Tongwynlais 2 Tongaporutu: Namaste Nepal :-)

Hi all, we hope you are all well. This blog covers our time in Nepal, which was about a month in total.

Our first impression of driving through the country was that it was a lot like India, but less hectic and definitely cleaner. This changed quickly however when we arrived in Kathmandu and were sucked into the main backpacker area of Thamel. Unlike other traveler hubs we've been to, Thamel is full of discos and karaoke bars! Bit of a shock, but we should have seen it coming, as on second reading, our guide book does describe the place as 'the nearest thing to backpacker Disney land'!

Although we wanted to get out quick (we didn't come to Nepal for cheesy discos!), we both got a bit ill, so ended up staying for 5 days. Numerous bakeries and falafal bars helped soften the blow though :-)

Deciding to see the rural side of Nepal, we hired mountain bikes and cycled around the Kathmandu Valley for a week. Getting out of the capital was a challenge, with many possible routes to take and severe pollution and traffic, but we were rewarded when we reached Bodnath, a Buddhist area with Nepal's biggest Stupa (and the best Buffalo curry ever)! Tibetans circle the Stupa in a clockwise direction all day long, and joining them was a very calming experience.

The next few days cycling were long and hot (40km through small rural villages hurts after lazing around for 3 months)! However, places like Dhulikhel and Panauti were well worth the ride and we stayed in some really traditional homestays and ate fantastic local food. The bathrooms (hmmm, tin shacks) were often outside which made washing a freezing experience, but refreshing! On one journey we met a very friendly family which included many generations, cousins and aunties who invited us in for Chai and requested we become pen pals! Being a westerner was one thing in this small village, but being on a bike with a helmet topped it off. They were fascinated, especially the little ones who held on to our tyres when we tried to leave :-)

Returning to Thamel was a shock once again, but having previously met some travelers who recommended their Nepalese friend Raghu as a trekking guide, we arranged a trip to Langtang with him for 7 days. The local bus journey to Langtang was the usual experience, our seats were double booked so we only had 1 seat between 3 of us, the 9 hour journey turned into 13 hours, a girl was sick over Sam, and it seemed as if the bus company was trying to beat a world record of how many people they could cram on one bus!

The first day trekking included a 1000m ascent which we could not complain about as passing us were numerous porters carrying huge weights on their backs (not ours we hasten to add). In Bodnath we saw a porter with a huge sofa on his back and another with two arm chairs! In Langtang, the usual load was gas canisters and cooking equipment for trekkers who were camping. We felt uncomfortable watching this, but the flipside is the local income it provides to an otherwise very poor region. Still, not ideal!

The next four days were all uphill, reaching Kyanjin Gompa on day 5 at 3800m with panormic views of snow capped mountains :-) Our guide was great and kept spirits high so we managed to hike to one of the glaciers almost touching the snow. Deciding on an alternative, less travelled route back, we passed beautiful landscapes of terraced farm land, and almost reached the border with Tibet (so tempting to return)! We loved seeing the life the super-friendly Tamang and Sherpa people lead. They originally came from Tibet, but settled in Nepal many years ago (apparently after an unsuccessful invasion). In fact, we were informed that Nepal is one of only 2 countries in the world never to have been successfully colonised (source unverified)!

After returning to Kathmandu, we rested our legs for a couple of days and managed to catch the beginning of the Dasain festival. Dasain is the biggest Hindu festival of Nepal and involves the sacrifice of buffaloes, goats, chicken and ducks to please the goddess Durga. Despite this being foreign to our culture, it was interesting (if a bit gorey) to witness. After each sacrifice, blood was sprinkled on the temple and the owner of the animal took the beheaded body home, presumably to cook and eat. There was definitely a festival atmosphere, with families coming together and most businesses closing.

Our time in Nepal was a real mixture of experiences, but it is definately a place we would like to return to, especially for more trekking! The country is crippled by poverty, political corruption and uncertainty, but the people somehow retain great resilience and the most welcoming smiles. Most locals we spoke to had zero faith in the political system, probably because they have recently gone through 8 elections without a majority being reached! We thought Britain had problems!!! At least the Maoist issues that were so apparent 10 years ago seem to have subsided and the people of Nepal have some of the best festivals and most beautiful countryside in the world to enjoy :-)

We're now volunteering in Bangladesh (which is challenging, but going well) and will update you on our brief stops in Darjeeling and Kolcutta soon. Please update us with any news and wish us luck completing our hardcore teaching schedules we've been landed with! Much love, Sam and Jo xxx

Below are some pics as always (more on facebook) ...