Heenali

I have decided to write a quick entry about the travel in this country, because sometimes it is just so annoying, and I think you should all be aware of this!!! Talking to people who have been traveling around Asia, I have been given the general impression that travelling in India is the worst experience of all- I think travelling in South Nepal must come pretty close to being just as bad!!! When I was done in Lumbini, I had to get a bus back to Kathmandu, which should be a relatively simple affair. We boarded a tourist bus, which was more like a local bus, seeing as it was completely overcrowded and full of Nepalis/Indians. We sat there in the heat for about 6 hours, thinking we were getting somewhere, until the bus driver stopped ... read more

So, next we went south- right down south to just a few kilometres from the Indian border. As you can probably imagine, it was BOILING hot!!! I don't know how people in India can stand it! Most people who I had spoken to had said that Lumbini is a fairly empty and non-descript place, which I guess in one way is quite true. The village itself is just like any other village, and there's really not much to point it out as being the birthplace of Buddha. The main attraction in Lumbini is 'The Sacred Garden', an area that has been renovated to commemorate the exact birthplace of Gautama the Buddha. As a garden, it is very beautiful, quiet and well-kept; but the feature that I enjoyed about it the most was it's symbolic significance. In ... read more

Hello everyone! I've had quite a busy week so I have three new blogs lined up for you all! Having put myself through a great deal of mental and physical exertion in the past month, I decided to take a little break in the holiday city of Nepal: Pokhara. It's such a beautiful place- it made me realise how disgusting Kathmandu is in comparison!!! In Pokhara, there is a huge lake called Phewa Tal, surrounded by the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas. Early in the morning, you can clearly see all the peaks around- its just so beautiful! Not only is the scenery great, but there are many restaurants, and the water is clear (the water in Kathmandu is yellow)!!! So was really nice and relaxing. On the first day, me and Roshina decided to go ... read more

Hello everyone!! I just realised that the blog I wrote after meditation never got published! I am publishing it now, so sorry for the delay!! Anyway, after meditation, I went trekking on a trail called Langtang! It was sooo beautiful, but really tiring. I started out at a little village called Syabru Besi, and basically followed the trail up to the Himalayas from there. It took three days for me to reach my final destination, Kyanjing Gumpa, a village in the middle of the mountains, with the most amazing views. It was excellent but at points, my legs felt like they were hanging by a string! We had to ascend about 1000m a day, so there was alot of climbing, and we'd walk for maybe 7 or 8 hours a day- which is really something for ... read more

Hey everyone! Just wanted to write a quick one to let you know what I have been doing. To be honest, the title really says it all! For the past half a month, I have been living the life of a Buddhist nun (except for the shaved hair). It was brilliant. I was living in a meditation centre, where you meditate for almost 11 hours everyday, waking up a 4 in the morning! there was no talking, no reading and no writing. It was extremely difficult, as I hardly got any sleep- the thing i slept on resembled an abnormally flat rock more than a bed! But I have learnt so much!! The centre was called Vipassana Meditation Centre, and I fully recommend it for anybody who wants to learn how to lead a more peaceful ... read more

Hello everybody!! Just to give you an update on my activities here in Nepal! Last weekend I went to 'Chitwan National Park'- a huge wildlife reserve. It's quite far away from where I live- about 7 hours, so the bus journey itself was like an adventure! When I arrived in Chitwan, I went to a resort called Rainbow Safari Resort- it was really nice, with little cottages with thatched roofs- no electricity, but then I think in Nepal thats a fairly normal thing!!! Anyway, the next day, we went on a canoe ride down the river Rapti, that runs through the park. It was very peaceful, as it was dawn, and we saw a gardial- a type of crocodile. We also saw many birds. It was nice to just be in nature, especially after being in ... read more

Hey again! I have a little bit of extra time, so thought I would write a little about some of the students I have met at Snowland. Karma Lhamo- a cute little girl! She has a bright red hat which she wears alot, but it has a hole at the top. She doesn't have any hair (because of lice), so it looks really funny- it's very endearing. She loves writing- sometimes I give her words like 'apple' and 'grasshopper' etc, and she will literally spend hours writing them out on a piece of paper! I am also proud of the fact that I taught her the word 'thumb'! There are loads of little children at Snowland who love singing and playing in the playground. They love making things as well, like bracelets out of dried leaves. ... read more

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've written in here, although I haven't really done anything very exciting in the past couple of weeks. I thought I might just write about two festivals that took place here! Shivaraatri, Lord Shiva's birthday, took place at the beginning of the month. Its really nice because everyone lights bonfires and sits around it together. In Pashupathi, an area where there are loads of temples dedicated to Pashupath, a form of Lord Shiva, there is a huge celebration. Although apparently it gets quite dangerous, as all the holy men start to drink and smoke, so I didnt go! During the night, we went to a nursery nearby our home and just sat by a fire eating dried noodles- it was great! Another tradition on Shivaraatri, which is one ... read more

Hey everyone! This weekend was brilliant, as I went white water river rafting on the Trisuli River! I'm not completely sure what area,as we rafted about 40km in total, so just put the Himalayas... On Saturday, about 20 of us made our way to the shores of the Trisuli River to begin our adventure. We were all given a paddle and equipment, and given a brief about how to raft, and so got into the little rafting boats and started! First of all, the rapids were really gentle, so there was plenty of time to admire the beautiful scenery! There were green hills, and you could see little villages- so nice to see these things whilst floating down the river. The rapids then became Grade 3 (grade 6 is the most difficult grade to raft- in ... read more

Hello again! Wasn't planning on writing today, but have a little extra time on this ridiculously slow computer! life here is generally very good. There is a shortage of everything, but I'm getting used to it!! School is also going well, although the exams are coming up, so everyone is always studying hard. This weekend I went to the cinema to watch a Nepali horror film called Kagbeni- the sound was so loud (they have make it loud to cover up all the phone calls people get during the movie) so it was quite scary! On Sunday, I also went to Bouddha; there is a Buddhist stupa there. The great thing was that there are not vehicles there, so no hooting! It was lovely- definitely my favourie place in Kathmandu so far. Anyway, that's all for ... read more