The Road to Nepal

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‘I LOVE TO HAVE FUN. I LOVE MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS. I LOVE THIS BEAUTIFUL PLANET EARTH. THE REASON WHY I CHOOSE THIS CAR IS BECAUSE IT WILL TOTALLY SATISFY MY REQUIREMENTS FOR OUTDOOR LIVING. WELL.... TOMORROW, WHERE SHALL WE GO?’ Classic 4WD sticker art before we left Tibet....

We’re back in the land famous for its landscapes, hospitable locals, singing bowls, monkeys and handcrafts. While the Mountains are magnificent and one of the reasons tourism is thriving here, the Nepalese do not share our passions for trekking up them!

We’re sitting in a garden in Kathmandu at a guest house owned by a French man. It’s a gorgeous day to be alive. Aiden: “I’d like to have next life as a cat”. “You aren’t coming back” Cal replied. “You’ve already been everything else. Human is your last life”! Aiden: “If I can remember being a cat.... I’ll be happy”. Much later in the day: “I sometimes think I’d like the sun to stay up so I could just keep playing” (Aiden). The lady at the ice cream shop and the resident cat remembered us from last year.

Mark discovered (at this point in his life) the best coffee he has ever tasted, with second place being a long way behind. We found it in the best way possible.... by accident while sitting down to a street meal for breakfast.

The Chai Lady sat under a tarpaulin on the side of the street with a few makeshift seats that were a recycling campaigner’s dream of spare parts. She started to grind up coffee beans (not a common sight in this part of the world) in a small chai glass with a spoon.

The smell of coffee was too hard for Mark to resist. It was made how they like to make chai over here.... that is with much sugar, a few spices and that extra special something (chai mantra) which they will never reveal. We visited this breakfast spot for good dhal and drinks for the rest of our days in Kathmandu.

The locals are certainly living a festival. There is never a shortage of something to celebrate. We’re in town for Divali, the festival of light. Candles, sand mandalas and flowers decorate doorways and streets. The air is full of the joyful songs of children. I shopped for wool and raw silk to complement the knitting needles for Jadan School we were carrying in our packs. Many inspiring artists were patiently perfecting their crafts.

Our first attempt to apply for an Indian visa from Kathmandu was successful! Take note to go early if you intend to apply for an Indian visa here. The Chinese people did not have such an easy time of it as they required a more detailed list of prerequisites’, including a return flight ticket indicating they would be flying back from India.

We enjoyed the company of many interesting characters while waiting for the visa paperwork submission. One inspiring family with two children are currently taking a year or so out of their 9-5 lives, to drive from Spain to Australia in their campervan.

We also highly recommend celebrating the successful visa application with a meal at OR2K (meaning ‘Light to Kathmandu’), a fabulous Middle Eastern Vegetarian Restaurant in Kathmandu. The handwritten menu, delicious food, friendly staff, simple decor, low lighting, music and overall ambience (sometimes including a drunken foreigner doing a bit of tabletop dancing) have created this masterpiece.

With the famous Buddha eyes watching us during our meanderings in Nepal, I’m reminded of one of His teachings: “Your work is to discover your world and then with your whole heart give yourself to it”.

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