October is for exploring...

So... as I mentioned before, October is THE month for holidays/festivals in Nepal. Something else I noticed? October is high season for the tourists. Which means they are everywhere. Having spent the last week going back and forth between Patan and Thamel (not that close of a distance, but when you've got friends either staying there or working there or meeting up for dinner there, it's hard to say no), I'm definitely over the tourists overrunning the city and the country.

It's been a busy time here in KTM for me lately. Work has definitely picked up, which I'm very excited about. It looks like November could be just as busy, but with no holidays. :) Aside from work, I've been having a lot of fun seeing a little more of the KTM valley area.

Yogi, a coworker of mine, took a bunch of us on a great day hike near his hometown of Bhaktapur (you might have heard about this town in the news because of the recently picked Living Goddess). It was a fun, easy hike with great views of the valley and yay - mountain views! It was nice to get outside and hike and not breathe in KTM air. Whenever I leave KTM, I'm always amazed by how noticeable the difference is in the air. KTM is so polluted and everyone's constantly coughing and spitting (ew). You leave KTM and it's like all of a sudden you can breathe easy. It was nice to go with Yogi, though. He's named the hike Hanging Valley, but it's somewhere between Sangaa and Bhaktapur. He's a great guide and I'm trying to convince him to join me on my Mt Everest Base Camp trek in April (as well as you, Seth!). Here's some pics from the hike.

View of the mountains from our snack spot. Look there! In the clouds... those are mountains!


A Nepali woman harvesting.


Rice and the tiered paddies.


Tiered farming.


The valley we hiked through.


I explored Bhaktapur and Bhaktapur Durbar Square a different day with Natalie, Sam, and Luke (3 Australian friends - Nat and Sam are in Hetauda and Luke was visiting them and came for a trek). Now that I've seen all 3 Durbar Squares (Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur), I have to say that Bhaktapur's is very nice. It's really clean and quiet (or at least more quiet). I love Patan Durbar Square just because it's always bustling with people and it's fun to just people watch there. The four of us were undecided on if we should pay the 750 NRS (approx. $10) or sneak in, but then our crazy taxi driver dropped us right in front of the gate and so there was no chance to sneak in. However, I did get a marriage proposal. A guide who wanted us to use him told me I look Nepali (never gets old, does it?) and that I should "make Nepalese marriage". Luke, being the funny guy he is, asked the guy if he meant I should marry him. Thanks, Luke. And the guide said that he would, but he is too poor to offer me anything... implying that if we paid him to be our guide he'd have enough to marry me. Awesome. Sadly, I am unable to "make Nepalese marriage" since I've already got Gordon back home. Obviously, we chose to do without a guide and left my Nepali would-be fiance back at the main gate. :)

Bhaktapur Durbar Square is a great place for photos. Lots of really cool architecture and locals running around doing their thing. Since it's so frequented by tourists (told you... high season, folks), the locals now charge 2 NRS if they see you taking pictures of them. Sam and I discussed the fairness of this and I guess he's right. Would I want randoms taking pictures of me everyday and all day long? I'd probably ask for cash money, too, if people wanted to take pictures of me all the time while I'm just trying to work or something. Or... you can take photos of people while they aren't paying attention, which is what I chose to do because I don't want them to pose or smile at me. So here's some photos of Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

A woman organizing her pottery to sell.


View of Taumadhi Tole with the tallest temple in Nepal - Nyatapola Temple (left).


I think this might be the Siddhi Laxmi Temple with statues of animals along the steps.


A building along Bhaktapur Durbar Square.


A cool statue outside of the National Art Gallery.


Pottery in Potter's Square - these are actually piggy banks.


Women in Potter's Square.


Enjoy... next post will be about Tihar or 3 days of lights and fireworks. :)

Out of the Valley

So a few weeks ago (I know… I haven’t posted in a long time) I had my first real chance to get out of Kathmandu Valley and see the real Nepal. I don’t consider Kathmandu to be “real” Nepal because as it’s the capital it’s already different from the rest of the country and it’s crazy. And you don’t really have to speak Nepali here because most everyone knows enough English to get by. So my first real chance to see Nepal was this trip to Hetauda. I spent a week in Hetauda (Makwanpur district) attending focus groups and meeting up with local producers and listeners of SSMK and Naya Nepal (another EA Nepal radio program that focuses on the political situation of Nepal and how youth can get involved).

First of all… I loved Hetauda. Since it is out of the valley, it already wins major points with me, but there’s just something about the small town feel to it that I really liked. I liked how everything was centralized and easily findable. There was one or two major crossroads… and all shops, markets, internet cafes, and restaurants were along those main roads. In the Lonely Planet guide for Nepal it says that there’s not much to see in Hetauda (true) and that most people only stop there to change buses (also true). But that can be said for any small town in the states. There’s not a lot of foreigners in Hetauda… you could probably count the number on one hand. And I think that’s another reason why I liked it so much there.

Hetauda was just Nepalis living their lives and going about their daily routine. There’s not a pack of tourists roaming the streets looking for western food. Kathmandu is full of places trying to accommodate the westerners because every tourist comes through. Hetauda’s not looking to impress the tourists because there aren’t really any.

The trip really drove home the fact that everyone thinks I’m Nepali. Every local I met in Hetauda automatically assumed I was Nepali… and would speak to me instead of to the other girls with me (an Australian who lives in Hetauda and my French roommate… both of whom speak Nepali well). So I spent a lot of the time having other people or myself explaining that I’m not Nepali (Ma Nepali hoina.). It’s kind of cool, though, you know? I don’t really get harassed as much as I did in Uzbekistan. A few Uzbeks mistook me for Uzbek… but my American clothes definitely gave me away. Here, I’ve started a small collection of kurtas (long, light, dress-like shirts) so what gives me away is my lack of Nepali skills… or at least my embarrassment of how little Nepali I know after 1 month or so of living here.

The best part about the trip? The drive to and from Hetauda. From Kathmandu, it is a 4-hour jeep ride driving on curvy, curvy bumpy roads up and down hills. But it’s all through beautiful hills (what we would call mountains… but since they’ve got the Himalayas which they call mountains, you can see why you’d call these mini-mountains hills!). If I was into the whole religion and god thing I would say that this place is God’s country. I mean everywhere you look is just so beautiful and amazing. Unfortunately… I didn’t take many pictures (or any really at all). I went back to Kathmandu alone… in a jeep full of Nepali men. After living in Uzbekistan and suffering through some roadtrips with sketchy Uzbek men, I’m wary of traveling with all men and drawing more attention to myself by breaking out my camera and acting like a tourist. So I didn’t take out my camera (sorry… but I’m already planning another trip to Hetauda anyway, so I’ll get pictures from that trip).

The trip to Hetauda was just what I needed. After a month of settling in to my new life here and getting over jet lag, sickness (stomach and flu/cold), and just getting used to Kathmandu, a trip out of the valley completely rejuvenated me. I’m much happier (which my roommates have noticed) and am finally ready to enjoy my time here. I’ve been promised at work that I’ll have more field visits… if it’s anything like this trip to Hetauda, I already love my job and my life here. :)

To Tide You Over...

So I just got back from the field (Hetauda) and am working on my post about it... until then, here's some pictures to look at from around KTM. :)

Patan Durbar Square (about a 10 minute walk from my house)



My new room (Libby's old room - THANKS!)





My pets: Everest and Annapurna


Swayambunath - the Monkey Temple


A monkey at Swayambunath



Views of KTM valley from Swayambunath (it must look awesome on a sunny day!)






Sleeping God Statue in Balaju Park

Photos around the house and KTM

Sushil Villa (seriously, that's the name of the place... it even says so on the house!)

The living room and breakfast table.


The back garden. This place is seriously unbelievable. It's way different from my great apartment in Jizzakh.


A view of KTM from the Hash hike.


The hills surrounding KTM.


Saw this kid sitting in the window of his house. The other picture I took of this is at the top of my blog.