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Christmas
in Nepal I caught the travel bug way back in 1986 when I joined an Encounter Overland Trip to Nepal. The sky was crystal clear the day I flew over the Himalayas to land in Kathmandu. The trip from Karachi in a small 20 seater plane was hair-raising but well worth the experience. The first 4 days were spent sightseeing in and around Kathmandu. There are 3 Durbar (or palace) squares in the Kathmandu Valley - one in Kathmandu, one in Patan and one in Baktaphur. The shops in the centre of Kathmandu Durbar Square are in the same design as the temples and built mainly of wood with beautiful carvings on the struts. People sitting on the floor sell fruit and veg. A stone lion stands at the door way to the Kumari's house (the Kumari Devi is the living Goddess). There is a very special ceremony where a 5-year-old girl is chosen to be the living Goddess; she remains the Goddess until puberty and then another girl is chosen. I stayed in a lovely little guesthouse in the Thamel district of Kathmandu, in one of the more modern squares. Flags form a passageway for Lord Buddha to reach his temple. Next day I hired a bike and rode the 9 miles to Baktaphur. It was the only city in the Kathmandu Valley which had not been altered by Western influence. On the way back I stopped at Pashupatinath temple. This is a famous Hindu Temple at the side of the Bagmati River, which is a holy river like the Ganges and, like Varinasi in India, there is a burning ghat where bodies are cremated. All the Hindus in Nepal make a pilgrimage to this temple at least once in their lives. I could only see the outside of the temple, which had an ornate golden roof, as it was off limits to non-Hindus. Five days after arriving in Kathmandu, I set off on the trekking trip with a group of 10 people from around the world. Although it is now 17 years since the trip I can still picture Tar and Deb from America, Erica from Germany, Otto from Holland, Karl and Han from Norway, Julie from Australia. There were others whom I have now forgotten. We caught the bus to Pokhara. Luckily it was a private bus as the local ones only tended to leave when they were full, even if that was the next day! We camped by Phewa lake which was either very shallow or the horses I saw could walk on water! Next morning we started our trek, first along a dry riverbed, then up the hill through the terraces. On reaching the halfway point, I was amazed to find a teashop selling Coca-Cola! We camped on very narrow ledges on our way up through the Annapurna range. At 8,000ft we came to what looked like an enchanted forest, but it was only frost covering the moss on the trees. As we continued our climb the weather got colder; soon, everywhere was white with snow. As we were now above the low clouds, it made it difficult to see where the snow ended and the clouds began. At 12,000ft we set up camp on the ridge overlooking Machhapuchhre, also known as the fish tail mountain. The sunset was fantastic, even if it was -10 degrees Celsius. Machhapuchhre is 23,000ft high, and is the only mountain in the Himalayas that cannot officially be climbed, as it is a sacred mountain. On the way back to Pokhara we headed down through the Seti Kola Valley and over a few very narrow rope bridges. We saw lots of villages and even sheltered from the rain in a school where the children sang ‘Old MacDonald had a Yak’, a version I had never heard before!
On arriving back in Kathmandu I had a few days rest before going on the white water rafting trip. The first day I walked to Swyanubanath where I climbed the 150 steps to see the Stupa and Buddhist Monastery. On either side of the gate are rows of prayer wheels, which devotees spin in order to take their prayers to Buddha. The temple at the top was swarming with monkeys fed by the devotees, as they believed the animals may be their loved ones who had come back. The next day was Christmas Eve, which I spent in Kathmandu with newfound friends. On the evening we went for a meal and had a visit from Santa. When I woke in the morning I thought I heard Bing Crosby singing ‘I’m dreaming of a white Christmas’. But no, it was the owners of the guesthouse playing tapes to try and make us feel at home. They even wrapped white toilet roll round the trees to make it look like snow. I spent most of the day thinking about my family back home and wondering what they were doing. In the evening we went to a barbecue. It was the first time I had ever eaten water buffalo and goat. On Boxing Day I set off with another group of 8 people white water rafting down the Trisuli River. It was a fantastic experience, which I could repeat over and over again. There were a few dangerous moments when the raft got stuck in sinkholes and turned over by the rapids. In the evening we camped at the side of the river on white sandy beaches. Even though we tried to be imaginative with the meals, everything tended to end up as a stir-fry with sand! On New Year’s Eve we arrived at Chitwan National Park, where we camped for 3 nights. Our Nepalese hosts introduced us to Nepalese Stick Dancing, famous international songs such as ‘On Ilkley Moor bah tat’ and toasting in the New Year around the world, which involved having a drink every time it was midnight in a country somewhere - needless to say, I didn't get all the way round the world. The return journey to England was even more fun as my flight was cancelled and I ended up travelling over the border into India on my own and trying to get a flight home from there. It took me 4 days, but that is another story! This was the first time I had ever travelled on my own and been abroad so that in itself was a major experience, but it is one I would recommend to everyone. I have met lots of people who have thought I was mad doing such dangerous things and others who have said “Oh, how sad having to go on your own”. Well, if I can’t find someone to go with me, I go on my own - and I can’t think of anything sadder than sitting at home getting depressed because I have no one to go on holiday with! You only live life once, so get out there and live it. There are so many wonderful places to see and adventures to experience that it would be impossible to do them all, but it is never too late to start. First published in VISA issue 55 (March 2004) |