Kendra Crowell
Please join me on my adventures, and perhaps misadventures, to Nepal and India.MNwanderer
Travel Blog Posts
November 19th 2008
Sorry for the delayed update; there have been many adventures, and unfortunately misadventures, since my last blog so it's about time everyone knows about my happenings and whereabouts. I guess I'll go with a chronological order of events: After the termination of festivals, it was time to settle into a routine for at least a couple of weeks, that is, until the next festival occured. I was looking forward to spending some quality time with the children at the orphanage assisting with english lessons during their evening studies and exploring more of Kathmandu valley during the day. I met up with my friend whom I had travelled to Pokhara and Chitwan with as it was drawing near to her departure from Nepal and we decided to explore the valley village of Bhaktapur. After a leisurely morning ... read more
October 30th 2008
Happy Tihar! Yes, you're not mistaken, it is once again festival time in Nepal. Hindu's Tihar, also known as festival of lights, resembles Christmas for Christians. People decorate their homes with marigold garlands and lights as well as create elaborate sidewalk designs made of tika powder and colored rice in front of their doorways in hopes that Laksmi, the goddess of wealth, will pay them a visit. I joined the children of the orphanage as they walked from house to house, singing and dancing, dressed in their finest attair. They hold out a bag for receiving a gift of money and sweets (Halloween without the scare). I recently travelled to Pokhara and Chitwan, finally getting a chance to see more of what Nepal has to offer, apart from Kathmandu valley! The bus ride from KTM to ... read more
October 20th 2008
After a week of intense meditation, body contortion, and relaxation, you'd think I'd have transformed into some higher being. Well, that's actually not true at all. While I enjoyed some solitude, gained some body/mind awareness, and became slightly more flexible, my experience at the yoga center was one that won't happen again while I'm here. I can see the benefits of attending a yoga retreat if you may have just finished school, or are stressed from a job, or just want to escape your current hectic lifestyle. I. on the otherhand, was already quite relaxed from being in Nepal for 3 weeks during a festival where everyone goes home and the city shuts down, had some peace at the otherwise chaotic orphanage, and hadn't met many travellers due to not being in the "tourist/foreigner" part of ... read more
October 10th 2008
Happy Dashain! Yesterday was the ninth day of Dashain festival here which means there was lots of killing with equal amounts of joy. Just in Kathmandu Durbar Square alone, a compacted area of religious temples and hundreds of tourists, there was a public sacrifice showing of about 100 goats, 10 bison, and countless ducks. I chose not to participate in the viewing of bloodshed and am happy with my decision as seeing and smelling the aftermath is plenty enough cultural experience for me. However, I joined the director of the orphanage's family at their home, along with the remaining 10 kids that didn't return to their homes to celebrate the festival. There I was invited to partake in the "tika" ceremony, where the elders of the household bless everyone younger by throwing marigold flower petals on ... read more
October 5th 2008
Dust in my eyes, nasal drip into my throat, and an unsettling feeling in my gut that comes and goes, these have become minute annoyences that may have bothered me two weeks ago, but now I am redirected to focus on the many beautiful aspects of this amazing place. I am becoming more and more familiar with my surroundings as each day passes, and am beginning to enjoy the endless chaos and madness that is Kathmandu. The next 15 days marks one of Nepal's most important festivals of the year, Dashain. People travel many miles to reunite with families, businesses close, roadways empty, and the constant eating begins. I am told that a sacrifice of a goat, buffalo, or chicken takes place around the third day and the blood of the animal is scattered over cars, ... read more
September 29th 2008
Namaste! After the torturous flight length, I'm relieved that my feet are finally touching soil...well, dirt, garbage, and whatever else that may be on the ground here in Kathmandu. I arrived into Tribhuvan international airport last Wednesday around 6pm not knowing what to expect. I departed the plane onto the tarmac being one of only a handful of caucasions and was herded into the airport to begin the entrance process. The sight of my first Nepal experience is hard to describe. Minimal lighting, signs that didn't direct anything, lines that had no order, bathrooms with no working water and smells not worth explaining, and a humidity so thick I could ring the sweat out of my shirt. I made it through the chaos of VISA entry, customs and retrieving my luggage only to find even more ... read more
September 23rd 2008
A word on airports. Usually a place full of continuous commotion- people coming and going (some walking casually to get to their destination, others running franticly), announcers trying to pronounce, rather butcher, names of travelers in need of seeing the attendant at the podium for some kind of pertinent information, the roar of planes taking off and landing in the background...that is, until the airport empties. It doesn't close down for the night(even though 99% of the employees are done for the day), but it definitely empties quickly. However, there is always the occational announcement to keep track of your bags, a security guard or two strolling down the empty terminal, janitors cleaning bathrooms and shining floors, and the few travelers, like myself, who are stuck spending the night in the airport. So here I am, ... read more
Tot: 0.069s; Tpl: 0.002s; cc: 6; qc: 70; dbt: 0.044s; 1; s:notus w:www (50.28.61.183); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.6mb
