Nepal Report part 2

Great....this is like sooo long overdue.
Dudes, forgive me please?This time, It's just pictures, and very brief.

We(Me and Flo Lee) were supposed to leave for Pokhara, another town 180km east of Kathmandu, but our bus got cancelled due to the Bandh.

Apparently, some members of the ruling Maoist party murdered two opposition student members.
On the way back from the bus company, we managed to see loads of armed forces and law enforcement officers, like the riot police above. Our Taxi driver was also speeding nervously.
Looking back, maybe it was a good thing, because it gave me the chance to hang out with the kids at the children's home next door.
You see, schools are closed during Bandhs too, and no shops are suppose to open either. There was only one TV station operating that day, and we caught some news from there.

We spent the day playing variations of UNO. Did I mention that I was down with bad travellers' diarrhea about this time?

The next day, our bus to Pokhara was up and running. The road was hilly and winding, but the view was magnificent.



Once we reached Pokhara and the guest house by the lake, we went for dinner:


Mint tea. To quell the tummy demons,and dancing to quell the curiosity( I know, it's a sucky pix, blame my inability to get closer)
Flo's the best. She suggested we go the next morning to watch the sunrise at Sarang Kot, a hilltop point where we can see the Annapurna range.
So, Sarang Kot it was.

Behold the sunrise.

It was actually freezing cold, cold, cold.....
All of those peaks in the back have names, one of which is called fishtail.
After sunrise watching at Sarang Kot, It was time to get down to business, which was our visit to Pokhara University. The Chancellor lent us his car, I'm so mortified. I'm just a nobody grad student leh. Oh, above is the fishtail peak, as seen from Pokhara town while driving to the Uni.
We visited the School of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical sciences. Although this isn't my field, I learnt quite a bit. Those are the undergrads who just finished their final year project presentation and all passed with Grade A. Was fortunate enough to sit in on their presentation.That's why they're smiling like there's no tomorrow.


I'd love to work in a lab with this type of view..


Undergrads waiting to enter the exam hall. Mwahahaha..thank God we're passed that.
After the Uni visit, Flo wanted to rest, so I took off to see the lakeside on my own, and managed to witness this wedding party. The women in red are relatives of the bride, and they're dancing(on the streets). Also some free roaming cows.
Anyway, this was a rare opportunity to get tourist-ee, so I bought souvenirs and got some second-hand books for cheap.The entire lakeside is this long row of tourist shops, with everything a foreigner might need.
Next day, time to return to Kathmandu.

Where there was still some protests going on (see the middle of the picture).
We stayed at Apex Inn, near Jawalakhel , on the topmost floor, which had a huge balcony
and this whole kitchen to ourselves. Notice the Milo on the table. Malaysians cannot live without the stuff.Nepalese cannot live without this: Dahl-bhat ( rice-dahl-vege curry), their traditional dish.
On my final day, we visited Wai Ling's home for the HIV+ and had a worship session with them.The blonde on the extreme right is german missionary Heike Priebe ( Hai-Kay Pree-bay), whom is a pleasant person to be with.

When it was time to fly home,
I travelled with Vemy, an Indonesian missionary flying back to Jakarta. we both had to transit..at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, which was stormed by anti-government protestors an hour after I took the above picture.
I still don't know Vemy's fate until today, since she was supposed to fly 7 hours after me.
I assume she's fine, after the forced extended stay in Bangkok.

Anyhow: Wai Ling and Heike are currently in Malaysia. Wai Ling to rest and study, while Heike is in UCSI doing a degree in Biotechnology.

Nepal Report

Dear family of friends, this is long overdue, do forgive me. But here it is, finally:
Me and Flo Lee left KLIA on 15th November, Saturday morning, and flew by Thai Air. We had to transit at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok for four hours.
Their toilets had these huge mirrors, so we clowned around for a bit.

I spent most of my time at this bench...

watching people of different nationalities, all in a hurry, all scurrying somewhere.


Our flight to Kathmandu.
Once we reached Tribhuvan Airport, my camera ran out of battery, so for the first day, no pictures.
We are met at the airport by our host, Sarji(from India), who with his wife Hannah(a Filipino) are missionnaries staying near Jawalakhel.They have three beautiful daughters, Karuna, Keziah and Katarin.

It's the end of autumn, and everything is dry, cold and dusty. Night temperatures dip to 6 degrees or so. Daytime is survivable provided we stand under the sun.
There are no addresses in Nepal. Only area names. Even those are confusing because sometimes we never know where one ends or begins.

Khanteepat, in the city centre, adjacent to Thamel, the famous tourist area in Kathmandu. Flo and I were there to collect our bus tickets to Pokhara, a town about 180km west of Kathmandu. We were supposed to travel on Thursday, 20th Nov.
Traffic is really something.
The main mode of transport are microbuses, white 12 seater vans usually packed to the max, visible at the left side of the picture. There are also tuks-tuks similar to the Thai ones.

Most Nepalis walk. Walking is a national pastime.
.

After collecting our bus tickets, Flo and I returned to..

Jawalakhel , in Patan area of Kathmandu, where Flo and I did our shopping, had dinner with various people and shopped for groceries.
Flowers at Hannah's house. Nepal experiences electricity cuts about 12 hours a week. Every area takes turns to have a blackout. We were in the dark about 3 out of the 5 nights we stayed at Hannah's place. Candlelight and torches helped.

Hannah and Sarji house.

With Karuna and Keziah.

Our 3rd and 4th day was spent in HEC doing a worship/music workshop.

This was in an area called Sanepa, where we could look out on a part of the valley.

Nepalis build their own individual houses on their own land. There's no such thing as housing projects and semi-Ds. Usually the house has about 2-4 storeys. The owner lives on one of the floors and rents the other floors out.
Tea break:Traditional Nepali food are few, and these are just mouth-wateringly great. They're called Momo, and resemble chinese dumplings or Japanese gyoza.Basically it's a flour based skin with meat and vegetable filling flavoured with Coriander, cumin and a little ginger. Usually dipped in achar.

Nepali drink a milk tea which has a strong dairy taste, in their tongue it's called dudh chia.

John 3:16, local Christian band based in Patan church. All of them except one are self taught musicians.
Melons in the church compound.

The Himalayan Annapurna Range, as seen on that clear evening from Hannah and Sarji's rooftop.

The next day, Flo and I walked to Sadobato to take a microbus to Godawari village resort, about 20 km away to meet some missionaries belonging to INF (International Nepal Fellowship).

Market at the Sadobato ring road, where we boarded the microbus.Not kidding when I said they pack us in like sardines in a red can.

Ne?

The road to Godawari.

Godawari resort, Kathmandu. The view was amazing.

End of part one.Next up: The Bandh and the (delayed) trip to Pokhara.

I'm sorry if this post sounds dry. I have a lot of personal emotions about Nepal, but they're in my head and heart and written on my travel journal. It was a very heavy trip in terms of personal feelings, so I've decided to keep them to myself.

Happy New Year.

Currently listening to: Dido's latest album Safe Trip Home

Favourite track: