The Ashram life for me.

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It’s so wonderful here that it’s almost pointless in my trying to explain, but you know me, I’ll try anyway.

First, getting here.

I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of my Guru between 1 and 2 as planned and eventually in walked a very good looking man of about 38ish in long robes. Sure enough, it was him. He then looked at my bags and said that he had come by motor bike. I said that he must be joking to which he replied, “Yes”. I breathed an audible sigh of relief. After a few minutes he said, “Yes, I am on a motorbike”. He was serious! He then went on to tell me that we probably could manage.

Now picture this, me, a huge orange suit case, a backpack with laptop etc, a shoulder bag, a handbag, a sleeping bag and a boomerang shaped travel pillow all on the back of a motorbike for 1 1/2 hours. Now come on!!! Firstly, as Toby would know, I am hopeless on a motorbike and hold on so tightly that it’s almost indecent, secondly, where would it all fit? It would be like that ad on T.V. for Mutual Community I think it is. “Well, me body went this way and me suitcase went that way”.

So I got a taxi which followed the motor bike and we all arrived in one piece. What a funny start.

The taxi was very hesitant about the last part of the trip as it was up a very steep, very rutted, very slippery road, but we made it, or I thought we had. We then had a steep walk up beautiful little pathways, you can see the pictures.

Guru ji went up a path on his motorbike and I followed with a couple of skinny young women carrying all my bags on their heads. Incredible.

At the ashram at last. It’s very modest but so calm and so beautiful I can’t imagine how it could be better. Well, perhaps without some of the wild life that I was to later encounter!

My room is in a separate block from the actual ashram and quite spacious. The bathroom does have a funny smell though and the floor is always wet. On closer inspection, water seemed to be dripping all the time. But when I looked up, there was no place that water could possibly be coming from. Then I realised that the water was popping up, out of the concrete. Work that one out.

The people here are the best I have ever met anywhere. There are three young swarmis dressed or half dressed in there orange robes, my gorgeous guru, an old swarmi they call grandfather, a young girl rescued from her horrid step grandmother and three older men who are cooks, gardeners, cow keepers etc. A variety of people seem to pop in from nowhere from time to time, just to eat or chat including a lot of the local children. All are welcomed with warmth and genuine affection.

The day I arrived was the first of their month (they have a different calendar to us altogether, in fact it’s about 2058) and that is when all the children are honoured. They all come and were given food money and a blessing and the guru bowed to their feet. It was wonderful. I read them all a story which they loved, gave each of them a clip on koala or kangaroo key ring and when they left they all blew me kisses and invited me to their houses. What a perfect start to my stay.

I slept well that first night as it is cooler than Kathmandu and quieter too, apart from what I call the chainsaw insects. It really does sound like trees are being felled, better than the dogs at Boudha though.

The next morning I managed to get up at 5 but instead of going to meditation, I went with the cow man to help milk the cow. I have always wanted to try this so off I went. The barn has what I would call a teenage cow, a pregnant cow and a mother (the milker) and calf. The barn was warm as there was a small pile of wood burning to boil the milk, the cows were feeding and the soft morning light was filtering in through the window and I was milking my first cow. Oh boy, I loved it - back to nature. Then 20 minutes later I was drinking what I had milked. I think there is a country girl in my waiting to get out.

My second night’s sleep was a bit disturbed. At about 2.a.m. I was awoken by a scratching noise coming from my suitcase. On went the light and I could actually see the unzipped lid moving up and down. Luckily my laptop was on top of whatever was in there so it couldn’t get out. But what to do? It was the middle of the night, there was a snake that we had seen earlier in the main part of the ashram, I had nowhere to go!!! I went back to my case and just then a long be-whiskered nose pocked out and I screamed. That woke the swarmi next door to me who came to see what was wrong. By this time the rat was running around my room, then shot out of the door and into the garden. I tried to act calm but was mortified. I went to bed shaking and not knowing what to do. I loved this place but didn’t know how I could cope with my night-time companions.

The next night I was woken by two rats having a bit of a squealing fight on their way out under the gap of my door. I sat up, swore and went back to sleep. At least they had left. I now have two very large mats outside my door that fills the gap wonderfully. A bucket is placed over the drain hole in the bathroom and last night, no visitors.

Well, that’s not quite true. I had to call Guruji last night to get a huge black spider out of my room and then another in the bathroom. I think that I am being tested in some way. But I also feel that I am winning! And despite all of this I know that I will come back here again, I love it so much. (But perhaps I will bring some Rat Sack next time!)

My day starts at about 5.a.m. with an hours meditation. I am not very good at this partly because I am a novice and partly due to my hips killing me when I sit cross legged. I tend to change positions a few times, but I am getting better and time flies. Then I have about an hour and a half of yoga which I really enjoy. It is all coming back to me from doing yoga years ago. And surprisingly I can still do most of the positions quite well. Then I shower and chill out a bit, have a small breakfast then sit and read some books that the swarmis have suggested or we just sit around and talk - about everything and anything.

These people are highly intelligent and can talk about anything. They are beginning to feel like a family. I was worried at first that everything would be really serious but they have a wicked sense of humour and we laugh so much, I really feel at home.

This morning after yoga I went into the kitchen and made them all a huge fruit salad, I had been into the village to buy some fruit the previous day. They loved it and I am so happy to do something for them.

This afternoon I taught them all Uno. They laughed so much and tried to cheat and look at each other’s cards just like anyone else. In fact I left them to it so that I could type this up and there laughter coming in my bedroom window is a delight. As you can probably tell, it’s going to be really hard leaving this little piece of heaven.

A few days later.
Well I didn’t leave! I love this place so much and a week was just not long enough for me. I am getting into the whole philosophy of yoga as well as the physical aspect and it suits me perfectly. So I am spending another week here then going to Pokora for however long, then I am going to come back here for another week or so.

I have been to two of the children’s houses so far and they make me feel like an honoured guest. Sarbeswor (see pictures) tidied his one room house for me, picked a peach and a cucumber, washed and then cut them up and presented them to me. He showed me his goats that sleep in the one room with them all at night and then I had to climb further up the hill to meet his grandfather and see the cow, which he was very proud of. A lovely boy, a real little gentleman.

Then I had to go to Sabina’s house(more pictures). Her's is a little bigger than Sarbeswor’, still all dirt floors but with two small rooms upstairs. Her mother made me tea and noodles and two female relations joined us. They love having photos taken and Sabina’s mum and her sister even changed into their Sunday best. I now have to get the photos printed for them as they seem to collect photos taken by visitors from the ashram. A lovely experience with such warm and friendly people.


Sorry that the photos are all muddled up although it probably bothers me more than you. They are all in order in my file then when I upload them, they all mix up again.

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