Back to Kathmandu

A colourful food market nestled amongst the shrines of Kathmandu's backstreets

A colourful food market nestled amongst the shrines of Kathmandu’s backstreets

Days 100 > 104 – Location: Kathmandu, Nepal

10/12/12 > 14/12/12

On my last morning in Karmidanda I got up early and said my goodbyes. Jhabraj and his family had been such great hosts and I was sorry to be leaving, but after two and a half weeks I was feeling restless and my health had returned, I was ready to move on. I caught a bus from the track near the house. People piled on, nearly all of them looked of Tibetan origin. Over the next few hours we bumped our way down the valley, some hairpins were so sharp the bus had to reverse to get an attainable angle to take them. We passed through villages similar to Karmidanda and eventually reached the tarmac roads, climbing the opposite valley and stopping at a town for lunch. There were lots of stalls selling big gourd vegetables, must be the season for them. I listened to “To Kill a Mocking Bird” on my iPod to pass the time. We wound our way around the hills and arrived in Kathmandu at 1pm, by which point my bum was completely numb! I took a taxi into Thamel and checked into Hotel Potala which I’d stayed in before.

I chilled out for the rest of the day enjoying some western delights, pizza and coffee! You start to crave that stuff when you’ve not had it for months!

Statue in Kathmandu temple

Statue in Kathmandu temple

That night I heard back from the Hong Kong passport processing centre, who were dealing with my passport replacement. They needed a written note declaring why I couldn’t get a countersignature for my passport application, so I sent them a photo which did the job.

Camille, the Belgian girl I’d hung out with a month or so back, was back from a meditation course, so I met her in the evening. She took me to dinner with a big group of people she’d done the meditation course with. They were a mix of all nationalities. The 10 day meditation course at a temple near Kathmandu had been pretty hardcore. They weren’t allowed to talk to each other at all for the whole duration, they slept in dorms, had big meals and cold showers. For an hour in the morning and the evening the teacher gave them lessons about meditation. They got up at 4am every morning and after breakfast sat down for 12 hours of silent meditation with a break for lunch.

A nice courtyard restaurant me and Sophie went to breakfast daily to catch the sun

A nice courtyard restaurant me and Sophie went to breakfast daily to catch the sun

Camille found it hard to begin with, but after a few days she focused her thoughts and finished with less doubts about life and more of a life plan. Rather than try to eliminate thoughts, you are supposed to just let them come and go. She did get bored after a week though. The reactions of the others in her group were mixed, some like Camille were really happy with the course. Others never got into it and spent it feeling bored and frustrated. Some said there wasn’t enough direction or that it was too hardcore – but they did treat it as a learning experience.

Rani Pokhari, Kathmandu

Rani Pokhari, Kathmandu

After dinner we parted ways and she said we’d meet the next day to go trekking with some of the group. However the next morning she didn’t turn up so I assumed she’d gone without me.

I spent the next three days bumming around, working on the blog now I had wi-fi again, sorting out photos, and reading – popping in and out of restaurants and bars. My laptop charger broke (add it to the big list of things that have broken down!) but I managed to find a replacement on the same night in the techhy area of Kathmandu. I took a few walks around central Kathmandu to get some exercise. I was bored but stuck without my passport, I couldn’t go too far from Kathmandu and I’d already exhausted the tourist options in the area. I knew Sophie would be coming to Kathmandu soon to do some travelling in her school holidays.

Traditional potter at work at the street festival

Traditional potter at work at the street festival

Day 105

15/12/12

Sophie and Jhabraj were arriving in Kathmandu today, both in school holidays. In the morning I ran into Camille. She apologized for standing me up the other day – she’d forgotten where my hotel was!  She didn’t go trekking and had been hanging out with some Chinese friends she met at the meditation course. We arranged to meet up later to visit a casino.

I popped into a nearby shopping street where they were holding a street festival. There was live Nepali music and dancing on stage, local food and handicrafts, a small zipline over the street promoting an adventure sports company, and an abseil down the side of the buildings. I watched a bike stunt display for a while as they pulled some impressive moves for the crowd.

Ziplining above the street festival

Ziplining above the street festival

Bike stunts at the street festival

Bike stunts at the street festival

In the afternoon I met Sophie at a café and Jhabraj joined us briefly. She was staying with Jhabraj and his daughters in their flat in Kathmandu. There had been yet more drama in the village! A girl had committed suicide after failing her exams. She’d supposedly hung herself and left a note. However it was a bit suspicious as no one had examined her body until the police intervened when the funeral was taking place down at the river. We didn’t hear the verdict.

A girl spots us from a temple balcony near Durbar Square

A girl spots us from a temple balcony near Durbar Square

After dinner Sophie had some stuff to do so I met Camille, who was with her Chinese friends. We took a taxi to a casino on the outskirts of town. It was a pretty cheap establishment, though it did have free drinks, free cigarettes and a free buffet which was the reason they were visiting! They got promotional free casino chips from their hotel so they could just turn up, play some games and then tuck into the buffet. The clientele were mostly middle-aged Indian men and a few westerners. Nepalese aren’t allowed in most casinos, except the really rich ones. Aside from tucking into the buffet I bought a few pounds worth of chips and played some roulette. The only games they had were roulette and two card games I had never seen before. I ended up with about the same amount of chips as I started. Some players were on big money in comparison, putting bets of over 100 pounds onto the table. One of Camille’s Chinese friends had a system for winning one of the card games, he went to the casino almost every night and made money using his free guest house chips as the starting bid! He eats for free at the casino and pays for his accommodation with the winnings! Amazingly they haven’t kicked him out yet! Back in town I met Sophie again and we had drink before calling it a night.

Traditional song and dance at the street festival

Traditional song and dance at the street festival

Days 106 > 111

16/12/12 > 21/12/12

Me and Sophie spent the next few days hanging out in Kathmandu. She had shopping to do for Christmas presents so we toured the streets, ate breakfast and lunch in the sunshine and chilled out in the evenings. I took her to the Garden of Dreams and a tour around the Durbar Square area. Jhabraj met us for coffee one day before he went back to the village. Some of the tourist places in Kathmandu had Christmas decorations and trees by this point, but the atmosphere was very unchristmassy with glaringly bright days of sunshine. It was very cold out of the sun though, but no rain or snow appeared. I Skyped with my parents back in Scotland, they showed me the decorations at home on the webcam, though they didn’t have snow there either.

Me and Sophie in our necessary puffer jackets, next to one of Kathmandu's few christmas trees!

Me and Sophie in our necessary puffer jackets, next to one of Kathmandu’s few christmas trees!

Finally I got word from the British embassy in Kathmandu that my new passport had arrived. I went there and picked it up. I overheard the guy in front of me in the queue asking for help – he’d had a nightmare, he is living in Kathmandu with his family, and a local guy he’d met, for no reason had invaded their house, beat him unconscious and beat up his wife, his children witness to the whole thing! He’d been in court and the psycho had been sentenced to prison. My passport woes seemed a drop in the ocean compared to what this poor guy had been through.

Abseiling at the street festival

Abseiling at the street festival

Devices for thinning cotton, used when making blankets

Devices for thinning cotton, used when making blankets

 

I went to the Kathmandu visa office as they’d instructed me to when my passport arrived. They ended up charging me 180 pounds in fees for the overstay on my visa whilst my passport was gone, which I argued with them was unfair as they hadn’t let me extend the visa without my passport anyway! But as they’d let me stay in the country without a visa or passport anyway, I didn’t want to push my luck and paid up when it was clear they wouldn’t back down. I extended the new visa to allow me some time travelling with Sophie, aiming to leave Nepal in mid-January. I spent all day there waiting for them to sort it out, unfortunately they had to contact the Pokhara office where I’d extended the visa originally to get proof that I had done it, and Pokhara in classic Nepali fashion had no electricity that day! As a result they didn’t get the final stamp of approval but said I could sort it out in Pokhara.  Me and Sophie booked a bus to Pokhara for the next day.

More bike stunts at the street festival

More bike stunts at the street festival

Rickshaws waiting for customers

Rickshaws waiting for customers

Kumari mask in Kumari's restaurant, Freak Street

Kumari mask in Kumari’s restaurant, Freak Street

 

 

Nepali Barber Shop

AlanStockPhotography-1090538

Day 85 – Location: Karmi Danda Village, Langtang Region; Nepal

25/11/12

There was no school today, it was a national festival, so we hung out in the morning. The goat kids had discovered the joys of jumping into the big wicker baskets full of stuff and kept spilling corn heads all over the floor. Eventually we gave up constantly cleaning up after them and just left it! After chopping potatoes, in the afternoon me, Sophie, Januka and Jhabraj walked along the path out of the village back up to the nearby town of Kalikastan, through the pine forest. The path offered great views down into the valley.

Before the woods the path goes over rocky terrain dotted with cactus-like plants

Start of the path leading to the town, note the weird and huge cactus family plants dotted around the rocks

AlanStockPhotography-1090534Jhabraj met a local guy on the way who told him that yesterday there had been a suicide in the area. A 28 year-old woman had hanged herself in the forest only 15 minutes from where we were now. She was married and had a few children. At the moment noone was sure why, except they knew there had been some dispute in her household. For such an area that seems so peaceful, they sure have a lot of life and death drama here!

At Kalikastan it was quiet because of the festival. The town (well, village really) sits along a hairpin of the tarmac road winding up the mountainside, a typical mix of open-fronted shops, restuarants and residences supporting the local villages. The buildings are more modern compared to Karmidanda. A few new buildings were under construction, bamboo scaffolding criss-crossing their bare structures. We went to a tailor shop where Sophie bought some day-glo furry trousers for the cold evenings, and picked some colourful material for a long dress she could wear to work at school. The tailor took her measurements and said it would be ready in a few days. Whilst I waited, some kids and adults said hello, although this is a trekking stop-off point they still don’t get many westerners here. We walked up the road to a barber shop where Jhabraj got his hair cut. I got the same, wondering what kind of Nepali hairstyle I’d end up with this time. Not too bad, as it turned out, and for a few dollars you can’t complain! It was finished with a relaxing head massage. We bought some supplies, had a coffee and sauntered home as the sun got low, passing lots of school kids in uniform coming back from private school – due to the fees their families pay a festival isn’t enough to stop proceedings there!

I get attacked with scissors

I get attacked with scissors

Me and Sophie took a longer way back via the dirt road as the sun sunk below the ridge, taking in the great views of the valley wreathed in orange and shadows. Back at home we had dinner and I chatted to Jhabraj over some glasses of rakshi. He was quite stressed out at the time because he has a lot of problems, mostly financially. His daughters in Kathmandu (just out of uni) are living in their new apartment there and he’d had to pay a lot of money to outfit it with furniture and necessities. On top of that, both girls were very bored and getting a bit depressed. When they were at uni they stayed in a uni hostel and so had lots of friends around. Now that uni is over they have to find work or continue their studies. Their friends have all gone and they’re lonely. They don’t have money to go out or have a social life and had been asking for a TV, another expense Jhabraj can’t really afford. Another worry for him is that if they get scholarships (which he encourages) – he’ll also have to find money from somewhere to pay for that, perhaps being forced to sell some of his precious land. It’s a tough life working in such a poor place when you want to give your children a good life and education. After Jhabraj went to bed I read for a while and got an early night, arriving in my bedroom to find the baby cat of the household had left me a present. A little poo sat right on my silk sleeping bag holder. Thanks kitty!

Sophie on the walk home

Sophie on the walk home

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Would you like to stay in Karmidanda village with the Neupane family? Read on…

Januka (Jabraj's wife) and her beloved goat kid!

Januka (Jabraj’s wife) and her beloved goat kid!

If you are thinking of visiting Nepal and would like to do a homestay with Jhabraj’s family and see his village, or you need an experienced trekking or private tour guide, Jhabraj is very happy to accommodate you. He can do tours anywhere around Nepal and for trekking, he is very experienced and a safe, responsible guide, having guided on all the major Nepali treks multiple times as a guide (including the popular Everest, Annapurna and Langtang treks). It is also possible to do some spectacular trekking in the Langtang area from his village area so you could always combine a homestay with a trek. Jhabraj charges very reasonable prices, he speaks good English, and you couldn’t meet a friendlier, more interesting and hospitable guy! Your enjoyment, satisfaction and safety are his primary concerns. Money that Jhabraj earns from visitors and clients goes towards the higher education of his children, which is extremely expensive for a village family. If you want to hear more, please contact me via this website and I will put you in touch with him. Highly recommended!

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Would you like to help Jhabraj’s village community of Karmidanda? Read on…

Jhabraj teaching at school

Jhabraj teaching at school

Like many outlying villages in Nepal, the village Karmidanda is extremely poor and the community has many serious problems as a result. Almost all the families here are in a lot of debt, living on the breadline on the meagre earnings they can eke out – most are farmers. Other avenues of work are simply not available up here and most families cannot afford to put their children into higher education to improve the cycle. Public welfare does not really exist in Nepal and the area only has one health clinic staffed by volunteers and supplied by charity. If a villager requires hospitisation the villagers have to pool together to get enough money to pay for an ambulance to take the patient 5 hours to Kathmandu and also pay the expensive hospital treatment fees, if they can afford it. The village school was built thanks to charitable efforts but staff wages are low, equipment and resources are always scarce and there are not enough teachers for the number of students. These are just some of the problems that the community has – yet despite the difficulties the community spirit is amazing here, people help each other, they have a smile on their face and they are welcoming and friendly. If you think that you can help with donations, volunteering (including English teaching at the school) or charitable projects, please get in touch. Jhabraj has many contacts and can direct you to the right people so you know your money or resources are going directly to the local community and no share is going into anyone elses’ pocket. Some charitable efforts have also been started by foreign visitors who have visited Jhabraj and decided to help the community of Karmidanda – please check out the following websites: (links coming soon!)