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Road work
Much of the labor is done by hand by guys in sandals Happy May Day, a holiday here in Nepal--Labor Day in much of the world. Speaking of holidays, in Nepal their weekend is just Saturday. Sunday is a work day. They do, however, have some 50 plus other holidays as they recognize holidays of almost all the major religions in order to be a pluralistic society. Nice idea.
We left the jungle and drove to Pohkara, a city that is also a major trekking base. The drive took over 6 hours with one 27 km stretch taking three hours as the road is being rebuilt! You have to get on it by 9 a.m. as after that they close it so construction can go on, there is not room for a detour, the road clings to a mountain side and runs along a river gorge. So we banged along a major artery with sometimes buses, trucks, cars, motorcycles four abreast--passing each other whenever possible, and pedestrians making their way on what is clearly going to be a two lane road. Homes and businesses, with families and small children, are nestled between the cliff and the construction.
Arriving in Pohkara dinner was on our own. Our guide, Anup, believed
Eating like a kid
A typical Nepali dish, Da Marcia and me that we wanted to try some authentic Nepali food, and he took us to a small place where we took off our shoes and sat down at a low table to eat Dahl Bat. It consists of a metal plate with rice in the middle surrounded by spinach, spicy potatoes and green beans, pickle (as in warning, hot sauces), and raw vegetables. Accompanying that are bowls of yogurt, lentils, and the meats or veg in hot sauces that you order. You create a base by pouring some lentils on the rice and then add what you want. Stir with the fingers, right hand only, and eat by creating a small ball of the food in your fingers, lift to mouth, push in with thumb. Pleased to note that we both passed the test of not getting any food on the palm of our hands.
Early the next morning we hiked up a mountain to watch the sun rise over the Annapurna mountains from a Buddhist Supra and a Peace Pagoda. The quiet of the place and the brilliance of the sun striking the snow covered peaks was more than worth the early morning climb. One of
the last to come down, I was accompanied by a cheerful young boy from the village. We talked about school, his mother, his house, and then, after taking a picture together, he hit me up for a buck--clever kid.
A trip to the village in Pokhara that was built over 50 years ago to house refugees who fled Tibet with the Dali Lhama was next. Families have lived there for three generations and we watched the handlooming of carpets. That night we had dinner in a home in the refugee area, hosted by the oldest son of an extended family. Living together with him are his parents, his grandmother, his wife and daughter, two brothers, an aunt and uncle. This is often the case here, and it seems to work quite well.
We passed the evening enjoying a home made traditional dinner, used forks, and talking about politics, school, religion, and Bollywood films (those made in India). One striking moment was when one of the brothers talked about how much he learned from watching NPR documentaries that he sees on YouTube. He loves watching American history, learning about Franklin and Jefferson and our Constitution. He finds it, he
Dinner is served
Our hostess with the family dinner says, 'inspirational'. What we take for granted still inspires hope around the world.
Tomorrow we return to Kathmandu, by plane--the poor bus driver who has shuttled us around the country has to drive back.
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