THE RESORT

The motel we were staying at was reasonably impressive, for Nepal. Deck chairs, hammocks, good food, and views across the river. The staff were very attentive. After lunch we were driven to see the elephant breeding centre. In the back of an open 4 wheel drive we passed elephants, camels and ox drawn wagons. After driving through what looked like an African village we were taken across a river in a dugout canoe. Here we got up close to about twenty elephants. Most were chained up and as more came out of the jungle carrying logs they were also chained. Our guide explained the chains were only for the couple of hours the tourists are there then they are let off. We saw a pair of young twin elephants, apparently the only ones in Nepal. Back to the motel for dinner and then watching a cultural show, with local boys dancing finished an eventful day.

MAOISTS AND SAFARIS.

Early this morning we set out, accompanied by Tess and Maya, to do something touristy.......a three day safari to Chitwan National Park. We climbed aboard a tourist bus, which gradually filled up until we were squashed into every seat. The Japanese tourist complained because someone was sitting in their numbered seat. None of us, including the driver realised there were numbers. Sure enough there were little numbers painted on the windows so we all shuffled just enough to clear the seats the Japanese were supposed to sit in.

Near Amanda and I were a Spaniard and an American. They started swapping stories about the bus trips they had taken so far in Nepal. The American had photos of the car he had been in which had overturned. He also told us about his bus being held up for an hour by a man in the middle of the road wielding a machete. It turned out later there was a dead body on the road also.....but this didn't seem to explain things.

At one stop a kid climbed aboard. He played a simple instrument and sang. The tourists gave him money. We later worked out if he did 3 or 4 buses a day he would be earning better than the average way for an adult in Nepal. The roads were very rough, the people very poor but the scenery spectacular. So majestic and wild. I decided I like Nepal very much.

After about five hours travel we started to pass large groups of people stopped by the side of the road. They were Indian in appearance and seemed to have clothes spread out everywhere drying on rocks or small bushes. They became more frequent and then we reached a line of traffic stopped and blocking one lane of the road. The other lane was filled with foot traffic, bicycles and the odd bicycle rickshaw.We realized it was a Maoist strike but our driver, although very agitated and worried, overtook the line of traffic weaving through the pedestrians and bicycles. Quickly we had to shuffle around and hide the Nepali passengers. If we were only carrying tourists we might be let through, but if we had Nepalis aboard we would be stopped or the bus damaged or the Nepalis beaten. Westerners sat in the front seats and the window seats. I put my hat on one Nepali's head. The line of trucks, buses and cars stretched for about 15 kilometers. We were the only bus moving. We did get some hostile looks and some arm waving. Four times we were stopped at check points. Three of them had men with rifles and police in riot gear. At each an officer would come and argue with the driver. I would stick my head out the window and wave and smile. They wouldn't wave back and usually didn't acknowledge me but each time they stopped arguing and waved us through. Maybe it was the red shirt I was wearing, or maybe it was the haircut? A few times we stopped and a couple of the Nepalis got out, once we approached another road block with traffic lined up and did a u-turn before getting too close. Then we backtracked and turned down all sorts of back roads and winding lanes, but eventually we got to a dusty paddock they called the bus stop. Here we transferred to a jeep and were taken to our motel. It had been pretty tense and their had been a few worried people on our bus but it all worked out fine.

FANTASTIC!!

Driving back from the monastery the two monks in the front were humming along to the catchy Hindu music. I asked if it was the radio or a CD. When they said it was a CD I asked if they had the cover so I could see what it was called. They ejected the CD so I could read the title. They were a little sheepish as I read out: Romantic Love Tune volume 1.



I arrived back at the Childrens' Home to a very pleasant surprise. The chicken coop had so far been a fiasco. The first American volunteer, John-Luc had started the project.....several times. Each time different and with plans that would rival the Sydney Opera House. Each time I had had to reign him in and draw sketches of a reasonable project which would be achievable. Then despite promises that he wouldn't leave before the coop was finished......he left. There were piles of bamboo and pieces of wire. New volunteers would be dragged into the project and made to trek across town to look at other coops for ideas and to the markets to buy materials. Amanda and I decided to back away from the project, except to help with sketches of ideas or money for materials. When the two new Australian boys, Jude Antcliff and Jono Holland, talked of building the coop we thought maybe it would happen. However when they mentioned movable baskets, then buying double bunks and converting them into coops, and then finally, when they arrived home with a load of old wood I was worried the whole thing would fall in a heap again. However I was wrong! Arriving back from the monastery the two boys, Jono and Jude had done an absolutely wonderful job. With very basic tools and scraps of wood they had worked extremely hard and made a chicken coop to surpass any other in Nepal. I take my hat off to them!


And then the day got better. Jade Holland, Tess, Maya and Amanda had decided to cook an Aussie barbeque for the kids. During the day they had shopped for the food, including a very interesting trip to a Nepal butcher to buy buffalo meat. In the afternoon they made Israeli salad, potato salad and then the boys constructed a makeshift barbie from chicken wire and cooked the meat. Admittedly when it was put in front of the kids they didn't look too happy and were looking around for their rice and screwing their noses up at the charred meat. But once they tried it they loved it and the whole lot disappeared.



Jade and Kristen had made paper pyramids with the kids, under which they placed candles to give a paper lantern effect. The boys mixed up damper and showed the kids how to wind damper on a stick and cook it over the coals, then Jade poured honey down the inside of the finished treats. The kids finished with honey all over their hands and clothes.
Then we all sat around the camp fire singing songs. Kids sat on volunteers' knees and now and then I would feel a little hand feeling my scratchy head or face, or a kid would quietly give you a kiss on the cheek. It was very moving and Chantra, Jodi and the kids were so appreciative.

In the afternoon other visitors, Skye from Singapore and Melo from Slovakia, had donated pillows and games for the kids. And Jean, from Korea bought them apples. I was very appreciative and moved by how giving, how wonderful, and how hard all the volunteers were working to make the kids happy. To me this was the best night of the trip so far.

After leaving the kids we also met Tom Orr from Parkes who had just arrived in Pokhara that evening with his brother.

BACK TO THE MONASTERY FOR A DAY.

I went back to the monastery for a day to give Lama Kunga another English lesson. Jean and Kristy decided to come too and see what the monastery was like. Lama Kunga was rather taken by Jean and I think he has decided to learn Korean instead of English.....though my new haircut was a hit and I think I am still in line for a monks job. Went for another walk up to the Tibet village. Took a photo of a little kid in a chook cage....he cried. I think it was the same kid that cried when Amanda took their picture last time. Also went to prayer meeting in the morning and took photos there. Then a brisk walk after breakfast before getting a lift back to Lakeside. On the walk saw kids playing with what is best described as a wheelbarrow. The wheel was made from one piece of wood and then a handle from a forked stick. One kid pushed while another sat on it. They reached quick speeds going down the hill with a sharp drop beside them.

3RD JANUARY

This morning I set out for a walk to the next village to visit a “children's village” there. It was a warm morning and I was soon taking off my coat. The road was long and winding and I met a Korean lady, Jean who was doing the same walk so we walked along together and chatted. She had just completed a ten day trek and was looking to do some volunteer work.


The road led out of town following Lake Fewa into the countryside. On one side of the road were fisherman and on the other small farms and rising hills. The roadway was generally a single lane and often dirt. Most vehicles were tractors, buses or motor cycles. At the end of the lake was a swampy open area. Here when the lake was low the farmers grow rice and animals graze. The Sherpas bring their horses down to graze for winter and there were numerous buffalo. It seemed to be hay harvesting time and all across the flat land at the end of the lake farmers seemed to be cutting and stacking hay. We stopped at one farm to take pictures. Once we broke the ice with the locals by showing them pictures of themselves there was much laughing and posing for pictures. It made one old farmer's day to get his photo taken with Jean and when the others ribbed him he couldn't get the smile off his face. We took photos of the cattle threshing the hay, the farmers stacking it and loading it onto a truck or carting it off on their backs.



At the village we were met by two Swiss volunteers who we knew from Lakeside and who were now working at the children's village. It is a large orphanage sponsored from Germany and houses 60 orphans. They have a large complex with four separate houses for the orphans, with each house having two house mothers. There is also houses for the volunteers to stay in.

After the visit we kept along the road. There was a small monastery, still being built. There were tents on the roof for sleeping quarters. We also crossed a river feeding into the lake by pulling ourselves across on a small punt or raft. It was beautiful countryside, so quiet, and the people so friendly once you talked to them. We probably walked nearly ten kilometres so caught a local bus back into town. Jean was disappointed that we didn't have to ride on top of the bus.

In the late afternoon we were back up at The Everest Children's home. Amanda had met three Australians (Jude, Johnno, Jade) and an American tourist (Kristen) on New Years eve and we had taken them to the home as they were interested in some volunteer work. Yesterday they moved up into the volunteers' room there. They decided to tackle the chicken coop! After more discussions and drawings they today went to the markets. About 6.30 the two boys and Chandra arrived back with a large load of second-hand timber. In the dark (another blackout) all the volunteers and all the children carted pieces of wood up the steep hill to the home

NEPAL

Nepal is one of the world's smallest and poorest countries. It is 853km long and 225kms wide at its widest(average 160kms wide). It starts at 91metres above sea-level and rises to 8,882 metres. It contains 9 of the world's highest 14 mountains over 7,925 metres, including Everest and Annapurna. Less than a third of the country is suitable for farming.By 2020 the population is expected to be about 34 million. In the 1960s 1 in 3 babies died and the life expectancy was just 29, today life expectancy is over 56.

It was a medieval feudal country up until the ruling Rana government was ousted in 1951. Before this time it wasn't open to tourists or outside visitors. In fact between 1796 and 1950 there are only 130 official visitors to the country recorded. The first group of tourists were in 1955. The country was really opened up in the 1960s by hippies who came for the free drugs and the easy lifestyle. Many lived in Kathmandu in tents, on what is known as Freak Street.

Prithvi Naraya Shah, a king of the House of Gorkha united the country in the second half of the 1700s. There are still older hill people who still do not realise their country is called Nepal.....they thinkj Nepal is a small valley near Kathmandu. Only about 1/5 of the country gets electricity, and these suffer from regulkar blackouts, as we have found out. There is no centralised medical system or public works. However there is very little crime. There is pollution and smog....this comes from cement works, marble quarries and cheap petroland diesel....and causes a lot over dust over everything each day.

Nepal is also the world's only Hindu Kingdom. Hindu, Buddhism and to a lesser extent Christianity all blend together, but religion is very important and seems to permeate through everyday life.

NEW YEAR IN NEPAL

On the last day of the year Tess, the Israeli girl, broke a tooth trying to eat a whole block of chocolate by herself. She set out in search of a dentist and found she needwed root canal work. It would take three or four visits to fix. What would cost thousands of dollars back home was going to cost her a total of about $60 here. This has meant changing some of our plans for next week.....but more chocolate for the rest of us.

That night we went out to a fancier place for dinner.......the Maya pub. Wwe sat on the floor and met some more Australians. It was funny watching the waiter trying to understand our order, especially as Maya and Tess wanted to change every dish......such as no dressing on the salad.

About 9 I headed off for a walk along the street and back home. The street was absolutely packed. At times you couldn't stop but were just carried along by the press of bodies. I arrived back about 9.30 and went to bed to read. About 12.30 I finished the novel I had started that morning. The Israeli girls, who had plnned a big night were in bed by about 10 and Amanda stayed out to see in the New Year with a big contingent of Aussies.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!