Posts Tagged ‘offline’

Posted on September 12, 2009

A tourist again in Nepal

Although we have had brief 2-3 day get-aways during our placement, we still have yet to take our long well-deserved annual leave from our work life here in Nepal. Come September 15th when Tlell’s parents arrive, it will be vacation-mode time – ball cap, tacky-tourist golf shirt, an over-sized SLR camera glued to my face and all!

(just draw a big tourist bulls-eye on my back)

Too bad “work” gets in the way

Just having 10 months under my belt, you can say that I’m technically not a tourist but I still feel like I am in a way. For me, there is still so much that I want to see and do here in Nepal. Of course when you’re in work-mode, you’re “working” 5 days-a-week and in a different state of mind. I have a feeling that during our last few months here, I will be very busy trying to pack last-minute activities in.

(or heck, I’ll just come back).

Playing tour guide

When the in-laws come, I’m really looking forward to showing them our world and seeing things for the first time from their eyes. I even love giving the Vancouver-Rex tour back home. Along with that warm-fuzzy feeling, it also reminds me about the things I love about a place and why I live there.

I’m also looking forward to seeing the real Nepal and what this country is known for (the majestic mountain scenery, the cultural landscape, etc.). One of my colleagues Mark, who recently left mentioned to me that after he had done a trek around Nepal, he finally “understood” what everyone was raving about. Can’t wait.

The Brief Itinerary

Our month long vacation will start here in Kathmandu, showing the in-laws our stomping grounds and such (Thamel, Lazimpath). Once acclimatized, our road trip to Pokhara begins that includes a brief stop in Bandipur. A 4-5 day trek will be one of the highlights. After that, fly back to KTM and prepare for our 9-day tour of India (Rajasthan). The last remaining days in Nepal will most likely be Around-the Kathmandu valley activities related such as Bhaktapur, Bodhnath and the Buddhist monasteries, maybe Pashupatinath (we could be Hindu’d out by then) but definitely Patan Durbar Square.

Posted on September 9, 2009

Dogmandu

I hearby rename the city of Kathmandu, Nepal to Dogmandu. The dogs rule the city as they are everywhere (especially at night). However, some of the dogs that I have seen and their conditions (both their physical and living) are horrifically unbelievable.

I’m definitely supporting my local SPCA when I get home.

Posted on September 2, 2009

The Last Resort Weekend

Thanks to Orla, Bex for organizing everything and to Nick for making sure things got organized when we arrived. We spent a wonderful get-away weekend at the renown The Last Resort, located 3 hours away from Kathmandu, on top of a green river gorge close to the Tibetan border.

Rafting was initially on my radar but seeing as this time of year was apex of the monsoon season, we decided to forego the idea as the rapids were extremely high and rough (even our Nepali guides at the resort seemed reluctant to go as well). Some of us went canyoning, a few of us spent a couple of hours at the spa, while the majority of us did the high ropes activity.

The 7-station high ropes activity, although not as thrilling as rafting when you first look at it, definitely had it’s WTF moments. It was probably the most mentally and physically challenging thing that I have ever done.

In a nutshell, each station, perched onto a tree that was at least 4 storey’s high had different rope apparatuses set up in order to get to each station. For most of us, the hardest station was the initial ladder climb as it required some arm strength and for me, my own patented swinging-foot/mounting technique (offline). The skateboard station really needed a lot of balance because the rolling skateboard-on-the-ropes thing was moving in every direction, making it difficult to get over the “heights” factor. I almost flipped out during  high-wire-walk-on-poles station and the high-wire-hanging-ropes station was profoundly psychedelic (really).

Although these were personal challenges, each of us were not alone. We each did the rope activities in partners (thanks Nick), thus allowing us to coach each other through the motions (as our Nepali guide has said, “Four eyes is better than two”).

Of course, we had harnesses and safety ropes/carabineer attachment training – which was very, very useful to know (you don’t really want to accidently detach BOTH your carabineers or your partner’s).

Things to note for next-time: wear closed-foot shoes and perhaps pants and or long shorts. You might get scratched up or cut during the activity. If you go during this time of year, watch out for leaches.

Overall, the trip was worthwhile and otherwise very relaxing. I learned a lot about myself when I someday need to jump from tree to tree using ropes, how I suck at charades, and I’ll definitely have to come back again some day for the rafting and perhaps the bungey and swing as well (maybe).

The buffet food was excellent, the service was great, the tents and beds were very comfortable and the well-timed heaviest rainfall of the year during the night was a nice touch as well.

Bought the t-shirt too.

Posted on July 27, 2009

Firsts in Hetauda

From July 19th – 27th…

Monsoon Beer – First night in Hetauda @ Bastipur Training Centre, I hung outside in the middle of a field with the big boss during a freakish monsoon rainstorm while drinking beer. It was an awesome, invigorating, yet slightly intoxicating, “natural shower” as my boss said. Monsoon Beer would be a great name for a nice light lager.

My umbrella saved my life – On my second day we visited the field offices in Parsa, Bara, Sarlahi, and Rautahat districts. On the way to the Rautahat office, we encountered a bandh road block where we inevitably had to abandon our vehicle and walk the rest of the way. We were only about a half-hour walk away but at 9:30, it was already a 37 degrees-blazing-hot-muggy weather and they only thing between us and certain delusional cries to our mothers was my emasculating umbrella (i love my umbrella).

That fresh feeling at work - offline.

Birganj jaane? – After only waiting for a mere 5 minutes, my Nepali colleague asked me if I wanted to take a truck to the infamous industrial lands of Birganj. Reluctantly, I said yes but after figuring it that it would cut the journey in half and it would be much more comfortable and enjoyable to ride a monster vehicle through the valley, we quickly hitch hiked with the first truck we saw. Apparently, people do it all the time.

Mad cow(s) – nope, not the disease but literally on our way to Birganj we encountered another road block where to bulls were jousting with each other. Just another typical commuting day in Nepal.

Ra RA, malaai Tamang ho!!!! – infiltrated my first Tamsaling bandh rally march with my fellow Tamang people. My first social rights rally ended prematurely when my colleagues burst out of the office gates to pull me out of the crowd (hey Rahkes! Ke garne?!?!?).

It’s the cookies! – Had dinner with my Kenyan and Ugandan colleagues one night and then enjoyed an evening television episode of Untold Stories in the ER. There was one story where a man accompanied by his wife was taken into the ER and was suffering from something that made him delusional and his body was slowly deteriorating. Marveled by American reality television, I noticed that the director of the story unsubtly kept showing us that his wife kept feeding him her “special” homemade cookies (duh?!?). Suffice to say in the end, we discovered that the wife was poisoning her husband with arsenic cookies.

H2O – drinking at least 3-4 litres of water per day and haven’t had the need to do number 1. The water is constantly evaporating from my skin turning it into rubber.

Motorcycle Diaries – Riding in the back of a motorbike to and from Birgunj and Chandranighapur, witnessing a horrific wipe out, getting hit in the face by giant yellow butterflies, getting rained on, battling gusts of wind, letting my mind wonder while taking in the landscape (and quickly coming to when I notice I am about to fall off the bike). I totally understand the allure of riding a motorbike.

Good (hot) times.