, as our numbers were A3, A4 and A5 (we weren’t sure if we needed individual numbers or just one for the family). By 10am the ticket numbers started being called in rapid succession. The machine had broken. Most of the tourists took a chair and waited, after the officer behind the counter said to wait. I noticed a line begin to form in front of his wicket- people with higher numbers than us were being served before us. Some of them the attendant was serving, and others he sent away. I approached with my number and we began our process as a family. Unfortunately he found an error in our form. We had followed the advice of a previous tourist who told us she was turned away because her permanent address and her Nepalese address didn't match. We took a gamble and made both our addresses the one where we are staying in Pepsi Cola. Rumour was that if you were turned away because of an error on your form you had to come back the next day. This is such an inconvenience. When I asked for clarification, the officer said that as long as we came back before 12, with a fresh, correctly filled-out form, it would be OK.

We frequented the shop down the road that had retaken our visa photos last week. These guys make a killing off of people like us. We didn't have time to find an internet cafe with printing capabilities in Thamel, so we paid this business 300 rupees each to retype our forms online. As I was sitting in front of his computer wishing he would type faster, a motorbike helmet that was sitting on a shelf 1 metre above my head randomly and with no provocation fell and smashed onto the back of my head. He was kind and was apologizing, but I told him through my tears to not worry about it and type faster! In Canada, I may have gotten a discount in service for my pains, but not here. He kindly apologized again while handing me my R100 change from the R1000 bill. All things added in, getting our Indian visas in Nepal as opposed to Canada is still more affordable.

We squeaked in before noon, the second set of paperwork was accepted, and we were given a receipt with the date of January 4^th. On this date we are supposed to show up in the morning with our passports, hand them over, then return at the end of the afternoon to reclaim them with our valid visas.

Dec 27

One of the volunteer activities we have been involved with in Pepsi Cola was the painting of two murals at the school, C.B.I.A., Other volunteers, Tina and Karen, sketched the drawings, and Raven and I helped fill in the colours. The girls had great fun painting their faces and hands afterwards. The blue paint was oil based, so Raven had blue hands for a number of days. The murals are on the first floor of the school, on the bottom of the stairs, where all the big kids see them as they continue up to their classes, and the little junior kindergarten kids whose classes are on this floor see them on their way out to play or to the bathroom. “So nice” was heard many times by the curious smiling little faces watching us work.

One of Raven's school subjects fine arts. Distance education leaves this subject very open ended, but it is probably the most difficult subject to do while we are traveling as there doesn't seem to be enough time left in the day after the rest of her subjects. I also don't 'make' her do it, as I know she's not going to fail grade 7 because of an 'Incomplete' in art. Opportunities like the mural will also arise, which can be documented in photos and emailed to her teacher. Because we have a constant home now and easily accessible internet, she has been working industriously on her academics. 'Fingers crossed' that her math package arrives before the 15^th.... Some of her work, such as socials, involves creating 3 dimensional objects. We take pictures of the finished results and put them in her SIDES dropbox for marking. What did we do before the internet? For socials she's had to recreate a pyramid and a canopic jar with very limited resources. (See above) The clay used for the jar was left in a generic unlabelled plastic bag by a previous volunteer. We weren't sure what kind of clay it was, or if in fact it was clay, but we took the opportunity, slowly added water to it, and made clay. Raven created a replica of a canopic jar, a container used to hold a mummy's internal organs. When we showed Darcie her creation- she informed us that the clay was left for her, as it was to be used as a stomach settler, much like charcoal! Apparently when your stomach is upset you mix some with water and drink it. Oops! Who'd of thought?!                 

Happy New Year!

We are 13.75 hours ahead of Beautiful British Columbia and we may or may not stay awake to greet the new year. We have been sleeping a lot lately. It is dark by 6pm, and nothing entices me to get out of bed before 7am, even though we are asleep well before 10pm. 

Heath is a little under the weather gastrointestinal- wise, he's had epic sleeping days and power naps. We'll let you know how we spent Christmas and New Years in another log. 

We wanted to pass along wishes of peace, love and prosperity for you and your families 

in the New Year. 

Did you make a resolution? I've been making the same resolutions for years, so I never have trouble thinking them up- just following them! 

Heath and I met on New Years, so this date has extra special meaning for us.

Namaste

school, yoga and hash

We have met a lovely community of volunteers through VSN. They are all young and intelligent 19 or 20-somethings open to learning about new cultures, a new breed of travelers with a conscious wanting to do something good for the world. It has been exciting being around this youthful energy. One particular volunteer, Darcie, who shared our homestay, is a year from becoming an MD in Australia. She left today, leaving us with sweet words on a card. She states she has optimism for adults now, after seeing that our family has picked up our lives to travel around the world for 9 months. The young volunteers have had the most impact on Raven. Darcie, Karen and Vincent have been so great with her, treating her better than a little sister. I think she can relate to them better than she can with the Nepalese kids her own age. This may be in part due to the language, but also the shared western cultural values. Visiting Nepal this way has been excellent, as we can make semi permanent homes and relationships. Pepsi Cola is safe enough that we can leave Raven to walk to the school, shops or the VSN office by herself, or go out for lunch with another volunteer without us. This gives her so much needed independence in a country that had we be visiting in the traditional way, we would never let her out of our sight!

I have started teaching at the school in the mornings. This school is so rich in resources when compared with the empty classrooms of Salleri. There is paint on the walls, books in the libraries and even a computer lab. Tej, the director of VSN, wanted me to have some input on how the school functions here- and I can honestly say it is a good place to be. The teachers care about the kids, and while there is still the emphasis on rote learning, there is no information that I can impart as a 'quick fix'. Change has to be wanted by the teachers, and put in place in a non threatening and positive way. His school program is his baby, and he has just hired an experienced volunteer coordinator to better meet the needs of the volunteers so he can focus on the management side of things. It is nice to see such a hard working forward thinker in a traditionally laid back- don't fix it if it ain't completely broke- kind of culture.

The 21^st, Friday, we got up early to go to the Indian Consulate to get our visa process started. We knew we had to make 3 visits, as Vincent had let us know how he did this last month. We took a taxi and got there by 8:30am. While talking to a tourist in line we were informed us that they had just changed the process. Last night we should have downloaded and printed the online visa application form. We couldn't even get to an internet cafe and do it this day because the forms are dated, and it had to be done exactly the day before. We realized the passport size photos that we got done yesterday were also not the correct size, so we had to get re-dos. We had a bit of a shopping trip in Thamel, instead of waiting in the Indian Embassy for hours. My other goal for the day was to locate the Bikram Hot Yoga studio. I found where it WAS, but could not locate the new location, if there was one. The phone number on their facebook page was outdated (I had our host family call the other day) and I was wanting to find out when classes were, so I could participate in a heated cardio yoga session. No luck. It seems nothing is easy here!

On our ramble to search for the studio, Raven did find a Baskin-Robins, and ate candy floss ice cream, which tasted fairly authentic! She had the tiniest little scoop, but I think it was worth it. Frozen items are not plentiful in a country where the power goes out daily because of load shedding. We also stopped for lunch in Mandala Street at a western style bakery. We ate tasty little bakery pizzas, heated in the microwave. The cheese on the pizzas here is yak cheese- think a harder parmesan style cheese, not quite as nippy. It doesn't really melt, hence the pizzas are not greasy like when made with Canadian cheddar or mozzarella. This deli was selling some kind of Christmas fruit cake and we saw Butterball turkeys in the freezer! I hope they have a backup generator! Since we are not planning on celebrating Christmas until our return in July we didn't bother enquiring about either items.

Friday night we went out for a traditional 'goodbye volunteer' dinner in recognition of Darcie leaving Nepal. There is an Indian restaurant nearby that 11 of us went to. We ate tasty Indian food at the Manohara Restaurant and Party Palace! I expected the restaurant to be indoors, but we had an outside concrete hut with a tarp roof. The table was low, Japanese style, and we sat on pillows. It was pretty chilly, especially as we had to take our shoes off at the door. The waiter seemed pretty confused by serving so many westerners, but got most of the orders correct. Surprisingly, none of the volunteers ordered rice with their curries! We watched the chefs make our fresh garlic naan instead.

Saturday is the only day off in Nepal. Since we took yesterday off for visas, it felt like an extra day today. Raven wanted to hang at home, as she had fallen and hurt her tailbone and wrist while roughhousing with the orphanage kids. She wasn't into traveling today and Heath has been fighting dizziness and diarrhea, so he was also content to stay home. I wanted to have a 'me' day and visit the Garden of Dreams and practice hot yoga, but that wasn't going to happen. When we went to go on the internet and skype at VSN in the morning, I couldn't find the new Bikram Hot Yoga location, if there really is one . The Garden of Dreams is a garden in the Thamel area. It costs 200R (2$) to enter, but doesn’t seem to be amazing enough to justify a bus trip on it's own, especially as it is winter, and most of the flowers won't be in bloom.

Tina, a volunteer from Belgium who practices yoga in the mornings with us, had mentioned a local run her host father had told her about that was happening in Pepsi Cola at 2pm. We flip flopped over whether we wanted to go or not- it sounded like a 'fun run' but we didn't want to be the only western women there, especially since neither of us have had any cardio exercise for a few months. At the last minute we decided to go. The deal sealer occurred when we were sitting in the LTC Fast Food an open garage door style restaurant opposite the football field waiting for lunch when another westerner approached us and asked “Are you here for the hash?” We all looked at him with confusion- this was a pretty brazen drug transaction! He meant the Harriers Hash- the Kathmandu running group that had today's run scheduled for this area. Restaurant food always takes ages, so we ended up scarfing some chowmein super quick before walking to the meeting site to sign up. 200 R for the non alcoholic run or 500R for the beer run. I figured that since I haven't run for 3 months, nor drank much alcohol in the same amount of time, I'd better choose the beer option. We had no idea how long the run was going to be, only an estimate of 5 km, with a beer stop en-route. Apparently, the Harriers used to have an actual hash smoking stop along the way, hence the name, but not any more. I was certain these people weren't elite athletes as a few were smoking cigarettes pre–start. This also lessened our anxiety abut the competition!

The small collection of runners were from many nationalities, mixed genders and abilities. After a quick introduction to the rules we set off. Apparently the run usually happens in the forested areas around Kathmandu, so the participants were a little upset about the 'ugliness' of this area. The route was marked by flour. Until we saw the first marker, Tina and I weren't sure if the organizers meant 'flower' or 'flour'. It was a little like orienteering. There were little sprinkles of flour along the route, but sometimes you'd have to route find because the flour sprinkles could be placed up to 200 meters apart. This was challenging when we came to an intersection. We were told to yell “on on” when we saw these, so no one got lost en-route. There were also designated 'wait' spots- the lead runners would wait for the slower ones to catch up before continuing. This ensured that no one got left behind. Sometimes the 'rabbits' would be busy running or walking ahead trying to find the flour markings, while us slower runners would wait, glad for the break while they 'caught the trail'.

 don't miss the flour markings...

 bridge

 view of Pepsi Cola

We wove through the agricultural area near the garbage strewn river, crossing a rickety bamboo and corrugated iron walking bridge, then through the 'slummier' areas. People live in small shacks in this area of no running water or sewer systems. It wasn't stinky, and I am sure they live quite well, given the circumstances. Nepalese people are clean and give high priority to cleanliness. Perhaps not to western levels of hygiene, but clean. We ran through their fields, on narrow raised pathways between the rice paddies and spinach and greens gardens. We were given some pretty strange looks- which we countered with a pleasant “Namaste!” as we continued along. This is one of the reasons I haven't yet gone running solo in the mornings- I don't want to flout that my life is so privileged that I need to invent a way to sweat and work! I guess I am afraid of being judged.

One of our 'catch up' breaks was in an open sandy area- apparently a few months ago an air-plane had missed the runway and crashed here, leaving 19 dead. Apparently this is a fairly regular occurrence.

At the end of the event (probably 5 km?) we all stood in a circle and toasted the newcomers and the virgins. The others sang a song, then we had to drink an allotted amount of beer from a brass cup. If we weren't finished in time we had to poor it on our heads. Luckily there were snacks to absorb the alcohol with- potato chips and carrots with dip, and banana bread. Hot momos arrived, and I ate one, thinking they were vegetarian, but it was saltier, and browner. I had consumed a buff momo. Oops. Good thing I'm not allergic!

 beer stop en route

Needless to say, I was fairly loaded by the end of the 'ceremonies'. I opened a beer for the road (big 650 ml beers) and started walking. I was chilled after standing around in sweaty clothes. Unfortunately I ran into my house mother sunning and chatting while sitting on her friend's shop steps on the way home. How to explain this- a Tshirt wearing woman in lycra pants stumbling down the road with an open beer?! I greeted her and told her 'not to ask' and continued along my happy way

The Epic Jeep Ride from Salleri To Kathmandu.

 

  The jeep driver was due to pick up our bags sometime Saturday before noon. We were still enjoying our tea and our ‘last dhal bhaat’, when we heard the distinctive rattling of a diesel jeep pulling up outside. Sure enough, a sharp, capable looking machine was disgorging passengers and shedding various loads from the roof rack. I was immediately excited. I love a good 4x4 trip as much as anybody, but this was going to be a marathon. Roughly 20 hours, depending on road blockages, breakdowns, food and fuel stops. We were asked if we could leave at 2:00 in the afternoon, instead of 3:00 AM. We would break up the drive with a food stop and a few hours of sleep in some town whose name we never did figure out.  We all agreed without hesitation, and started to plan our last few hours in Salleri. It was market day, which was a perfect send off, the most active and entertaining day of the week. Vincent and I made a last visit to the artist we’d befriended, who was painting yet another monastery. We cut our visit short, said our goodbyes, and got some snacks for the jeep ride. As we walked through Salleri one last time, I realized how much I would miss it. We were rarely comfortable, and Su did develop a nasty lung and ear infection, but the slow pace and friendly smiles had won me over. I’d miss the strong family and community bonds, general lack of marketing and media in general, and the close connection to the land, and to their religions. There is also something about having an old Nepali man or woman stop and stare at you, wide eyed and slack jawed, like you just stepped out of a spaceship. Our time in rural Nepal will never let me take for granted the level of luxury we have become accustomed to in Canada. We have so much, yet always consume more.

 

  Once we got to the jeep, I initially thought we were miscommunicating when they said there would be nine passengers. Thankfully they asked if I wanted to sit shotgun, up with the driver, and I selfishly jumped at the opportunity! In the second row, Su, Raven and Vincent could sit with their shoulders touching, reaching from one side of the jeep to the other, snug, but acceptable. Only one more person had to squeeze in; and four more sat in the space behind the seats, in the cargo area. I was very thankful to have such a great seat, taking pictures, and feeling slightly guilty. I think the first five hours were the roughest, we used the 4X4 the most during this first section, only ever using 1st and 2nd gear. We drove from 3:30 pm until 9:30 pm, when we ate dinner and slept for 4 hours in a hotel. The driver was a machine. Besides the dinner break, we drove from 3:30 AM until 12:30 PM, with one quick stop for tea as we waited for a river ferry. The ferry is an open concept steel barge,  using cables to position itself in the river, so that the current can propel it from side to side, held in place by an over -head cable and pulley system. Very efficient and ingenious, just a little slow.

  Flying over the brown scars of the rural roads connecting more and more communities with the city and the world, and even walking along the rutted, rocky and steep tracks, does nothing prepare you for how rough the roads really are. There were many sections that would certainly be completely impassable in the monsoon. Sections with deep, talcum powder dust, 5 or 6 inches deep,  would  quickly turn to impossibly slippery and steep deathtraps, with shear drop offs, complete with the wreckage of trucks  and busses that had never finished their journey. We lost the daylight all too early, but some part of me thought it was probably for the better, as we wound our way up and over valley after valley, switch-back by tight switch-back. Occasionally we could see clusters of dim lights on the hillsides below us, and even made out a few constellations, by chance or imagination. The dawn light revealed one of the largest rock-slides I’ve ever seen. Hope Slide is fairly impressive, but this unknown river of rock choked the valley, cutting away precious food producing terraces and leaving nothing but boulders and stone in return. The road carved into the unstable bank was pretty dodgy, but we had been given many blessings for a safe journey, so I wasn’t too terrified! After we crossed the river by ‘ferry’, we continued along the river bank for some time, driving through countless creeks, streams, and rivers, many of which had massive modern highway bridge construction projects, all in varying stages of completion. The terrain that separated these bridges was very rough; steep, bumpy, dusty tracks in a constant cycle of collapse and repair. We passed through some incredibly remote villages, a day’s walk from anywhere, cut off completely during the monsoon.  So basic, yet so beautiful and rare in their traditional and seasonal rhythm; and a lack of marketing and consumerist ideals, where family and community are everything.

  I had assumed that as we got closer to Kathmandu, the roads would begin to gradually improve. Yes and no… Eventually, we started being tempted by the siren call of a freshly paved highway down below, deceptively disappearing into the distance. We were still celebrating when it ended three minutes later, as we turned onto a very steep dusty grind that I was very glad I didn’t have to walk up. On the other side, as we were descending, a motorcycle had to stop in the deep, powdery dust to give us the right of way. He was instantly stuck. Some other pedestrians pushed him out and he wobbled on, disappearing up hill in a thick cloud of fine dust.

  I switched seats with Vincent, stretching some different muscles and moving my feet again after driving from 3:30 AM until 2:30 PM, on top of the 5 hours the night before.  Visibility was still quite good, but with nothing to hang onto in the middle seat, I was getting just tossed around, rag doll style.  My oblique, intercostal muscles and neck were still aching the next day. The jeep driver had stopped at one of the riverside “carwashes” once we hit pavement for good, scrubbing the beast down and tossing any garbage into the river, for at least half an hour. He lived in Pepsi Cola, so we knew where we would end up, but had gotten word that our old room was occupied, so we would still have to find out which place we’d be moving to. It was fully dark as we came into Kathmandu, but the smog was still noticeable, black and choking. Thankfully, Bishal and Angela were on hand to greet us and organize the weary travellers. It turned out that we could have the same homestay family! I had been dreaming of the spacious living room for daily yoga. It has worked out perfectly!

   I’ve started teaching a 7:30am daily class in the living room to some of the other volunteers. Tej also has plans for me to teach at the school. The afternoons are getting cool already, so it looks like I’ll only teach the morning class, but I am so thankful and full of joy at being able to guide these kindred spirits as we all continue the work of becoming aware, selfless,  and capable of making better decisions every day.  So much to be thankful for, even after a 27 hour jeep ride.

 

  I’ve just realized that tomorrow will be Christmas Eve! It certainly doesn’t feel like it, with highs around 22-24 degrees, and only occasional morning fog. The skies have been clear enough lately for us to realize the mountain ranges closest to Kathmandu actually loom over the city. We are thinking of all of you at home that we will miss so much this year. I’ve grown attached to the twinkling trees, the family gatherings, and the time we take to stop and enjoy the company of those closest to us (when they’re around ;). We send warm wishes, big hugs, and may joy overflow. Namaste, and Merry Christmas.

No sign of the apocalypse...

Back in Pepsi Cola

The stars are bright at night, and the planets are lining up. Is anyone else wondering about the 21^st of December? We are 14 hours ahead- but we might not be able to let you know of any impending doom!Seriously, this date is a curious one, but I am tending to look at it as a time of change, for the good. A new age hippy version of world peace and love through collective consciousness?

Most nights are clear, even with the smog of Kathmandu. We aren't up early enough in the morning to see many planets, but it is dark by 5:30 so we can see the early night sky. Heath has a handy feature on his phone that connects the constellations in the sky with a GPS. It outlines in red what stars we are looking at in the night sky, and even the ones that are below our horizon. We can see most mornings are some snow capped Himalayas! This city sits in the lush Kathmandu valley, but because of the smog we had no idea during our first month here that one was able to see snowy mountains in the distance. It must be clearer now because it is colder. Our hand washed laundry (hello warm water!) dries on the roof/patio of this 4 story house which is where we get the best view of the airport and environs.

Our first week (plus) back at Kathmandu we've laid pretty low, trying to rest and heal. Our respiratory systems took a beating in Salleri, and the epic long sleepless jeep ride didn't help to improve our immune systems. We are mostly feeling better, but some days are 'touch and go'. We seem to take turns as to who is 'down', which is nice (and helpful for the 'sickie').

On our first Saturday 'off'' we took the bus to 'downtown', an area called Sundhara which is walking distance from Thamel and New Road to watch a movie at the Civil Mall cinema. This was the first mall we have been to in Nepal. I bee-lined it to the first thing that caught my attention in the centre of the shops- a cafe! Heath and I lounged on the pleather couch chairs, drinking cafe o'laits while Rave window shopped. Since we were sitting at the bottom of the seven storey open concept mall (Think: the Bay Centre ) she'd call down from every floor she took the escalator up to. I prefer the busy crazy style of street front shops and road vendors to this hygienic, clean and brightly lit place with pumping pop music, but we were there for a movie, not shopping. We watched Breaking Dawn II. Like European theatres, we got to choose our seating. We bought a large tasty salty and 'buttery' popcorn and 2 cokes. We could have chosen vegie burgers, hotdogs, fries or nachos to eat, but we didn't have quite enough cash on us. We spent the equivalent of 12 dollars for everything and the movie theater was top quality. On our way in the security wanted me to leave my water bottle at the coat check, but I convinced them I needed it for my raging cough. I refuse to buy bottled water when we have a filter that cuts down on plastic bottle waste. I had wanted to excuse myself from watching this particular movie, but in the end was glad I sat though it, as the west coast rainforest it was filmed in reminded me keenly of home.

Beyond a few key people, I miss Canadian freedom, safety, clean air and the proximity of our home to nature. I will never take for granted the ability to run through local parks and forests. I haven't attempted this here yet- due to the air quality, but also not wanting to be seen as a crazy western lady. (More than I already do?) My fitness is slipping, even with the pilates and yoga I attempt every so often. Heath has been teaching a morning yoga class, but it isn't quite the same for a cardio junkie like me:) I did see an advertisement for 6am Zumba in Pepsi Cola, and there is a Bikrams studio in Thamel, but I have yet to check them out. 6Am seems to be a bit of a stumbling block.

Raven and I bought facemasks. Many people wear the cotton mouth and nose protection here. They have no real filter in them and I think they will only filter the larger particulate matter, but it may well be better than nothing, especially with our lungs and respiratory systems feeling compromised from sinus issues to begin with. The sweet smell of burning plastic is prolific. That definitely doesn't get filtered with a hello kitty face mask!  

We are loving our family more than ever here. They have been so kind, giving halls and hot water, fruit, etc. They treat us like a real family.It is Kumari's birthday today. We were told to show up for 5:30 for a 'little party'. Lets see what transpires- I bought a bottle of Australian Shiraz, just to be on the safe side. I haven't had wine since we left, and only enough beers to count on one hand since arriving in Nepal. The Raksi (rice 'wine' or whiskey) is too strong for me. Heath likes it.