Blogs from Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, Asia - page 2

The flight time from Dubai to Kathmandu is about 5 hours so I decided to splurge an extra $60 for a front row seat with lots of leg room (both ways). It is amazing how few people are willing to pay a few dollars for a little comfort on generally uncomfortable aircraft. Total cost at this time of the year is $400 return, this is the only good thing about living in Dubai. I cruised through the airport so quickly that my hotel transfer had not yet arrived, so we had to wait for about ten minutes in the muggy evening heat, I pack extremely light these days with one 35 litre backpack which makes quick airport access and exit assured. We arrived at the hotel, confirmed some arrangements for the next day and got to ... read more

Le temps passe vite ! Après être restés 2 jours de plus à pokhara après le treck, nous nous sommes dirigés vers un petit bled dans la montagne, Bandipur. Nous y avons passé 3 jours tranquilles, à visiter une grotte très sympa à la frontale, marcher dans la forêt, monter voir les couchers de soleil aux sommets,.. Nous avons rencontré un français, Jean, venu au Népal avec son aile de parapente. Et oui au Népal, entre les trecks en montagne, le rafting, le parapente,.. C'est le pays du sport extrême ! Après Bandipur, nous avons été passer une semaine à Nagarkot. Nous vivions dans une famille dans une ferme entre les montagnes ( on pense qu'on a vu l'Everest, mais rien n'est moins sûr..). Quentin leur a coupé du bambou, construit des rambardes, une protection a ... read more

I hate to say it, but Nepal could use a good scrubbing. It's awash in plastic bottles, bags , bits of detritus and organic waste that just seems to accumulate in large piles outside of houses and shops, or wherever two or three are gathered to wait for the bus. I've been reluctant to write about this because I didn't want to insult my Nepali hosts, who were more than kind to me during my sojourn there. But the fact is, the country is a mess. What struck me most during the month I was there volunteer teaching at Kathmandu University, was that no one except for us westerners seemed at all fazed by the situation. It's not even on most people's radar. For my part, I spent a lot of time mulling the situation over. ... read more

It looms over the highway that runs from Kathmandu to Dhulikhel, a giant bronze replica of Shiva who, along with Brahma and Vishnu, is one of the triumvirate of deities in the Hindu pantheon. He holds a trident in his left hand, his right hand is raised in a gesture of blessing, and a cobra encircles his neck, poised to strike. At 143 feet, Nepal's Kailashnath Mahadev is the world's largest monument to Shiva, god of destruction and transformation, patron of yoga and artistic expression. Commissioned in 2004 by Indian businessman Kamal Jain, it took a team of artisans and engineers seven years to build. Today it towers over another of Jain's far flung enterprises, the Hilltake Health Spa and Hotel. The statue was pointed out to me by my Nepali hosts on my first day ... read more

(The postings on this site are mine alone, and do not necessarily represent the position or values of Action Against Hunger.) Coming back to Nepal, two and a half years after my first visit, I was both excited and conflicted. While my assignment and the context for my return were fundamentally different this second time around, I felt a similar level of euphoric anticipation as my ears popped, landing into the mountainous city of Kathmandu. Yet this time, I wasn’t here to study post-conflict peace building processes as part of a fellowship field visit; but rather to observe first hand Action Against Hunger’s relief efforts in the country since the devastating earthquake ravaged the beautiful Himalayan nation just three months ago. Having been part of an emergency response team with another humanitarian organization in the past– ... read more