Hey from the village

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Hey guys

Well I’m hoping to improve on my spelling and grammar from my last blog. It was pretty terrible.

It has been an interesting week since I last wrote. We have done a lot of sightseeing around the Kathmandu area, and have moved into a village.

Last Friday we completed a 7 hour walk up a steep hill to see the Namobudda. It was a real killer and to find the budda was only a 30cm statue really sucked. But the views and scenery on the walk up were nice, but hardly worth it for the effort. Yes dad I know I’m cynical.

On Sunday we moved to our first village where we will live for 10 days. The house I am staying in is basic but clean. We have running water (from a tank) and electricity. We eat Dhal Bhaat (rice with soup) for breakfast and dinner. When I leave here I am never eating rice again. The village (Duwakot) is small with only 3 small shops, but the people are friendly and there are a number of nice walks in the area.

Monday and Tuesday were filled with language classes, and I’m not getting any better.

Wednesday we headed into town to see the historical sights on Kathmandu. We visited the Hindu temple of Pashupati, which we weren’t allowed into, but we were able to walk around the surrounding area. The place was dirty and full of rubbish. We watched a body being cremated on the edge of a river (so the ashes could be pushed into the river) which was cool but gross at the same time. Considering we were breathing in the smoke of a dead body, but ohh well.

We then went to visit Bouddhanath, which was beautiful monument (if you can call it that). The area was clean and well looked after. There were shops surrounding the Bouda where you could by souvenirs. Hopefully I can upload some photos but they take so long I’m not sure.

We then went back into Thamel to complete last minute shopping and stuff.

Thursday we walked up a hill near our village to visit the Changunarayan Temple, which is the oldest temple in the Kathmandu Valley. It was beautiful and peaceful, and we sat at a roof top restaurant to have lunch. We spent the afternoon looking around the village before heading home.

Friday was filled with more language and cultural training. Boring.

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