A Volunteer at Naxal Orphanage

Thursday 20 October 2011

2011-10-28T06:21:00.006+01:00

Lukla - Hope you have plenty of time to read this – it is a long one

Alarm went off at 4am, taxi came on time at 4:30 and as no traffic journey that normally took 1hr only took 15 min. Airport was deserted except for some dogs who greeted me – one black lab cross with collar on & 3 brown Nepali type. They escorted me to the terminal where there was posts & tape forming 2 queues and a line & STOP on the concrete in red paint. I ducked under the tape and tried the door – locked, so stood waiting outside it. A man came out shut the door behind him, pointed to the tape & said “Line, Stop” so I went behind the red line!

Two of the dogs came closer barking at the man – they hadn’t barked at me. A truck pulled up, 4 men got out and started unloading bundles of newspapers, the dogs stood between me & the men barking louder, the other 2 dogs came back & also started like mad – Proctecting Me? One even stood right beside me pressing against my leg growling at the men who tried to chase them away but they didn’t leave until the pickup drove away and more passengers arrived to join the queue.

More airport staff arrived & one said ‘airport open 5:30’ – why was I told to get here at 5? Through security & patted down – men in one queue & women in another. First in line so hope to get left hand window seat for view of the mountains - up to check in. Another scan for hand luggage & pat down for passengers before getting to departure area. One flight called then mine – only 3 other passengers on the bus out to the twin engine tin can to find only 4 empty seats – the others were occupied by cardboard boxes, as was the isle- we were on a cargo flight but ok as I got a left hand seat [all window seats as only on either side – about 20 in all]

Offered a tray with boiled sweets & balls of cotton wool – should have taken two as very noisy & ears weren’t right all day. Took off as a red ball was rising in the east. It had been warm when I left the house & while standing outside airport but now it was cold, had to put sweater on leaving terminal.

Very hazy so view when taking off not so good, could make out snowy mountains in distance that became clearer as the sun hit them.

Soon flying between the high hills & approaching Lukla airport – reported as the most dangerous in the world because it is on top of a cliff & is short so goes up hill to slow down the landing speed.

No problem – have had worse landings in England with Ryanair.

As soon as landed were told ‘quick quick’ by stewardess and ushered off and the boxes had been unloaded – there was a queue of passengers waiting at the bottom of the steps and had started getting on before we had walked to the terminal.

By the time we collected our bags it had taken off again back to Kathmandu .

Had been told no need to book a room in advance, but it is start of busy trekking season & when I looked online wasn’t much info about the town or hotels/lodges & those advertised were very expensive so made online reservation to pay by credit card. Had got no reply so got more cash from ATM just in case. Collected my bag & immediately there was a porter asking where I was staying, told him the lodge I’d made booking at and handed over my holdall. As he lead me along a slate paved path I asked him if he knew of a good clean hotel with own bathrooms – he said ‘back there’, turned round, up steps to higher level overlooking runway to Himalaya Lodge.

Followed him into a busy dining room where he spoke to a rather brisk lady in Tibetan clothing after telling me to ‘sit, wait here’. I asked if I could have breakfast, it was now 7:30 & I was famished. Got omelette [must have been made from local eggs laid by free range hens as it tasted like the smell of this town, put black pepper on it & then ok] Hash Browns [potato cakes with lots of garlic – at this time in morning!] Toast, Jam & Coffee.

Place was nice & clean and the toilets VERY clean so I asked about a room. The lady came & said ‘I show you room then you see’. Outside, up some steps behind row of motel style rooms to another row & shown good basic twin room with nice bathroom and very cheap at about £12 a night – asked if she had a room on the front row with view – all that could be seen from this one was the blue corrugated tin roof of the row in front. She said ‘All leaving, cleaning, see later, leave bag here, come back’

So I left my bag slid the bolt on the outside, locked the padlock & went for a walk towards the group of buildings to the right and down the main street, lined with hotels, lodges cafes, bakeries, shops selling trekking gear & souvenirs, internet cafes & even an Irish Bar.

Walked to the far end where the trak dropped downhill & was obviously the main trail out – towards Namche & Everest Base Camp. Saw loads of trekkers wandering about & heading off on their trip with porters carrying their bags, also with huge loads of supplies for other villages higher in the mountains. Bought a double thickness reversible fleece tube with drawstring on one end – a neck warmer of hat with string pulled tight – good idea so got more for presents

Sat out in the sun at a table outside a café, with a pot of Honey Lemon tea, wrote a couple of postcards that will not arrive until well after I get back.

It was cool when I arrived this morning but hot enough for just a t-shirt about 25c.

Walked back along street to a café for coffee & snack then down hill behind to a monastery passing children playing. 2 boys had plastic tigers & were chasing 2 girls making growling noises. Took photo so they chased me too, thought it very funny when I pretended to be frightened.

An opening in the wall surrounding the monastery led to a courtyard, main building in centre surrounded by others along the inside of the wall – some open sided & in one was a group of small boys of about 8yrs playing marbles by catapulting a marble with their fingers with great speed & accuracy.

One of the boys was dressed in the yellow & maroon robe worn by all Buddhist monks

Walked back to the lodge along paths that wound across the hillside, some having dry stone walls either side, passed village houses & farmsteads – meeting and taking photos of children – until I saw an open area with a few market stalls set out on tarpaulins on the ground selling clothing & household wares to locals.

I bought 2 towels [for the kids] from one man after bargaining hard and having a good laugh about still having to pay tourist prices

Read a book in the garden watching more planes take off until it got too cold outside, not a lot warmer in my room – must be mad leaving the heat of Kathmandu - but today was worth coming for, will I still feel the same after a freezing night?

Had to pre-order dinner [charge more for room if don’t eat at hotel!], didn’t know how hungry I would be so ordered a pizza instead of Yak Steak Sizzler for 6pm. Lighting in room wasn’t good enough to read unless used head torch so went to dining room about 5 to read & have a beer until my pizza arrived.

A woman came up to me & asked if I was travelling alone – I had noticed her & thought she was sitting on her own but maybe there was someone with her but behind the pillar – said ‘yes please join me’, introduced ourselves & chatted for a couple of hours. She’s American & left home, job & life beginning of May to travel for a year. Had just got back from Everest Base Camp after travelling in China & Asia and going on to India & Australia. Exchanged emails & will meet again in Kathmandu.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

2011-10-22T15:54:00.005+01:00

A bit later going in to work as sorting out about my flight tickets for tomorrow with Aanand and a local SIM card that he is lending me, after putting the first one he gave me into my phone everything was in German, got language changed but it wouldn’t call or text his phone which was on different network, so he got Anupam to lend me one of his which worked.

Also needed more cash to pay for tickets so got taxi from near the temple where they wait & asked him to take me to ATM & back

Went straight up to the sewing machine to shorten Prem’s new track suit bottoms – no pins or navy thread so went out to buy, got thread but had to manage without pinning the nylon material which was difficult but they looked ok. Kismat didn’t like the length of his denim cutoffs so asked me to shorten them too.
This machine is certainly going to be useful - once we get one of the didi's using it and teaching the girls how to sew & I think some of the boys will be keen to learn

Showed the boys all the pictures I had downloaded & the photos taken at the zoo and they picked which they wanted for their projects. Will get all photos printed ready for when they get back. Only 6p each so even getting 80 printed isn’t going to cost that much

Checked the bathroom & found bits that hadn’t been done right – washbasin loose, no new shower head & drain in floor blocked [probably builders rubbish from digging floor up. Told admin staff about these & they are getting plumber back to fix.

The boys talking to a friend

Monica & Anne had the boys cleaning their bedrooms – washing walls, paintwork & windows as they have ordered new carpet & curtains to be fitted next week. Caught one boy using a towel to polish the windows – told him to wash it quickly before Monica or Anne found out or he wouldn’t be going camping! I will get their bedding washed before they come back & they will have nice rooms that they will then be proud of and want to keep clean & tidy

Wished them a good camping trip & left early to pack my bag for tomorrow and put all my other stuff in suitcase, as they may want to let my room to someone else while I'm away. They said no it’s ok, but may get loads of enquiries!!

Looked online for weather at Lukla – its been sunny & warm but 60% chance of cloud tomorrow & cooler. Just my luck! Went out after dinner with Ajay [our cook] to book taxi to airport for 4:30 tomorrow morning – his brother is one of the drivers so got special deal. They know me now and joke a lot about fares as I refuse to pay ‘tourist price’ & we usually come to a compromise – me getting it a bit cheaper & them still getting more than locals pay. Cant believe that I argue over 200 [£1.65] down to 150 [£1.25] on a fare that would cost 5 times more than that home

Tuesday 18 October 2011

2011-10-19T16:58:00.002+01:00

Bought bucket & toilet brush on way to ‘work’ & went straight into bathroom with cleaning materials to give

it a good clean. A couple of boys came to help, but as soon as I started using bleach on the tiled walls I sent them out before I ruined their clothes with splashes.

I was planning on going straight back to my digs for a shower & change of clothes as soon as I’d finished bathroom as was to go shopping for the sewing machine about 3-4 o’clock. But at 1 pm was getting near end when I was told the lady who as helping me buy the machine would meet me in half hour. I looked dreadful,- filthy, hot, sticky & in clothes that had bleached out pink patches. I used wet wipes to clean up & borrowed a clean t-shirt from one of the boys – an England soccer one- and went with Bijaya from the office to meet Mrs Joshi at the shop.

She had brought a leaflet to the children’s home yesterday with prices on the different models so I could choose which I thought was best – a basic model but it could be adjusted for type of material – they use a fine material for sari’s & khuta’s [traditional ladies outfits] We were given a stool while one of the men got a machine from its box, oiled & put it together then set it into a table on cast iron frame.

I tried it out, so strange making the treadle work after using an electric one.

They called a taxi – usual small Suzuki - took the machine off the stand, loaded it into the car and we took it away. The boys helped unload it, carry it up stairs to the room where it would be used and put it back together.

Bijaya said that I should make a notice to say this sewing machine was donated by my mother – she gave me some money to spend on the children and I decided that she would be delighted to know that she was helping them to learn to sew, especially as it would be on the type of machine she learnt on when she was young.

Tried it out but the tension wasn’t right, not stitching properly & I didn’t have time to sort it as I needed to finish the bathroom so it could be used that night. Will look at it tomorrow – one of the boys needs a pair of trousers shortening to take camping on Thursday so need to get it going!

Got laptop out and showed the boys the photos I had downloaded from internet last night. Had got 2 of each subject for them to choose from and will get photos printed while they are away & go to find reference books so they can write about them.

Monday 17 October 2011

2011-10-19T03:24:00.001+01:00

Anaand, who owns/runs this place asked me as I was leaving if I had any suggestions as to how they can get more business & advertise their accommodation better to generate more income. I have sent details of it to everyone I know who might be interested both in UK & Nepali organisations I have come to know. Made a few suggestions about running a guesthouse for ‘westerners’ that I thought would be useful

Didn’t get chance to show the kids their photos of zoo as the boardroom seemed to be in use all day. It’s a side office that we use for keeping our things and for when we need to have a quiet time with only one or two kids.

Couldn’t scrub the bathroom either as although the plumber had finished there was ‘cement’ that needed to set. As the waste pipe was blocked he has drilled a new hole up through the middle of the bottom of the bath [its kind of made of stone or preformed concrete or something!!] and dug a channel in the concrete floor to run a new waste outlet. Yes I know - but this is Nepal...so he has filled in the old waste outlet and the floor area with a white plaster kind of filler. Will see tomorrow what its like??

Helped Monica & Anne look through the store cupboard where all donated clothes, bedding etc is kept to look for clothes that the children need for their camping trip. Had great fun as it is in the boys building and they love to help what ever we are doing. They were trying on & parading round in the most ridiculous things, some of which they seemed to like!!

Needed a break & something for lunch we walked down the street to a ‘café’ & got food. Not sure what it was until we bit into it, but ok. When we got back I talked to the boys about the homework projects that they have to do – one has to write about 8 different animals & four have work involving finding out about an animal, bird, insect, and temple and all want photos. I asked which of each they wished to write about so I could find picture on the internet for them - about 30 pictures.

That’s my evening taken care of!

The Indian family, who have been here for the last week, have gone home but there is a couple here for 3 nights before going trekking to Everest Base Camp so more interesting conversation over dinner. She is Australian but originally from Yorkshire so recognised my northern accent.

Sunday 16 October 2011

2011-10-18T04:26:00.003+01:00

Anupam, the younger brother at the Hub came home yesterday from spending Dashain festival with his family, who live down near the Indian border. Caught up about what has been happening & he said he would take me for a day out today but told him I had to go to the home this morning. He then said we’ll go to the zoo in the afternoon – I said ok if we take 3 children with us

Karan, Dinesh & Pushpa had told me a couple of weeks ago about the school project they had to do about amimals and asked if they could go to the zoo, but had said no it wasn’t fair to take just 3 children.

So Anupam gave me a lift in on his scooter this morning to see where the children’s home was, came in with me to get permission to take the three children to the zoo & arranged to meet again at 1:30 for the outing.

When I told them that we were going that afternoon you should have seen their faces. Said they must have a good wash, put on clean clothes & have lunch early

A young man came to inspect the two computers and said that one needed a new part to make the monitor connect & they both needed increased memory etc, they are 4 years old and very low spec, but for children to learn on they will be fine – I think they are only used for games most of the time. He is going to email me with a price to upgrade and supply new keyboard & mouse for each. Forgot to ask about gamepads too!

When time to go walked down the street to meeting place outside a shopping mall, where there were food stalls & I ordered something that I didn’t really know what it was. Turned out to be a veg patty with thick lentil soup/sauce over it and curd, spices and crispy flakes of some kind over the top - big portion so I picked up 4 spoons and we all had some.

Anupam arrived in a taxi so the 4 of us got in the back – these are small Suzuki 1.1 – bit of a squash for me & three 12-14 year olds.

Good having Anupam there as got fare half I would have been charged and he explained to the children in Nepali about the animals.

Very poor zoo compared with ours but it served its purpose as there was an information board beside each cage/pen with all the info they needed: habitat, place, food, life span. Started to copy this down but then decided easier to take photo of the boards & they each took it in turn to take photos of the animals.

Bought them an ice cream as we were leaving and bags of candyfloss to take back for the other children. Their behaviour was perfect, polite, no trouble, above all happy & I did notice - they never once said 'Can I have'.
Another good day to make up for the frustration I sometimes feel when things don't happen 'like now please!'

Tomorrow I will take my laptop in so we can look at the photos and decide which they want to use for their projects.

Thurs Fri Sat 13/14/15 October 2011

2011-10-15T03:13:00.056+01:00

Today was Monica’s birthday, which Laxmi had remembered because Monica was here at the same time last year, and she wanted to bake her a cake. They do not have ovens here, only gas rings to cook on so I had offered to order a cake at a bakery I knew – the lady I met before going to Tibet, if you remember from my blog?

I had ordered a large chocolate cake to be collected yesterday on my way home, but as we were being taken to the land site I had rushed out early yesterday afternoon to collect it & take it to my digs. Today I set off early & took a taxi to get this heavy cake [about 14” square] to the home before Monica arrived and saw it.

When Monica came back from shopping Laxmi carried the cake outside where all the kids and staff had gathered and they sang Happy Birthday to her, first in English then in Nepali. We all got a piece of cake and there was still some left. She was delighted with the surprise and the lotus flower candle that played happy birthday, which I had bought in Tibet after seeing the one on the birthday cake there

The day was the usual – getting some things done & frustratingly trying to do others jobs – the plumber arrived to start work [no waiting for weeks, there are good things about this country!] after coming again yesterday to talk to the admin staff about the boys bathroom & realising that the price quoted was to make the bath, sink & toilet work properly, not just the sink, it was agreed to carry out the job.

Showed the kids some of my photos on laptop, especially ones taken in Kenya to the boys who have to do a project about animals, but they were also interested in the ones of my house, family & views of Wasdale.

Small boys room - 3 sets bunks

Monica had asked me if I would measure the boys bedrooms to make comparison & get an idea of the sizes of the bedrooms on the plans for the new home as she & Anne were going shopping for things they needed for the camping trip Very pleased to see that the bedrooms will be bigger than they have now & less beds per room.

Big boys room - 4 sets bunks

Two of the older boys, of about 14 yrs wanted to know why I was measuring and to avoid discussing the plans I started asking about the boarding school they attend and we ended up talking for a long time. Three of them won scholarships to the Nepal Police College last year, a very good school and a great opportunity for them to get such a good education. It is not compulsory to join the police when they finish school. They told me about their life there and when I asked if they were happy going to boarding school they said they feel sad on parents days because no one goes to see them! It breaks my heart! I told them that if I was in Kathmandu on parents day then I would go and see them, but I will be back home by the next one in mid November. When I come back next time I will make sure I am here for a parents day & visit them.

Friday 14 October 2011

Had a meeting with the admin staff to find out what they have in the store room to be able to assess what else is required, both for the camping trip and for the home – bedding etc

Asked if could make arrangements for someone to come in and look at the computers to find out what is wrong with the one that wont work & see how much it will cost to fix – he’s coming Sunday morning [only Saturdays off here]

Then asked them to contact the director’s wife who had offered to come with me to buy a sewing machine. She will ring back on Sunday to confirm either Monday or Tuesday – another job on my list.

Suprising what I find on my camera when I have left it laying around

Talked to the children who are not going camping to tell them I was going to give them a special treat & take them out when the others are away. I asked what they would like to do, but as they go out very little have no idea of what to ask for – they have been taken to the zoo [very poor I hear], to Botanical Gardens where there is space to play football and run around & to temples & stupas. So I asked the boys if they would like to go bowling, puzzled! Then when I explained they knew what it was & got excited. I didn’t think the girls would want this - two had asked not to go, the are about 12-14 and very ‘girly’ – so maybe to a nice café for a meal then a manicure, but no they want to go bowling too. I suggested pizza’s afterwards but they turned their noses up and asked for momo’s

So – 10 children between 6 & 14 – hmm, hope some of the other volunteers who are arriving next week are willing to come with me.

Went into Thamel to meet Wendy for lunch, she was on the Tibet trip then went on to Bhutan & is back here before flying out tomorrow.

She then came back with me to see the place I'm living then on to the children’s home for a look round. She had asked about it & the children and I had told her so much that she wanted to see for herself. She was very impressed with the children, how happy friendly & polite the were & asked that I keep her informed about them and the progress with the new building.

Rushed home to wash & change as Monica had booked for us to go to Dwarika Hotel for her birthday, they have a bbq on Friday nights – lovely to eat in the garden by the pool and relax with a couple of drinks.

Saturday 15 October 2011

Haribol, the president of the charity had invited me visit his home, where I lived last year, and meet his family again as they were having a celebration with lots of other family members visiting. It was so nice to see them again and was made so welcome. At 11 am the main meal was served – a traditional Dhal Bhat of boiled rice & lentil soup with 6 other side dishes of veg & meat & curd. I really enjoyed it.

Haribol’s nephew Peter was there, who is half Ukrainian, and his mother came to talk to me then invited me to go to their house, which I did. A traditional new style Nepali house but she has decorated & furnished it in a European way.

Called at the home on my way back to check if Laxmi had managed to do her maths homework as I felt very bad when she asked for help just as I was leaving yesterday and couldn’t stay as we were going out for dinner.

I had explained one of the questions about angles of a parallelogram – surprised I could remember how after all these years – and she had managed to do the rest. Stayed to help Monica & Anne with some dodgy electrical cables as she had bought a new extension cable for the TV & DVD then went looking for the bowling ally to find out about costs booking etc.- couldn’t find it but now know exactly where it is so will go back again – on into Thamel for internet café then found Monica & Anne in local restaurant and ate with them before going home.

Wednesday 12 October 2011

2011-10-15T03:05:00.078+01:00

Shopping for brooms & mops

Arrived at the home to find Monica & Anne already there & had started interviewing children who were eligible to go on their camping trip. They had taken a group last year on a short walking camping holiday with the aid of a Nepalese man who runs an outward bound organisation for children – teaching them respect, responsibility, trusting & caring for others and looking after the environment by ‘leaving no trace’ by clearing up & disposing of everything you use.

They will be doing the same this year, for 5 days 4 nights, & as there are only 18 places some cannot go, so each child is being judged on their school work [improvement from last year], extra activities [judo & chess clubs etc], attitude, behaviour, how much they help with chores at the home and give a reason why they deserve to go.

I am disappointed because I have failed to be selected!! Because of my bad shoulder I cannot carry a heavy rucksack & it would be against the principles of the organisation & set a bad example for me to have a porter carry my pack when all the children – some quite small – have to carry theirs and be self-sufficient. So I will be staying behind and will do something special with the others who can’t or don’t want to go.

When I explained to one girl that I would need to ‘hire a porter’ she could not understand why I wanted ‘Harry Potter’ to come. When I explained we laughed so much and she said ‘I thought he was too little to carry your bags’!

Ganesh, a board member, arrived to talk about the trip & to show us the first draught plans for the new home they are going to build before taking us to see the land they have finally been able to buy. It has always been their intention to have a purpose built house since opening the home nearly 10 years ago.

We were taken outside the city centre, up onto a hill where we could immediately feel the air was fresher & when we saw the land that gently sloped to the south, which was planted with barley & mustard, we were so happy – it’s an ideal place to bring up the children with room to run around, fresh air to breath and views of the surrounding mountains, even snow capped ones in the distance.

They currently have bought enough land to put up the large building but need to buy more for playing fields, a garden to grow their own veg & maybe have a small holding with goats, hens etc.

Their next initiative is to raise £250,00 to build the house for 48 children & about 8 staff - wish it could be done immediately or some of the older ones may have left before they can enjoy living there – so if any of you would like to ‘buy a brick’ they cost 10p each, or a section of wall [we could even put your name on it] I will be happy to pass on your donation and it can be gift aided. Bricks are 9x4 red clay made locally

Monica Anne & I want to build a small house next door so we can come and spend time here whenever we want & also let it to other volunteers!

Seeing the site makes the dream a reality & wonderful to know it is finally happening as they have been talking about this plan since I first came in 2008 and pleased that they have asked us for our ideas, opinion of the plans & suggestions for any changes or improvements.

Three board members then took us out for a meal & two more joined us later – had a very good meal & even better talked & laughed about the children, also about their future, the fact that they are getting older & need more supervision & support out of school hours - and discussed the new building

A wonderful day – it’s days like today that make coming here worthwhile

Tuesday 11 October 2011

2011-10-12T02:50:00.019+01:00

Butchers shop
Why I become vegitarian in Nepal

Nothing very important has been happening. Go to the children’s home for most of the day to talk & play with the kids – latest favourite is scrabble & its surprising how much more they can learn about the English language & pronunciation from playing it, including a lot of new words.

Been a couple of times into Thamel for shopping & use internet café, they have had new wiring in the house for internet but it hasn’t made it quick enough to download photos onto blog.

I have got the first week of my hols done & put on blog for you to read. Didn’t get any notes written on the last few days while I was on hols & now find it hard to remember details so will have to look through photos of each day to jog my memory, but that’s not the same as writing thoughts and feelings down as they happen, so it may be more of a report than a journal.

The plumbing and drains are in a terrible state & because the property is rented and they are under notice to leave because it up for sale they don’t want to spend money on repairs. They have bought land to build a new home but that will not be ready for a couple of years – they need to raise more money to build it. The waste in the boys bathroom is blocked and I tried putting drain unblocking liquid down but its not worked, also the sink waste come off in my hand when I investigated a leak – no u bends here just a thin plastic pipe. Told the admin staff about it now that they have returned to work after the festival, got a plumber in but still not fixed so will have to speak to the directors. Thapa put caustic soda down the bath drain but still not worked. This means that there is only one shower for all the kids & live in staff to use.

Monica & Anne arrived at the weekend and came to home on Monday for the start of their 4 weeks here. Went to join them for a meal Monday night at a restaurant in Thamel, had pasta for a change from the Nepali food I eat everyday at my digs, next morning had stomach pains – first time since I got here!

Arjun, one of the boys, stood on something that went into his foot, the doctor who comes in once a week looked at it and gave penicillin, but he couldn’t put weight on it & when I looked it was badly swollen, so I persuaded them to take him to the hospital & went with him & Thapa, he’s only 9 and looked quite scared. It’s a very small place just down the road with an emergency room where a young doctor examined it & said there was something in there. I held his hand & although it was obviously very painful he never gripped my hand and didn’t cry. He probed with a syringe needle, not sure if he got much out, but he dressed it and Thapa carried him home on his back. Glad to see that the swelling has gone down today and he is walking better on it

Saturday, 08 October 2011

2011-10-09T03:04:00.010+01:00

Kuber & Ajay on roof of The Hub
The two boys who work here

Not much to say about today as took a day off & spent relaxing morning sorting photos & writing up blog from my holiday in Tibet - and not so relaxing later fighting with internet connection.
In the afternoon walked into Thamel to post last 3 days blog and add photos & went looking for the guest house that two friends have booked, who are flying out this weekend to spend a month at the children's home. Couldn't find it so will have to wait until they either reply to my email or turn up at the home.
Called in at a shop & suddenly someone called my name, both surprising & so pleasant to bump into someone who knows me in the crowds thronging these streets - it was the American girl who is staying at the same place as me, she said she had bought the Mountain Man muesli bars I had told her about for their Everest trek.
Had a massage, enjoyed that as usual, then back for dinner with the 'seismic man', who was back from visiting his family for Dashain for a few days, and the young couple who went to pack immediately after eating as they leave early tomorrow for their flight to Lukla. Looking forward to hearing about their trek when they get back towards the end of the month.

Friday 07 October 2011

2011-10-09T02:21:00.012+01:00

There are more guests here again 2 more couples – business is picking up – but also 3 bookings have failed to show up in the last week – 2 lots from China & 1 Indian & they are very disappointed as they have refused other bookings.

They don’t charge deposit as it means the expense of setting up card payments, something they will have to consider I think.

When I got to ‘work’ the boys had already made a good job of cleaning their rooms – I told them yesterday that’s what we would be doing this morning – so I had another go at cleaning the bathrooms that they had done a couple of days ago.

Its difficult to keep them smelling ok when the plumbing is so bad that they don’t flush properly and drains are blocked – must get a plumber in as festival.

The older boys asked for the pack of cards while I as doing that, then I got out the Jenga blocks, which they prefer to use to build with, jigsaws, a bag of jumbo lego style blocks meant for toddlers that was in the cupboard & a new set of board games I’d bought that morning.

As before there was soon loads of them playing and even the older ones played with the large lego!

Some of them were on the roof flying kites they had bought with their Dashain money and a couple gave the little ones a ride round the yard on ‘Uncle’s’ bike.

A young couple were at dinner so conversation was good, she’s from New York & he’s from Plymouth but they have been working in Korea. They have booked Everest Base Camp Trek with a company I recommended so only staying one more night.

Thursday 06 October 2011

2011-10-09T02:21:00.011+01:00

Settling into routine now, waking about 6, check emails, continue writing up Tibet blog & sorting photos to put on it, have breakfast then go to home – usually via shops to buy things I need.

Was an American lady at breakfast who is here with her 2 children, she had to leave India for a while because of visa restrictions so is in Nepal for a while.

There is a building plot at the corner of the road where I stay and everytime I pass see 3 small children playing there who wave and say Namaste [hello] This morning their mother [I assume] came out from behind the tin sheeting where I could make out a table.

I think maybe they live in there! So I asked if I could take their photo.

Making sweets for giving as offerings

Streets are so quiet now & most shops are closed – or only open for a few hours early in the morning - as there is public holiday for Dashain Festival [a kind of Harvest Festival - see extra post about this] that lasts from 28th Sept to 12th Oct, the day of the full moon.

Offering on road infront of house

Today is the most important day when offerings are made, some laid in front of houses.

Arrived at the children’s home to find two of the board members already there & one of their wives, who had brought Tika [rice in a red die] to put on the forehead &young barley shoots for on the head [tucked into

hair or behid ear], bananas, sweets & money, crisp new notes.

The children were dressed in their best clothes, each with a brand new t-shirt or top as it is another tradition of the festival, and they lined up to receive the tika, and be presented with a banana, sweet & money. Then it was the turn of the staff & volunteers.

Afterwards I asked about some of the things I would like to buy for the children and they also suggested a sewing machine, which I was delighted about as I had thought about that & I could teach them to sew – will have to me manual [ old fashioned singer treadle] as electricity supply is so restricted most of the year. They told me where this could be bought but I said I would like a Nepali person to go with me to bargain, the try to charge westerners far too much, The directors wife offered to go with me, so we parted good friends and both looking forward to our shopping trip after Dashain when the shops are open again.

In the afternoon I got out colouring books & felt pens I had found in a cupboard for a few younger ones, but as always it wasn’t long before word spread & the room was full including even the oldest ones colouring cartoon characters, so got out the playing cards and Jenga blocks too as there wasn’t enough space at the table.

On my walk home I saw a Nepali swing that had been built out of bamboo poles, another tradition of this festival, so I stopped for a while to watch.

Should have had a go - next time!
I gave the lady & her 3 children at the building site an offering of bananas & a new rupee note because they are so friendly towards me

Wednesday 05 October 2011

2011-10-09T02:05:00.002+01:00

Continued to type up journal from hols in Tibet then went to children’s home at 10:30 to tell them I would not be in today as had a meeting with a friend. The boys were in their classroom doing homework when I got there , I arranged with Thapa the man there that I would be in at 10 tomorrow to go with him to buy the fruit for the special day of this festival where tika is put on the forehead and fruit is offered as a gift.

Got a taxi to Dwarika’s Hotel where Jules was staying – a fairly new hotel but built in the traditional style using reclaimed carved wooden windows etc, a lovely peaceful place with central courtyard and lots of shaded areas to sit. 4*!

We ordered a hotel shuttle bus to take us to Bhaktapur as she wanted to buy more pashmina’s and it’s a UNESCO site & lovely place to shop & wander round. Jules had got her entry ticket stamped when we visited the other day at the end of our holiday, so she could use it again this week, but I hadn’t realised this was possible, or that I would be returning, so had to pay again!

Bought some scarves for presents, sat at a 3rd floor café overlooking a square for lunch and looked around the town before going back to her hotel where we sat by the pool and had a Mai Tai cocktail before I got taxi to Thamel.

I wanted to use high speed internet to put pics on my blog, so after doing that I had a snack. It was dark when I came to go home, no street lights here and the place I live is down narrow back streets so went for taxi. They charge so much from this tourist area and asked 3 times what I would pay so I refused, then a trishaw man offered to take me for the price I was offering the taxi, first time I’ve used them as I thought they were dear, but maybe not– its quite a way and he was knackered when we got there so I paid him extra.

Met some other people going into the house as I arrived so looks like there are more guests staying - that will be interesting

Tuesday 04 October 2011

2011-10-05T12:49:00.021+01:00

Called at local shops on way in to buy cleaning materials as I had told boys we would clean their quarters. We started on the flat roof where they dry their clothes – there were some clothes up there that had been out in the rain and blown off the line [also on the adjoining tin roof where they are laid out to dry] We gathered these up and some boys volunteered to re-wash them. Gave 2 of them money to go out & buy more washing line.

Others started sweeping and cleaning out the holes at the base of the wall that lets rainwater out. The handle on the new brush snapped after only 15 min! Then they swept & mopped the stairs, corridor and TV room while others cleaned the 2 bathrooms.

Very basic & in need of repair.bath waste was blocked and half full of water that was bailed out then washed bath with lots of cleaner that didn’t rinse off so smelled better. Sink waste leaked and when I inspected pipe fell off so put a bucket under with instructions to keep emptying– need to get a plumber in after festival.

I am annoyed that we were so busy I forgot to take photos, [these taken later] but I did make a chart to give points for the work they did, which will go towards the decision as to who will be taken on the camping trip planned by 2 other volunteers coming out next week

Walked up to supermarket at lunchtime with one of the other volunteers here, who are spending their time with the girls & little ones. Then sorted out a cupboard with colouring books, craft equipment etc that others have left behind.

Some of the kids came in and wanted to use the colouring books & felt pens so let them sit at the office table and had very peaceful time. Until one spotted the jenga game I had bought so we played that until another asked if we could play cards again, so went out into the shaded covered area at the front to play knockout whist until I left.

Got back to find email from one of the friends I made on the holiday who is still in Kathmandu for a few days until continuing on to Bhutan. Going to meet her tomorrow and have a day out.

Monday 03 October 2011

2011-10-05T12:47:00.003+01:00

Went to supermarket on way to ‘work’ & found kit with 4 small packs of coloured plasticine that was quite expensive for amount in it, but got one for Santosh to make his model and pack of flour for rest to make dough to play with. Also got basketball for £3 and some other stuff I needed. Had some photos printed; 1 of me with Everest in background and 1 I took of three girls who live nearby so I can give it to them.

8 or 10 boys made dough then played with it for about 2 hours, making all kinds of animals & objects including masks & glasses with false noses – 1 even appeared eating some that he had made into a biscuit and cooked in a pan!

After lunch we played cards, I taught 3 to play knockout whist but there were soon 7 playing, didn’t take them long to learn.

I saw the girls on my walk back and gave them the photo, they were delighted but there was a boy there too, who looked disappointed & asked for his photo to be taken on a motorbike that was there – took it and said I would bring it to him

I had left early because there was a meeting where I’m staying about what Anaand and his group of volunteers can do if there is another earthquake affecting Kathmandu. There is a man staying here who is a seismic specialist & he gave a talk & slide show about the possibilities of this happening. Quite interesting but difficult to follow as even when they talk in English they speak so fast and with an accent that I find it hard to understand.

Sunday 02 October 2011

2011-10-05T12:31:00.003+01:00

Didn’t do much today except get my self & all my stuff sorted and then went to Children’s home after lunch, there was a teatime treat for the festival where all the board members and some wives came, but it was a bit spoiled because it rained quite heavily and was to be held out in the courtyard.

Met the other volunteers who have been there for the last 2 weeks – 2 are going off on trips tomorrow for a week and 3 others will be there for 2 more weeks. The office staff will be on holiday now until 12th for the Dashain Festival and some of the didi’s are also away visiting family so the children help with the housework, cooking & taking care of the little ones.

One of the older boys wants ‘some clay to make a model for homework’, when I asked if he meant plasticine he said yes – don’t know where I will find that so off shopping tomorrow morning to find it – may end up making flour & water dough. He also said maths is very hard so going to give him extra tuition and see if I can help him.

On my way home I saw 3 girls who live nearby on their balcony. They always say hello when I pass so I took their photo and will get it printed to give them

Internet is being difficult again so don’t know if I can get this posted tonight

Day 14 Saturday 1 October 2011 Trip ends Kathmandu

2011-10-05T12:27:00.001+01:00

The trip ends at your hotel in Kathmandu The main group fly back to UK

Got up at 6.30 to have a coffee with those who were flying home today, they left for airport at 7. There are 3 others left - 2 going on to Bhutan on separate trips and an American lady leaving later today.

Had breakfast with one of them and arranged to meet again on Thursday before she flies to Bhutan then packed and got a taxi back to The Hub. It felt good to be ‘home’!

Got unpacked, did some washing – by hand in cold water on the roof – oh for an automatic washing machine – gave combats & t shirts to the young lad to do as I pay him to do it and its extra income for him.

After checking emails etc went to visit the kids for a couple of hours and pleased to see the 3 older boys who attend a boarding school are home for holidays and that they are all on holiday for a month – whole of the time I’m here.

17-18th September 2011

2011-09-18T03:56:00.011+01:00

Yesterday I fought again with Internet to complete my blog - engineer said they need a new cable from the pole down the road, they will have to pay for it and it will cost a fortune! Went into Thamel to get last minute shopping for my trip to Tibet including a secondhand Lonley Planet guide for 1400rupees [£13] that they will buy back from me for 700 when i get back - so much better than buying in England for £16.99 and using up baggage weight - and buy Yuan - Chinese currency as Tibet is under control of the Chinese.

Went to internet cafe and it was almost empty so everything worked very fast and managed to download pictures easily - filled up later and got slower & slower but happy now as i wanted to give everyone details of the blog site before I left - would have been good to have done that at the beginning the week so you could have been following each day instead of reading it all at once - but heh I'm in a third world country.

So to read this - the entries are listed in latest first - go to the archive list on the right and start at the bottom with Sept 15th' and read from the bottom of the page work your way up [sorry to sound condescending but maybe some don't know that]

I move from my home at the Hub today to Hotel Tibet, which is also in Lazimpat so not to far away, and the rest of the group are in the sky as I speak on their way from Heathrow. We spend tomorrow on a site seeing tour of Kathmandu then Fly to Lhasa on Monday - so no more blog for 2 weeks, but i will be back here on October 1st for 4 more weeks at the children's home so will report on hols & try to post blog each day

I am going to try to load my Itinerary onto a page on here so those who are interested can follow my hols -but it is long so not sure if it will work!

bfn will post again at beginning of October

Have to add this amazing bit - there is another festival today Bishwakarma pooja - a festival for mechanics & all things mechanical - cars, planes, computers etc so Anupam was celebrating this festival and asked me if i wanted to watch, then take part & he put tika on my forehead - a spot of red powder to make a mark

Itinerary day 9

2011-09-18T03:45:00.000+01:00

Day 9 Monday 26th September

Drive To Shegar

Continuing westwards, you head for the village of Shegar. Although it's a long driving day (approx. 9 hours including stops), the rough dirt tracks and muddy trails weave through stunning scenery. Driving by the Brahmaputra to start, you soon head into a patchwork of fertile agricultural fields, guarded by herds of yak, sheep, horses & cows and overlooked by hills and mountains. The company en route is equally pleasing; usually Tibetans in traditional dress will be walking from village-to-village, making their way between farmers' villages and nomadic tribal settlements, distinguished by the yak hair huts. After dinner in Lhatse the journey takes you through Gyatso La Pass (5220m) which welcomes you to the Chomolangma (Everest) Nature Reserve, before you head into the tiny village of Shegar where you stay overnight.
Hotel - 1 night

TIBET Day 6/7 Fri/Sat 23/24 September 2011

2011-09-18T03:42:00.223+01:00

Lhasa Lhasa is dominated by the imposing Potala Palace, which rises above the city on its rocky pedestal. Building of the palace started in the 7th century, but was not finished until the 17th century during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama. The 13-storey Potala rises 117m and is made entirely of wood, stone and earth. It has over 1000 rooms and you will explore in depth those that are open to the public - some 15 or 16.
Apart from visiting the palace, your time in Lhasa is spent exploring the sites in and around the city. The Norbulingka or 'Jewel Park', the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas was initially constructed by the seventh Dalai Lama and subsequently rebuilt by the current Dalai Lama in the 1950's. It was from here that he escaped across the mountains to India in 1959. These exquisite buildings in a park-like setting are less formal than the Potala's, but equally rich.

You also visit the Jokhang, the religious and geographical centre of Lhasa, and the most important temple for all sects of Tibetan Buddhism. Pilgrims from across Tibet, many of whom have walked for many weeks to see the Jokhang once in their lives, queue for hours to enter the temple and perform a ritual circuit of its many sacred shrines. It is a moving experience to join them in the dark hallways lit only by butter lamps, filled with the sound of quiet chanting. The main image here is Jowo Rimpoche, a gilded statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, said to have been modelled in his lifetime. The Jokhang is encircled by the Barkhor, an 800m flagstone pathway that is both a sacred circumambulation route and the biggest bazaar in Tibet. Night and day, Tibetans walk clockwise around it, earning religious merit as they shop or chat with friends. Here you see people from all over Tibet; the striking, tall Khampa men from the east with large knives and red tassels wrapped about their heads; Golok women with their hair plaited in 108 tiny braids, and nomad families bundled in their sheepskins.

You will also visit one of these great monasteries: Drepung or Sera. Set on the outskirts of the city, both date back to the 15th century and once housed almost 10,000 monks. Like all Tibetan gompas, they are treasure

houses of art, ritual and symbolism. In the afternoons at Sera, an outside courtyard becomes a place of colourful discussion, as monks' debate Buddhist theory, which is part of their religious teaching.

Friday 23 September 2011

Had to be ready to leave at 8:10 for our allocated slot to visit the Potala Palace at 9:30 and it is a long climb up the flights of steps to the entrance. Only 20 rooms are open to viewing & looking around inside these is restricted to 1 hour & the Chinese government take all the entrance fees to the Temples & Monasteries, but visitors can leave donations can be left inside for the monks. Thankfully the Chinese failed to destroy it in the Cultural Revolution but the Palace is no longer a monastery but a museum, the monks who do live there now are the caretakers. Once it had a huge community from small boys to the oldest & wisest and of course the Dalai Lama, who now lives in exile in India

Revolution but the Palace is no longer a monastery but a museum, the monks who do live there now are the caretakers. Once it had a huge community from small boys to the oldest & wisest and of course the Dalai Lama, who now lives in exile in India

It took us quite a while to climb the steps to the entrance and the start of the hour allowed – it made us realise how much the altitude can affect us. As in most temples photos are not allowed, so I bought postcards, but the views of the mountains from the rooftop were good, although I cannot say the same for the views of the very modern city that surrounds the palace.

Travelled on a short distance to the Summer Palace that was the current Dalai Lama’s favourite place and although it is in the middle of the city is so peaceful & like the Potala Palace hardly any traffic noice can be heard.
We walked around the gardens and looked into temples, at least one of which had been completely destroyed by the Chinese and rebuilt as an exact replica

After lunch at a local restaurant on the edge of the old town, where food was ok but again service was bad, we visited the Sera Monastery on the edge of the city. This is a village where only 400 monks now live, when this was Tibet there were 600. As well as temples & a room containing 3 beautiful Mandala’s in glass

cases – pictures made with coloured sand that take weeks to make and will be destroyed in a few months because processions are not important – there was a courtyard shaded with trees where the monks practiced philosophical debating to prepare for when they will take part as ‘qualified’ monks [don’t know how to explain that properly, but they are training to debate?]

It was a wonderful place, so calm & peaceful, like the fortress temple we visited on our first day. There were walnut trees along the road out and I picked one up from the ground as a souvenir – so much better than something I can buy.

Sat in the hotel courtyard for a while when we got back before going out to dinner at a place down the road – not exactly a local restaurant as it was run by a Dutch man, more a tourist one. Some had stir fry, Momo, pizza, pasta & Yak burgers but me and 3 others had Yak steak with veg & chips. One man asked for ‘medium’ – the waiter said NO then added ‘only well done’. I did think it may be tough but it was very tender & more like our braised steak than fried, which explains the ‘well done’.

After dinner we walked around the old town where we will visit tomorrow. Lhasa has become a very modern Chinese city, but our Tibetan hotel was well located between the Potala Palace & the old town so we didn’t have to see much of that as it is of no interest [to me] and the rooms are very good with excellent hot shower

Saturday 24 September 2011

Our last day in Lhasa and had a lie in, left hotel at 9;30 to visit another temple, Jokhang in the old town that is the most important one in Tibet and being Saturday there were hundreds of Tibetans visiting on a pilgrimage & queuing up for hours to enter. As tourists we could go straight in which was not right – but we were paying the Chinese government a fee to enter!! Other Tibetans were performing 108 prostrations in front of the temple [108 being an auspicious number in Buddhism]

We could not go in straight away as there were some officials there so we walked around the streets that where lined on both sides with stalls, mostly selling tourist goods of all kinds – jewellery, clothing, souvenirs. After doing a circuit of the streets we returned to the temple and went in. Again no photos of the rooms filled with statues of the gods, but on the roof we were rewarded with views of the old town below and Potal Palace in the distance surrounded by barren mountains

Then had time to go back round the old time but soon saw that it was the same stuff over& over with only a few selling individual goods like fur hats & Yak lined fur jackets with very blingy gold trim, all calling ‘looky see’ & bartering hard was necessary to get a good price. I was looking for a down jacket that I would need for the rest of the trip as it would get colder especially at Everest Base Camp – here it is still high 20’s – I saw a few and thought could get a bargain. Went to an ATM for more cash, had lunch than back to market to look for bargains. Bought my jacket, Goose down? for 350 yuan [less than £35] after bargaining, maybe could have got it for less but it looked like a good one and I'm sure would have cost £100 more at home. Walked around for a while but after buying a scarf & couple of souvenirs got fed up of shopping & hot so back to cool shady garden at hotel fo a beer & write journal

We were to all meet up at 6pm to walk round market again & go for evening meal but most had had enough of shopping so chose place to eat & went for a drink while shopaholics went looking for more bargains before joining us for a meal. Yet again good food but service terrible but always so cheap as main meal only £2-3 [a drink is dearer than food]

TIBET Day 5 Thursday 22 September 2011

2011-09-18T03:41:00.131+01:00

Lhasa (3680m)

Today you cross the Yarlung Tsangpo by local boat - a wooden skiff powered by a tractor engine. The crossing takes about an hour. This broad river surrounded by huge, bare mountains and shifting sand dunes provides some breathtaking vistas. On the opposite bank you visit Samye, the first Buddhist monastery built in Tibet and founded by the Indian tantric master, Guru Rimpoche, in the 8th century. With its glittering golden roof, exquisite frescoes and elaborate shrines, Samye makes an impressive sight. You re-cross the river after your visit, and make the three hour drive to Lhasa by nightfall

Had really good sleep and felt like normal thank goodness as I would hate to be ill on holiday. The guides were not convinced it was a migraine they thought I had High Altitude Sickness. We have to acclimatise to this altitude and walk slowly, no rushing about, and drink lots of water – 4 litre a day – We will all put 100 yuan[£10] in kitty for guide to buy stocks so there will be a supply on the bus & we take as much as we can – plenty of loo stops on our journey through the countryside! [behind bushes is preferable to squat toilets anyway]

The part of Tsedang town where we stayed, was typical Chinese – modern with very wide streets lined on both sides with 3 story buildings that had shops on ground floor. Not as I would like a Tibetan town to look, pity we have not been able to see the old town

We were on the bus leaving the hotel at 8.30 when we realised someone was missing, one of the ladies had forgotten to put her mobile on 2 ¼ hours from Kathmandu time & slept in.

First stop was Yumbulangand Fortress, the oldest in the country, set on top of a hill The weather here is cooler but not cold and soon warmed up climbing to the top of the hill, which is next to a small village where people dressed in traditonal clothes have stalls selling a few goods to tourists & others waited with horses & even a camel to take you to the top – for a price.

The temple on the top was such a peaceful place, looking over the valley& mountains it looked like home. I left a donation & said a prayer for Val and Bob, Garry & all the family & friends I have lost and also those at home who are so special to me.

Bought prayer flags, some were hanging them there but taking mine home to put in the garden to remind me of the place and feelings it gave me. Special. Bought a lovely silver bracelet with Tibetan writing on it from a stall for 5 yuan [50p]

Went back to restaurant where ate last night to pick up a packed lunch before going on to ferry stop to get boat across the Yarriung Tsangpo river on a flat boat to visit Samye Monastery. We ate packed lunch on board – Vegetable cutlet & chips [cold]; hard boiled egg; small whole cucumber; 2 slices toasted bread & an apple. So hungry it was good! – except the bread here it is sweetened.

While picking up the lunch I rushed down the street to buy a baseball cap as the sun is so strong that even sunglasses are not enough. Tried one place , didn’t understand me or my hand gestures to try to show what I wanted – they just laughed at me- but none in shop. As I was leaving they were talking together & called me back & pointed accress the road. Success got one there, they did understand my pointing at head etc.

Crossing the river took about an hour & as we neared far bank could see 2 newish mini buses and an old bus approaching – ours was the blue bus! & we rattled along a dusty rough track to the monastery. As we arrived could here chanting and music. It was a significant day & the monks were chanting prayers & playing drums, horns & symbols.

We were very lucky to witness this as they only accompany their chanting with musical instruments on special days. We walked around the temple – always clockwise – and the rest of the monastery.

I walked round the open fronted buildings that enclosed the temple, again clockwise, which housed prayer wheels on all 4 sides. I spun every one of them & estimate there were at least 350. That should help me in some way surely

Then sat in the shade on some steps and enjoyed the peacefulness of this place with just the chanting & music in the background. A happy smiling little old lady came along and chatted to us, we couldn’t understand a word but she made us all laugh & kissed our hands

Got on the rickety blue bus to head back to the ferry & stopped on the way to watch some farmers roasting barley for tsampa, the staple diet of the Tibetans, which is a barley flour that they use to make porridge or stir into tea & add yak butter. We continued to the ferry and crossed back over the river, much pleasanter than going as it was cloudy & with a cool breeze.

Our coach was a welcome site and travelled [with more ‘bush stops’ as we were being forced to drink so much water] to Lhasa and our hotel for the next three nights We had dinner at the hotel ,food not brilliant but meals came out at intervals so some finished before other got theirs, then walked down the street to take night time photos of the Potala Palace. Good location that made up for the not so good food & service

TIBET Day 4 Wednesday 21st September

2011-09-18T03:40:00.037+01:00

Fly To Lhasa; Tsedang (3550m)

In a little over an hour, the Kathmandu-Lhasa flight covers rugged terrain that once took trade caravans months to cross. On a clear day as many as eight of the world's 8000m peaks can be seen. As you cross the great barrier of the Himalaya, the landscape beneath changes dramatically, from Nepal's green terraced hillsides to the high barren plains of Tibet. On arrival, you make the short 90 minute drive to Tsedang along the banks of the Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River, getting your first impressions of the Tibetan countryside. In this fertile region, you'll see fields of barley and mustard as you pass by small villages of whitewashed houses topped with prayer flags. Upon arrival in Tsedang, and if there's time, you'll visit the Yumbulangang Fortress, a short distance from the town. Hilltop Yumbulangang is the oldest fortress in the country, where colourful frescoes and statues of past kings adorn the walls; descriptions from your guide help to place them in history. An account of the daily lives of the 14 monks who live here will also start to make Tibet real. Upon your return to Tsedang, you can (if you wish) explore the old town this evening; four major monasteries have recently been restored here and are ornately decorated with vivid wall frescoes

Bags down at 7:30 for bus ride to airport – on our way to Tibet at last! Flight was at 10:35 but over an hour late leaving. Weather drizzy & cloudy so maybe no chance to see Himalayas. We were allocated seat numbers but our leader told us there were 18 empty seats on flight and to wait until last to board so we could see if any were window seats – on left for best views – but don’t think anyone got one. We climbed above cloud & then could see the peaks sticking up above them. Mine was isle seat with a German couple, who allowed me to lean over & get a couple of shots, then he offered to take one for me so zoomed in on one that I think was Everest.

Landed Lhasa & took ages through airport as we were scanned & checked so many times with some luggage opened and searched – 2 had Lonely Planet guides taken from them even though they were in bottom of bags. They knew they were there by size & shape on scanner – glad I didn’t take mine, we were warned! By this time it was 2.30 and still 1 ½ hours bus ride to lunch stop & I was feeling ill with hunger.

By the time we arrived at the restaurant for a meal I had a migraine & had already been sick on route. Guides thought it was altitude sickness as we were now at 3680 m – maybe a bit of both. Couldn’t eat anything so driver took me and another man who had a very bad cold straight to hotel while the rest ate. Took medication and fell into bed in a very large room that had 2 four foot beds in extremely smart & spacious Chinese hotel with marble floors & pillars in reception and very ornate decorations everywhere.

Because it was late when we arrived didn’t have time to explore the old town or visit the monasteries as mentioned in the itinerary [did warn us there may be changes] but will go to the fortress tomorrow

TIBET Days 2/3 Mon/Tues 19/20 September 2011

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Kathmandu (1330m)

After breakfast you'll see some of the spectacular sites of Kathmandu during a half-day guided city tour. Nepal's capital is a labyrinth of streets and markets, crowded with exotic produce and a bewildering mix of people. You're likely to see Gurkhas from the area east of Pokhara, Tibetan women in their striped aprons, traders from India and sadhus - Hindu holy men - perhaps on pilgrimage to one of the many temples and shrines of the valley. Your sightseeing tour will take you to Durbar Square, historically the focal point of the city, and a mass of colour, activity and fascinating temples, as well as Swayumbhunath - a famous Buddhist pilgrimage site - for stunning views across the Valley.

The afternoon is left free to do any last minute shopping for the journey, or simply to relax. Your Group Leader will be happy to assist in any way during your time in Kathmandu.

Tour of city not exactly as above but to the Buddist Bodnath Stupa & Patan Durbar Square. Walked around the stupa and visited the temple where monks were praying. The guide explained the history then invited us to go into a workshop where an ex monk teaches pupils how to paint Thangka’s.

Seen this before & so had another lady so we walked around again while waiting for the rest

From Wikipedia - Originally, thangka painting became popular among traveling monks because the scroll paintings were easily rolled and transported from monastery to monastery. These thangka served as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and bodhisattvas. One popular subject is The Wheel of Life, which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment)

Got back on bus to Patan, a small town that is now joined to kathmandu, to walk along the streets, visit Durbar Square where there are temples and the original palace where the king lived many years ago. There were people making repairs to some buildings, mixing clay on the ground before throwing great handfulls up from one to another onto the roof.

Had lunch at a local café. I had Veg Pakoda, which are small deep fried spicy potato and chopped veg cakes with a hot dipping sauce– v. good.

After lunch we were taken through the streets to a shop making & selling singing bowls, which are made of a combination of seven metals, are meditative & medicinal as well as producing sound. We were given a demonstration of how to make the sounds then he asked for volunteers so he could show us how they are used for healing by putting a bowl on head, knees, back or even standing in a large one while he hit it with a felt hammer.

I had looked at these before [cheap ones sold on tourist stalls] and intended buying myself one this time, but also knew that you had to find the one you were comfortable with to be able to get the right sound. It was very crowded, busy & noisy with everyone trying to make them sing by runing a felt covered stick around the rim of he bowl so I decided to go back there when I got back to Kathmandu & take my time choosing one as I was struggling to get the right sound out of any of them. They were so heavy to hold and felt wrong – I could make the male sound by holding the stick down & running it round the ou

tside of the rim but not the female sound by holding it at 45 degrees.

Just before we left the young man picked up a bowl that looked much thinner & explained that the markings around the outside meant it was a female bowl. I tried it & immediately could get the sound – not brilliant, but with practice! So I bought it, it seemed just right for me.

Back to the hotel much later than expected so no time to go shopping in Thamel as a meal at a traditional Nepalese restaurant where there is dancers & entertainers had been booked for that evening & a meeting beforehand for leader to give us details of our trip though Tibet.

He ran through the plan for each day, which may change according to conditions & the whim of the Chinese! gave us all the do’s & don’ts while in Tibet -well China really so we can’t use the word Tibet, or take pictures of the Dali Lama, or take guide books for Tibet. We can put covers on them and write China on it if we want but no guarantees that it will not be confiscated. As I am going to sell mine back to the shop I'm not taking it. Will photocopy pages I need if I have time.

Had been told earlier that we are not able to fly to Lhasa tomorrow but on Wednesday, so extra day in Kathmandu & only one night here when we get back before others fly home

Restaurant was in an old palace that has been renovated, think it’s the same one I ate at the first time I came in 2008 & it had just opened. We sat on cushions on the floor at a long low table & were given Raksi, the local rice wine, that was pored from a height out of a brass jug with a long spout into a tiny bowl & we had to drink down in one ‘Nepalese moonshine shots’ The meal was several courses: small bowl of 6 pieces of fried potato; dish of 3 momo’s with spicy sauce; small bowl of lentil & bean soup; traditional main course of rice & dahl with 6 side helpings of various meat & veg dishes; all washed down with a bottle of Gorkha beer – 650ml. Plus more Raksi!

The meal finished with a bowl of very sweet curd & fruit. During the meal we were entertained with Nepali music, dancing and performances by people dressed as a peacock and a yak & yeti. At the end they got us up to do traditional dance.

After getting back to the hotel some of us went for a drink at the bar round the corner

I am writing this in the hotel courtyard and asked the waiter how to spell Raksi – he has written it down for me in English & Nepali, the Tibetan word is Aragh which he has also written in English & Tibetan. He asked where I come from then showed me on a map where he is from in the mountain region of Nepal where his family follow both Nepali & Tibetan traditions

TIBET Day 2 Monday 19th September

Trip to Tibet delayed by one day so more sightseeing in Kathmandu
Most of the group got up early to go on the Everest flight – a small jet that flies up towards Everest for a view of the Himalayas & take photos – but done this so didn’t go. After they got back [not very clear so a bit disappointed] & had breakfast there was another tour of major sites.

I have done all this before but Kathmandu Durbar Square being the first stop decided to go with them in case the Kumari came out to see them, she never did the other twice I’ve been & I would be so annoyed if they came back and told me they had seen her.
Glad I went as she did come out to bless us & also this guide is better than others as he takes us to more interesting places than just temples & stupas

Today he took us round some streets where the locals shop & to a group of stalls selling very bright colourful jewellery called the bead market [would make good Christmas tree decorations!]

When they went back to the bus to go to Swayambhunath [another stupa] & Pashupatinath [cremation site on the river] I walked back to the hotel –in the rain. May go again on my own but not in a flock.

Kathmandu Durbar Square

Wrote this up in the covered courtyard then packed ready for an early start tomorrow as leaving at 7;30 for flight to Lhasa and start of holiday proper.. Alison my roommate rushed in from site seeing & rushed straight back out again - they were getting a lift into Thamel to do shopping for gifts & souvenirs as there wont be time at end of trip because of it being put back a day. She said all eating at hotel tonight – good as I wanted to do that.

TIBET Day 1 Sunday 18th Setember 2011

2011-09-18T03:34:00.039+01:00

Trip starts Kathmandu (1330m)

Arrive at your first night's accommodation and check in. You'll have a chance to meet the other members of the group, and your Group Leader will brief you on relevant aspects of the trip. At this point your passport and air tickets will be collected, and your flights will be reconfirmed. These documents are held in a safe and your passport will be returned before the onward flight to Lhasa. The evening is free to dine at one of Kathmandu's many excellent restaurants. Hotel - 2 nights

Please note: Flexibility and patience are key words when travelling in Tibet. The location of night stops may vary in response to weather and road conditions. Tourism is still in its infancy in this wild, remote region and the Chinese authorities can, and do change arrangements and schedules without notice. Bear this in mind, and you'll be rewarded with a unique insight into Tibet and its people

Got to Hotel Tibet about 2pm and was shown to my room, sorted my stuff put what I needed to take into holdall & what to leave at hotel in suitcase. The others arrive later & there is a meeting at 5.30 to tell us about the trip.

Got a call from group leader who was in reception so went down to meet him and he told me I had been given wrong room so moved to another one that I was to share with a young lady in early 30’s, outgoing and friendly thank goodness – I couldn’t get single room as I was so late booking.

Went to reception later to meet the others, seem to be a good crowd – mostly women. Leader took passports & fee for Chinese visa, which will be a group one for just the length of stay and places visiting – they are very strict.

There are 15 in the group – 1 couple, 2 ladies together, 2 men on their own sharing & the rest are single females who had all booked single rooms except one, so that’s who I’m sharing with. Maybe if she had asked for single I wouldn’t have got a place at all. Ages range from 30ish to early 70’s

Joined with some of the group & waked up the street, some stayed behind as very tired from flight & others stopped to look at shops or get a beer. Ended up 6 of us going into a local restaurant for dinner.

We ordered and got a drink then there was a strange sensation. We all looked at each other as the place moved & it felt like we were at sea with gentle waves, I thought it was an earthquake and then the Japanese men at the next table said it was. It seemed to last ages, probably only a minute but it took a lot longer for the ceiling lights to stop swinging.

Had a good meal & back to hotel to swap tales with the others. One lady was in a supermarket & stuff was falling off shelves, bottles & jars smashing. Another couple were in a bar and everyone ran into the street with glasses in their hand’

Was surprised when got messages from family asking if I was ok, it was a bit of a non event here

Thursday 15 September 2011

2011-09-17T11:26:00.001+01:00

Another frustrating morning trying to use the internet. There is problem with the line and they are going to get an engineer to come. Went to Social Tours office for lunch in their courtyard , it was Chapati with 3 small dishes of sauce to dip it into –a hot chilli & tomato; a peanut & a yoghurt one.

They do cookery lessons as well now teaching how to make traditional Nepali food and tomorrow there are two French ladies coming so I am going to join the class

I was talking to Raj about the problems I was having doing my blog so he offered the use of their computers as they have a super fast internet system. Spent an hour checking and redesigning it a bit then went to collect the photos that I was having developed and took them to give to the children. Pinned a couple onto their notice board of their Judo lesson

Called at the office of the company who are leading the trip to Tibet that I am going on to ask a few questions then back home.

Dinning Room at The Hub

There are 4 more guests staying just for 1 night but it is good for business and hopefully word of mouth will bring more

Friday 16 September 2011

2011-09-17T11:18:00.003+01:00

Went for my cookery lesson for 10;30 and met the other two, mother and daughter, the daughter lives in Kathmandu as her husband works for UNISEF and her mother is visiting. First we talked for a while about the cookery lessons and then other services they provide besides trekking and tours of the cultural sites – visits to a pottery to make own pot; organic farm; local villages & home stays as more tourists now want to see & experience the true way of life of the Nepali people.

We were taken to a local shop to buy the vegetables needed to make the Momo and sauce

Came back chopped and prepared

the veg and mixed with spices, some was added to minced chicken & made flour & water dough.

Shown how to make the small dumplings then we all made a large batch for 10 people – us all the staff at the office, who get their lunch provided every day. Cooked by the young lady who was teaching us.

We ate a delicious lunch cooked by ourselves and after saying goodbye to the other two and thanking our teacher I used the computer to download photos for my blog.

Walked back home and worked on blog until dinnertime – great day will go again for another lesson when I get back to Kathmandu in October

Wednesday 14 September 2011

2011-09-17T10:59:00.002+01:00

Intended getting my blog set up this morning but bad internet connection problems. Told Anupam and he said he had to go and pay the bill. Downloaded photos off camera to laptop and sorted some to print for kids then went for a walk down the street to take more photos, rained heavily last night so puddles everywhere – I said street but this one is just an unmade up track needing repair as are lots of the smaller streets. Met Anupam going out on his scooter – he said ‘going to pay the bill’ so internet should be back on soon.

Walked to children’s home via the bakery of the lady who saw me home on Sunday and had Momo for lunch very good and only 75 rupees [70p] for 10 small dumplings about size of my thumb –these ones long & narrow not round – and dish of spicy sauce plus carton of juice.

Tried ATM for cash but my card wouldn’t work – oh dear – then realised I had put extra nought on so asked for too much & it wouldn’t let me try again – have to try again tomorrow.

Called at photo shop to get prints of festivals –mine plus downloads of those held other times of year – for children’s homework projects then on OCCED.

When I return in October there will be a long festival lasting 2 weeks, the children will be off school and the office staff on holiday so I discussed with Bijaya and Ram – one of the directors who is working in the office – what we [me & other volunteers who will be there] are able to do in their absence and where equipment & resources are kept etc

The children have judo lessons and the instructor arrived for their lesson so most of them changed to do that but one or two had injuries and couldn’t

Dinner at home again

Tuesday 13 September 2011

2011-09-17T10:53:00.002+01:00

Very quiet day finished writing up my journal to put on blog then in afternoon walked in to Thamel. Very cloudy & cooler but started to rain as I got there so dashed into Jarva Coffee House for a drink & sandwich. It had eased off by then so went on to the Social Tours office to see friends there, as I hadn’t been yet.

Wish I had got in touch as soon as I arrived as they had a party at Durbar Square on Sunday for the festival and wore traditional Newari costume and would have invited me. Raj said he had looked up to the café where I was, but off course did not see me. He was also at the celebration at the temple on Saturday evening with his wife & daughter and we didn’t see each other. Caught up with what has been happening, found out about other volunteers that will be arriving while I’m here and arranged to go back there for lunch on Thursday

I walked back home passed the bakery owned by the lady who guided me home the other night. She was there behind the counter and so I thanked her again. She also has a small café and there was a man having Momo – small dumplings filled with meat or veg with a hot sauce to dip them in – so I said I would come back for lunch one day.

Had dinner at the house again tonight with Aanand, Anupam, another new guest & the young Canadian couple. It’s their last night, they get the tourist bus at 6.30 tomorrow morning to Pokhara, the second stop on this long trip they are taking around Asia and hopefully South America, will have to read their blog and see where they get to

Monday 12 September 2011

2011-09-17T10:38:00.004+01:00

My room at The Hub

Spent this morning getting information off the internet to help some of the kids with their homework. They have to find out who made the first rocket, airplane & car and about 3 festivals, including the one I saw yesterday. I got this info printed out at an internet café on the way to see them in the afternoon. Also got some photos of yesterdays festival that I can get printed for them. Had to use my umbrella when walking there, not because it was raining but it is so hot – when I took my mobile out of my pocket it read 39c

Talked to the office staff about the time I will be spending there next month and the President of the OCCED, the charity that runs the home, came in and gave me a very warm welcome. It was his home I stayed at when I was here 18 months ago.

The sky had become very dark and looked like a storm coming so walked back just arriving as it began to spit a little. Ate at the house again tonight, the food is so delicious – roti [a flat pancake made with flour & water] and a stew of potatoes, vegetables, tomatoes, spices & cubes of cheese

Wrote up what I had done today in my room and then went into the living room where Aanand, his brother Anupam and the Canadian couple who live in Dubai were playing a card game that is played in the middle east called tirnib. I will have to teach the children how to play it.

Sunday 11 September 2011

2011-09-17T10:37:00.002+01:00

The first day of Indra Jatra [see below] festival with a procession & school was closed so I went to see the kids in the morning for a while. I took some nail varnish & stick on Tika, the red dots put on the forehead, for the girls as it was festival and then sat and chatted to the boys for a while. I had also taken fruit, biscuits and squash for them to have a small celebration

I went on later to see the festival. I knew a rooftop cafe on the edge of the square next to Durbar Square where the procession started that I hoped to get onto to watch. When I arrived I found the Canadian couple that are staying at the house already there, as I had told them about the place the day before.

There were two chariots, wagons to be pulled by ropes, at the far end of this first square and we waited for them to move off hoping they would come our way, but no, after a few displays by dancers and masked performers they went the other way through Durbar Square. I stayed on at the café for some food then walked through the square towards home, caught up with the other couple and we walked on into Thamel where they stayed to eat & I continued home.

It got dark very quickly and I was unsure of the way through these streets, as I had not walked that way before. I asked someone if this was the way and a lady with a little girl said ‘I live near there I will show you’. We enjoyed our walk each asking the other about their life and she insisted on continuing past her house to make sure I got back. She has a bakery so I will call in next time I pass & thank her again – and buy some cakes for the children.

Saturday 10 September 2011

2011-09-17T10:33:00.025+01:00

My horoscope in today’s Kathmandu post:

Exciting meetings, prospects, new horizons, relationships, opportunities and opposition – these continue. The money side of these opportunities enters Thursday into late October. This isn’t quick or ‘salary’ money it’s more that you’ll deal with large sums, or with people who own them – power players.[that should be interesting!] Be diplomatic with everyone, yet eager to join. Your energy and charisma soar Sunday/Monday.[Rubbish nothing happened] A momentous decision might be made. Chase money midweek. Buy, Wednesday afternoon. Travel, communicate Thursday noon onward.
I could make this fit my situation if I believed in such things?!
Had a relaxing morning reading the local paper, catching up with emails & trying to write my journal that will eventually turn into this blog.

Later in the day went to see the children and chatted. They told me about their judo lessons and the competitions they have been in & who won. I asked if the basketball ring that I bought for them last time I was there was still ok, they showed me it was but said they had no basketball now as it had burst, will buy them a new one but told them ‘maybe, we will see’
It is hot here about 28-30c but still getting very heavy showers occasionally - and I mean heavy- as it’s the end of monsoon season.

Got back home for 3pm as Aanad, who owns the place I am staying at, was going along with others to see the Prime Minister [very highly thought of by the people unlike most of the other politicians ] to present him with a t-shirt with a slogan written in Nepali that said ‘may the corrupt rot’ He had asked if I would like to go too, but when I got back apologised that I could not as they had been told only a few could attend.

Anaand has recently started to run his own volunteering organisation & the paying guests help to lower the running costs by providing money to run this house, which is also his home & office [although cost of living is very cheap here rent is high] [see link to vfcnepal]

He, his colleagues and friends are involved with a large group of Nepalese who volunteer to do stuff to improve the area & had recently painted the outside of Kalmochan Temple.

This is a group of small temples with one larger one in the middle set in a courtyard surrounded by low buildings – an ideal place to gather or hold small concerts but it had been neglected and looked bad so they painted the outside walls white and the domes, spires & figures gold, getting sherpas to do the highest parts.

They took us [me and another couple staying here] with them in the evening to a celebration they were holding to mark the completion of the job. There were singers giving a concert, some very famous in Nepal, and then candles were lit & placed all around the steps of the temples to remember those killed in conflict & war. Afterwards we had a traditional Nepalese meal at the house

First day in Kathmandu

2011-09-17T05:58:00.001+01:00

Friday 09 September 2011

There was hot water this morning to wash my hair but cannot get onto internet to check if ‘The Hub’ has a room for me so had breakfast on the rooftop garden & went out to internet café. Hurray they have room so went and packed & paid for one night. The man who took my money said he would tell the online booking agent that I had not turned up, but they may still charge me something but if he said I only stayed one night then they definitely would make a charge [probably means they would charge him commission if he told them I had paid for 1 night] The proprietor was sitting in reception with a very stoney face!

Walked down the street & stopped a taxi, showed driver the address I had written down, he nodded and I got in. I knew which area I needed to go to and he went in that direction then turned to me for instruction, I didn’t know exactly where, I thought he knew the address. Another mistake – he was old and no English- [must remember to get young drivers as they usually understand a bit of English & my limited Nepali is not good enough]. He asked someone at a store on the road side but as no one uses street names they didn’t know but pointed and instructed which direction, he turned off main road and went on & on down back streets, think he expected me to spot the place so I made him drop me off at an internet café. Found the website and checked phone number and asked the owner to ring them for me. The younger brother of the owner came to get me – it wasn’t far (Near Saraswati Temple) and I recognised we had passed very near by in the taxi.

What a joy to find it is a great place. Its more home stay than guest house, breakfast is included & other meals I can eat with them or cook my own if I want. The rooms are good with nice bathroom, communal sitting, dining & kitchen and they have wifi. It is in a quiet [well reasonably for Ktm] residential area with shops a few doors down & half way between Thamel [tourist area] and the children’s home – 20 min walk either way. I will stay here this week and will probably book to come back in October after my holiday to Tibet

After settling in I walked to the children’s home [see link OCCED Naxal] to see Bijaya the administrator and let her know I was here, so that I could visit the children tomorrow when there are no staff in work [work & school is 6 days a week only Saturday off] I went to see the didi’s [young women who cook clean & take care of the children] and the children who were not at school – only 6 now, 3 in the pre-school class & 3 in the nursery. Nena who takes care of the little ones couldn’t wait to tell me that they had 2 new babies, one a year old the other 5 months, which made her very happy. She also said that a few of the children had been adopted and told me their names. I will have to write them down next time I go so I can remember which ones they were
P652
Waited for the kids t get home from school - they all remembered me this time Will go back tomorrow sometime and Sunday as there will be no school because there is a festival.
Walked back home – it feels like home – and had dinner here. Why cook when they charge 200 Nelalese Rupees- less than £2 for a very tasty meal

And on to Kathmandu

2011-09-16T17:34:00.006+01:00

Thursday 08 September 2011

Alarm went off at 3am and the phone rang immediately after with my back up call! At 3.15 phone rang again it was reception telling me my driver was here. Just getting set to leave room when there was a knock on door and a porter had come to take my luggage down- make the best of it there will be nothing like this on the rest of my trip. Only took 30 min to airport but even at that time of morning there was a lot of traffic – mostly taxis. Airport very quiet and went straight though check in and security [Jet Airways not as generous with baggage allowance but not bothered about the extra kilo weight in my suitcase] Having a coffee by 4.15. Now sitting in lovely comfy bucket swivel chair writing this & typing up the notes I have written since leaving home while I wait for gate to open,

Gate opened early & I was one of the first to board, flight only half full & took off 20 min early. Must have made good time as landed 40 min early, but means longer wait in New Delhi airport – 3hrs [Here it is 1½ hrs behind Bangkok- so what time is it now??]. Used up batteries on flight typing up this journal from hand written notes so can’t finish.

A terrorist bomb went off in Delhi yesterday so thought security would be tighter but doesn’t appear to be too bad – checked documents quite a lot of times, hand luggage & me scanned but that looked like normal practice for onward flights.

Very confusing signs – or lack of signs- as walked under a sign for international departures with arrow pointing straight on so walked down a long corridor with others only to discover we should have turned immediately left, back on ourselves, after the sign & up some stairs which was clearly marked coming back down the corridor!!

Again flight took less than stated at Kathmandu airport and through very quickly so the booked taxi was not here. Couldn’t make calls on my phone so grabbed a taxi and phoned to cancel booked one when I got to guest house, which was not looking too good- should have known for that price & booked online

I was tired and hot 28c here and taxis do not have air con, so when I was shown my room I was not feeling happy. Asked if they had a better room, which was no better so asked for their best room. Not better just it was on the top floor and door was off the roof garden.

I said I wasn’t happy but would stay that night and move to a better hotel, which with hindsight was a mistake, as I had offended him and he never smiled at me again. I emailed another place to ask if they had a room called The Hub, situated in Lazimpat, that had been recommended to me by Shruti, whom I had been in touch with again recently because she worked at the children’s home when I was here last time.

Went to have a shower & wash my hair only to find no hot water so just quick cold shower. Walked round to the office of Himalayan Encounters, the company who had done the tour of Nepal I had gone on last year and had booked my airport taxi so I could apologise for cancelling. The guy who booked taxi wasn’t there but spoke to another one. He asked where I was from and when I said England he asked where? I replied oh you wont have heard of it the far north west called the Lake District. He replied ‘I was there 3 weeks ago, I climbed Scafell’ so I explained that when he was on top & looked west to the coast that is where my village is. He had also climbed Ben Nevis & Snowdon. Their office is in the courtyard at Kathmandu Guest House so had a meal there before returning to my much cheaper but rather less nice one

Managed a good nights sleep in spite of the initial noise from the busy streets, [it was too hot to close the windows] because there was a very heavy rainstorm, everyone left the streets, the shops closed & it became quieter

Bangkok - last day

2011-09-16T17:12:00.003+01:00

Wednesday 07 September 2011

Up & out at 7am to go to the floating market. About an hour out of city we stopped on the corner of a busy street where we had to jump out and our driver went on to park & wait while we were taken into a local market selling fruit & veg of every variety some of which I had never seen before including roasted frogs.

Most of the market was undercover but out the back were stalls under awnings with a walkway in between, then Kim our guide pointed out that this path was in fact a railway line & that in about 15 min a train was due.

The stallholders fold their awnings & move there goods back for the train to pass then put it all back again. This happens 8 times a day. We were thrilled to be seeing this as Mo had told me previously about a clip of it being on the internet but had not realised it was in Thailand so waited to watch this bizarre event. The train was a bit late but then there was activity & shouting as goods were moved, awnings tilted back out of the way and we squeezed back between stalls as a train came through – not going very slowly.

No sooner had it passed each stall than they put everything back and all returned to as it had been. What a sight & so pleased to have seen it especially as we were not aware of this part of the tour until a few minutes before it happened. Walked up the line out of the market towards Maeklong station and down street to where our driver was waiting – If you go to Bangkok this is a ‘must see’ on your visit

Our next stop was at a bamboo centre were we were shown that a sugar is extracted from the cane, which is soft & brown rather like fudge. There was also an orchid farm and craft shop with a café serving simple Thai food – only locals were eating there but we hadn’t had breakfast so we got a bowl of noodles & veg for about £1- delicious

Travelled a bit further to get into a speed boat – well a long narrow wooden boat with a canopy and an outboard motor & we sat on a plank on the floor– that took us along the canals through mangroves and passed houses on stilts to the floating market.

Very colourful & good to visit- Mo bought a Rolex watch? For about £8!! Bargains can be had – I bought watch in Kathmandu in 2008 for £4 and still wear it

Called at a wood carving centre on the way back where the very talented workers made both furniture and intricate carved scenes

After getting back to hotel we went up the street to a small booth we had seen on the pavement selling watch batteries – Mo’s watch wasn’t going!!! But a new battery for a pound soon fixed that. Then to the internet café to check emails and I wanted to check in online & for tomorrows flight. Mo also needed to update her blog [her friends in Aus & NZ were sending messages asking her what she was doing] I wasn’t able to check in so left Mo doing her stuff and returned to hotel, sat by pool and had a beer & something to eat while I waited.

We had a swim when she got back then went for? – Yes more treatment – Mo had back & neck massage & I had a manicure so nail varnish matched my toes done yesterday. It stormed again while we were in there, but as with tropical storms everywhere was dry soon after. Packed and changed before going to Liquid Lounge [their name not mine] to use the voucher we were given for a complimentary cocktail, which led to 2 more, ordered food there instead of going out, Spring rolls & chicken wrapped in banana leaves & deep fried– good job as there was another heavy storm. Paid my bill, said goodbye to Mo & went to my room, early start tomorrow for my flight.

Bangkok

2011-09-15T15:15:00.011+01:00

Tuesday 06 September 2011

Met Mo at 8am to go out for breakfast before guide came to collect us at 9. There was a hotel down the street advertising ‘all you can eat’ for 139 Bht [£2.75] It looked ok so ate there, buffet of Thai food - all sorts of noodles & rice dishes/ cold meat & salad/sausage & egg bread/ fruit/ juice tea coffee toast etc.

Kim our guide and a car & driver were waiting when we got back so set off across the city to the Royal Palace, where they have rules about how to dress – no shorts or strapy tops. Our guide was wearing leggings & a skirt, she was told leggings were not allowed either trousers or skirt -so she had to go and take them off - the bare legs with skirt just above knees was ok!

The palace, not where the royal family live now, is not one big building but a group of small ones that are beautifully built with intricate carvings and a lot of gold paint [real, high carat] and contain open sided passages painted with murals telling Buddhist stories about the ancient gods, monkeys & demons, where real gold has also been used.

The weather was again very humid so when the tour was over and Kim asked if there was anything else we wanted to see we both agreed ‘go in the pool at the hotel’ but we would like to have a ride on the Skytrain so we were dropped off at a station a few stops away from the hotel and we rode back on that – just to say we had done it.

After a swim & beer we both had a hand & foot reflexology plus pedicure. It rained heavily and there was an electric tropical storm so we were glad to spend the next hour & a half being pampered.

Had dinner in the hotel restaurant as they did a Thai special meal with a selection of different dishes for 530 Bhats [just over £10], our G & T and glass of wine cost more

Arrive in Bangkok

2011-09-15T14:51:00.020+01:00

Monday 05 September 2011

Had been ½ hour late taking off again but didn’t make it up this time so landed in Bangkok [another 4 hours ahead] at 8:45am. Had taxi pre booked for 9 & wasn’t at the meeting point until 9:20 to find nobody had my name on their card so rang the company then got call back from young woman who was looking for me but didn’t have a board up - oh well!! It took an hour to get to hotel as roads were busy & cost 795 Bhats [£17.50]

The hotel was in a busy part of the city down a narrow side street with quite a few massage parlours [not sleazy ones], hairdressers, shops & restaurants and a few other hotels. My room wasn’t ready as I arrived mid morning so was given a coffee while I waited and bought a bacon toastie as I was famished. Bought WiFi – not free here, v. expensive- to check emails etc and found one from two friends in Kathmandu - good that they have replied to mine and know I am coming.

I was told my room was ready and had been given a special one, I love to get upgraded; the room was huge with a giant size bed & a couch/daybed, also robe & slippers [slippers handy to take with me] I was very tired when I arrived & wanted to go to bed as I hadn’t had much sleep & lost 6 hours in time difference but after good coffee felt not to bad so had a shower then went for a walk up onto the main road

The pavement on this side of the busy dual carriageway was lined with stalls, all selling the same cheap stuff – t-shirts, jewellery etc. & so are a lot of the shops. There are quite a few restaurants too so wont have far to go for dinner if we don’t want to eat at the hotel. Just writing this while waiting for Mo to arrive and then going down to lobby/café to check if her flight is on time as no WiFi in the rooms.

Mo [Maureen] is someone I met on a holiday to Kenya a few years ago, we have stayed in touch, become good friends & she is the reason I came to Bangkok – she was spending a 3 day stop over there on the way to a 3 month adventure in Aus & NZ so I decided to join her there before going on to Nepal.
Her flight was due to land about now & she wouldn’t get to the hotel for a while so went to see if I could get a massage from the salon in the hotel. Yes could- wonderful!- girl came to my room and was nearly finished when Mo rang to say she was here and wanted to ring the guide who collected her at airport asap to book tours. Needed me to confirm that we still wanted to do the 2 we had decided on last week. Booked Royal Palace tomorrow & Floating Market on Wednesday, both in the morning, as it will be too hot in afternoon. It’s about 30c but very high humidity.

Decided to eat early as both tired, went to a restaurant I had seen earlier that had tables on the pavement on a side street near hotel and each ordered a Thai meal that we shared. The presentation was excellent & one of the rice dishes was served in half a pineapple. The café had free WiFi and Mo wanted to check emails etc but it didn’t work on her net book so we went to a nearby internet café and used that – so cheap at £2 hour, especially compare with hotel.

Walked down the street with the stalls and through a narrow ally where there were bars & shops etc. Great that we were together as neither of us would have done that on our own.

Up, up and away

2011-09-15T14:46:00.005+01:00

Sunday 04 September 2011

Desks already open when I arrived with not many people there so as already checked in online used quick bag drop & straight through security – 2½ hrs to take off. Gate opened at 9 and arrived to find passengers going right though to buses waiting to take us to the plane, in seat by 9.20 only to be told there were delays taking off. Eventually taxied out at 10:25.

Excellent service on board with plenty of drink offered plus food ok too and I do believe Qatar are right in saying their seats are wider with more leg room

Made good time and despite taking off ½ hour late landed in Doha [2 hours ahead] only 5 min late at 19:05 and it was pitch dark already. They are making improvements at the airport so we had to get off onto the tarmac to be bused into the terminal, it was 35c and the heat hit me when I got half way down the plane. Only a short wait and was boarding the next flight an hour later

This is the first time I have flown long haul during the day and I prefer to go through night as I usually manage to sleep a fare bit & doesn’t seem so long. Although only 7pm in England it was dark and it seemed later so managed a few hours sleep. My neighbours this time were a German couple, she spoke English & was friendly, – not like the man next to me on first flight who didn’t speak - we had a good chat & when I said I had flown from Manchester he told me he was a lorry driver and regularly drove tankers from Cologne to Runcorn

Good view of area when descending, it is very flat and all divided into small parcels of land planted with rice & veg I presume – very green anyway

On my way to airport

2011-09-15T14:43:00.011+01:00

Saturday 03 September 2011

Online check in opened at 10pm for tomorrows flight, 36 hrs prior to take off, but had been out for a meal with family & had a few glasses of wine so decided not to do it until tomorrow morning just in case I made a mistake! Anyway slept badly so at 5:30 decided to get up and do it. Good job I did as there was only 1 window seat left –on the right [south & sunny side] over the wing - dam it! Most of the window seats were single travellers too and lots of isle seats still available. Also managed to get widow seat on second leg, this time near back & on left but it will be night most of the way so not too important.

Said goodbye to my daughter , son & their families & was taken for the train.

Had to change at Lancaster but were a bit late arriving, next train was already at the platform on other side. Because of my suitcase & the stairs I used the lift that took ages -everyone else ran over the bridge – I heard the whistle as I got into the lift to go back down. The lift doors opened to find empty platform, I had missed my connection! Told to get the next train to Preston then change again for airport. The train to airport was also late and although it should have been an express it was now behind a local train that stopped at every station so got later & later until on arrival at Manchester they announced that it would terminate at Piccadilly & we had to change [again] for the airport. Eventually arriving 1 hour late

Decided to walk to Bewley’s Hotel as I could see it across the road as I left the station but not so easy as had to cross the dual carriageway running in & out of the airport that was in between. It took quite along time to get there but arrived eventually [Jackie warned me it was difficult] but the walk did me good after sitting on trains & platforms for 5 hours.

Had a beer & food, checked emails [free WiFi] and got an early night. Complimentary taxi booked for 7am over to terminal 2 [not walking again!]

Late Entries

2010-07-08T18:19:00.002+01:00

I know it may seem a bit pointless adding this 2 months after I returned but one of my reasons for writing the blog was so people thinking about volunteering can get an insight into what it is like so here are the final entries that I hand wrote in my last week.

It took me a long time to settle back into normality after returning home, as all past volunteers will understand! It took a while to get my laptop fixed without loosing any of my files, most of which I had backed up, and most importantly my contacts, which I hadn’t a backed up. I got my report sent in then lots of things happened, both good and awful, that prevented me from following up the promises I had made to complete my blog and get in touch with friends to send info, pictures etc. Following a week in the sun to chill & get myself back on track I am finally writing this then I will get in touch with all my friends both in Nepal & at home

Tuesday 11th May
Everything is back to normal – Kathmandu is once again a busy, dusty, noisy city. The children went back at school on Sunday & I met them going to school this morning as I was walking in. They made me promise to waited for the them to get back home today as I had to leave early yesterday and haven’t seen them for 2 days.

Someone came to the orphanage to look at the faulty electrical equipment that I had mentioned at my meeting with the board and give an estimate for repairs, so I could then consider whether to use some of my donation to pay for the work The list of repairs required had increase so I decided to contribute 50% of cost

I visited the pre-school children and played with them and took photos. The two new girls seem to be very happy and have settled in surprisingly quickly. Another 4 year-old boy is being adopted by an Italian family. One left the orphanage to go to Italy in my first week here. The family have been visiting him every day and were getting very worried that because of the strike the paperwork wouldn’t go through before they had to return home, so it was smiles all round today as they came to collect him and took him to stay at their hotel while the documents are finalised and they can take him home to Italy at the end of the week.

After the children came home and I had talked to them all for a while I left to meet Anna, the woman who is here teaching English and came to Haribol’s for dinner last week. We had arranged to meet for a drink and she offered to pick me up as she has a friend’s motorbike borrowed to get about on. So I got to ride around the city on a bike – not as hair raising as I thought it might be. She went looking for a book she wanted for her next teaching job and I visited social tours then went to the Java coffee house to meet her. She couldn’t find the book and by the time she arrived it had got late so I rang the house to say I wouldn’t be home for dinner and had a pizza instead of the usual Nepalese food – don’t know whether I liked it better though.

Wednesday 12th May
Shruti is going to Nagarkot today to stay overnight & do her project tomorrow but I feel I have too much to do & so little time left so I am not going with her. I have been unable to do a few of the things I wanted to do because of the strike & not knowing how long it would last meant I couldn’t make arrangements to see the friends I had 2 years ago, who run homes for abused children here in Kathmandu & Pokhara. Nor have I visited the 2 schools the children attend, the boarding school that the 3 boys are attending or been in touch with a man I was told about who runs a home for disadvantaged children.

I have mentioned that the orphanage is in buildings that are rented, in poor repair, not really suitable for a children’s home and under constant threat of eviction. The board are trying to raise money to build a purpose build home. Land in Kathmandu is very expensive and the sum required is proving very hard to raise. One of the volunteers who was here last month is going to prepare a presentation to be used here in Nepal & elsewhere in the world in a bid to raise the necessary funds. She is going to send me a copy when its ready and I will be passing the info on through this blog in the hope that you might wish to help.

I went with Reema to the supermarket to buy cleaning materials & shampoo etc and to see about large tubs of ice cream for my farewell with the kids tomorrow. It was so hot walking there [30c] that we sat & had a cornet ourselves before walking back

Thursday 13th May
I wanted to type up my notes from the meetings I have already had & for the farewell ones tomorrow, update my blog and check emails but there was no electricity until 4pm and that was the time the children got home from school and I would be saying my goodbyes, so I hand wrote what was necessary & will put on computer & e-mail back to OCCED when I get home – I wish I had gone to Nagarkot after all as this feels like a wasted day -except for playing with the toddlers this morning & writing my entries in the volunteer book

Reema went with me to the supermarket for the ice cream & balloons to help me negotiate for the large container & cones we had enquired about yesterday – it cost 600 rupees [£6] for a gallon size tub including cones. I also got some boxes of biscuits for the didi’s & office staff, but they enjoyed the ice cream as much as the kids – and had seconds. After they had their ice cream I went to say goodbye to the girls who kept asking when I was coming back – I said next year maybe. I would love to come here in autumn when the skies are clear and the hills around Kathmandu and the snow capped Himalayas beyond are visible, so October 2011?? I eventually got away and went to see the boys who were in the yard. When I said I would miss them one 10 year old gave me a hug and said that he would miss me. I asked if anyone else wanted a hug and they all looked very embarrassed. Some of them started shooting basketball and asked me to join in as I had bought the new ring, the others went onto the roof and asked me to zoom in and take their photos, they are fascinated to see how close the zoom brings everything. Reluctantly I had to leave & as I went out the gate I looked back at the boys on the roof who were waving and shouting goodbye, I waved back and shouted ‘goodbye I love you all’ To my delight & surprise a 12 year old shouted back ‘ I love you too Miss’. When I was asked later at my meeting what the highlight of my stay was I said that this had been - & the hug from the other boy – will definitely be going back.

I collected my traditional Nepalese outfit of trousers, tunic & scarf from the shop where I had made arrangement for it to be made on my way home.

Friday 14th May
There is usually a mini break & city tour included in the volunteering trip. I had done the city tour before and because of the strike I hadn’t been able to take a break half way through the stay and Social Tours were insistent I had a half-day out this morning. I asked to go out of the dusty city so they arranged for a delightful & excellent tour guide called Bimita, a car & driver to take me 7km south to visit two Newari farming villages. They were not villages as we think of them – the old small thatches cottages had been replaced many ears ago with rows of 3 story houses and they looked more like small towns. It is harvest time and the wheat was in the streets & squares being threshed by hand & laid out to dry – the straw will then be used for fuel for cooking.
The second village is famous for its woodcarving. The windows & doors in traditional buildings are made from a very hard wood which are ornately carved. These woodcarvers do now, of course, also make articles for the tourist trade – miniature windows, bells, prayer drums etc. I bought a carving of two fish, because it is my horoscope sign, but is one of the eight auspicious signs of Buddhism and symbolises harmony indicating that under this umbrella we should always live in harmony and peace. So I like it for two reasons. On the way back we stopped on a rise of the road where there is a wonderful view of the Kathmandu valley- the fields were nearly all bare waiting for the rains when they will be planted with rice & become paddy fields in the monsoon, yielding their second crop of the year. There were hills in the haze across the valley and, I was told, snow capped mountains behind confirming that I must come back in the Autumn next time to see all these mountains clearly.

I got back to the orphanage in time for my farewell meeting with the board, said goodbye and thanked them for making me so welcome, went on for my final meeting at Social Tours to say goodbye to my friends there and then on to a guest house where I was staying that night as I was being taken out for a farewell dinner & wanted to have a last walk around Thamel & visit the Garden of Dreams on my last morning.

Saturday 15th May
My last day in Nepal. I thought I would get a lie in but no, I woke at 5am as usual & couldn’t get back to sleep. After breakfast I arranged for a massage but couldn’t have appointment until 10.30 so sat in the hotel garden and wrote up notes for last three days blog and checked my flight on internet– no problems or delays expected from volcanic dust. Went to Garden of Dreams and had a nice relaxing lunch before going back to the house to finish packing, say goodbye to the family & take some final photos of them. They gave me a beautiful photo album made from handmade paper as a farewell gift. Binita from Social Tours came for me in a car to take me to the airport – and make sure that I left!!
I am now waiting patiently for my flight & writing this in my book, only 2 hours to take off – Farewell Nepal until next time, October 2011…..

Monday 17th May
I got home with no problems, landed on time just after 6 am straight through passport, my luggage came off very soon [not last as it usually does] and I was across London and waiting at Euston for the train in record time – they closed Heathrow later in the day because of volcano dust so very lucky – or maybe I would have liked to have stayed a bit longer.
Oh forgot to say I got an upgrade from Kathmandu to Bahrain, drinks before take off, 3 course menu for dinner, reclining seat & plenty of room – another box on my list of ‘must does’ ticked off [to travel business class]

Thursday 13th May

2010-05-13T02:59:00.003+01:00

Sorry my blog has tailed off this week but getting access has been difficult. I will put more on when I'm home and add another slide show of the children - so annoyed that i haven't been able to do that while I'm here as I'm sure you will all stop reading it by the time i get my laptop fixed

I have achieved some good things but still feel that i have been hampered by the total inactivity of the middle week because of the strike
I read about ash cloud returning and wondered if I might have to stay longer!! In some ways I wouldn't mind but am now missing everyone and want to see my family & friends, especially with my laptop down and not being able to communicate as I had planned.

This is my last day at orphanage,so doing last minute things and saying goodbye to the children which will be hard. I haven't been able to arrange an outing for them so I am getting ice cream & balloons for when they get home from school this afternoon and have a farewell party

The trip should include a break away and as i didn't get one Bipin has insisted on taking me somewhere tomorrow morning - on his bike i think -before final board meeting, then to Thamel for social tours meeting & then farewell dinner. So i am staying at hotel in Thamel Friday night and having a wander round shops Saturday morning & visit Garden of Dreams before coming back for luggage. my flight is 7pm from here
I wont have laptop from now but I will check emails from social tours tomorrow & internet cafe on sat.
See you all soon

Monday 10th May

2010-05-10T14:28:00.004+01:00

My 30 day visa expired today and I needed an extension. I first went to the office and Bipin rang friends to see if the area where the immigration office is was safe as there had been trouble in that region yesterday. All was clear so I set off, he had warned me that they usually tell you to leave documents and come back in afternoon or the clerks will ask for a fee to get quick service. The visa was 2500 rupees and the clerk said if I paid 3200 I could have it in 20 minutes, which I did. Apparently the clerks divide out this money between them! By the time I had paid for taxis and the fee it would have been cheaper to buy a 90 day visa before I went instead of following this advise from the London embassy. When I got to the orphanage I had the mid evaluation meeting with the board, which was postponed from last week when no-one could get in. Then there was a meeting with representatives from Saga & volunteer travel, so I didn't get anything else done today.

Sunday 9th May

2010-05-10T14:19:00.003+01:00

I took a day off and went into Thamel for a meeting with social tours and my Nepalese lesson then had some lunch before meeting up with Lynda & Frances who were back from their trek. Lynda wanted to visit the orphanage, where she had volunteered in Feb 2008, and see the children while Franceshad been at Samata school so she visited there. I went with Lynda & we were surprised to find that they were back at school and the young ones were having a nap so she was quite disappointed. We then had a coffee before they went back to their hotel & I came home.

Saturday 8th May

2010-05-09T14:05:00.003+01:00

The strike is over!!!!! At last there will be people at orphanage to confer with; meetings organized; arrangements made for using my donation; shopping done.
Yesterday there was a mass demonstration against the strike by the people that finally tipped the balance and it was called off with a 48 hour deadline to come agreement, so what will happen Monday?

I have now got internet on the borrowed laptop so that has also made me happy, I updated my blog then went to the orphanage for a few ours before walking into Thamel for retail therapy. The ATM’s still aren’t working [I guess not had time to fill up with money and Saturday is not a working day] but I changed some pounds at an exchange and spent most of it on presents, tea, jewellery, clothes etc then had a beer and walked home

Two ladies arrived to have dinner with the family who were in Nepal teaching English and Nilambar, one of Haribol’s sons, had been attending their classes. One lady was from Yorkshire and when I said I lived near Wasdale she said ‘oh yes Wasdale, Eskdale my friend is from Eskdale’ This friend is Katie Trohear, what a small world. We exchanged email/mobile numbers and will meet this week before I leave for home and she goes to a Buddhist Monastery outside Kathmandu to do more teaching.

Friday 7th May

2010-05-09T13:30:00.002+01:00

A day like any other – the strike is still on schools are closed, a few more small shops are open, OCCED staff are unable to get to work. Shruti, volunteer liaison officer, who has been ill came in for a short while. She was going to Nagarkot, a mountain resort about 80 km out of Kathmandu, today and staying overnight to do a survey tomorrow for her college work and asked me to go with her for a break, but of course we cannot go now. I spent the morning with the girls again - making friendship bracelets with embroidery thread, which they had already been taught, and then showed them how to use wool to make a patterned cord, a little like bobbin work but using a cardboard disk.

I spent the afternoon on the computer writing up my notes for the meetings I will be having [if & when this strike ends] and making a start on the report I will have to send to People and Places when I return. As my laptop is still not repaired I am using the internet at the office to check emails and post blog, but it is so slow it took me an hour to do what I could have done in 10 minutes and it cannot cope with adding pictures, sorry as I would love to show you some of the children. I can add them when I get home but you will have stopped reading my blog then!
So frustrated that I left early and walked slowly home - and bought a Pepsi & Bounty bar on the way to try to cheer myself up

I have borrowed the laptop from the orphanage so I can type this up in the evening to copy & paste into my blog and save time but haven’t got internet on it yet.

Sunday 9th May

2010-05-09T03:03:00.003+01:00

Just a short message first - have borrowed laptop from orphanage and am back online with that, at the house, so can now update easier. Will also be adding pictures into previous blogs and producing new slide show of children soon so please keep reading. If anyone has been emailing to my tiscali address - sorry i cant access it and havent read anything for over a week so sorry if not replied. Please leave a comment on blog, it is emailed to me first and i can decide whether to put in onto blog or not - if you send one tell me if you dont want others to read it
More to follow
PS strike has ended and electric cuts are back so am working off battery now and might have to log off before i get all updates done today

Thursday 6th May

2010-05-07T11:05:00.003+01:00

The strike is still dominating life here. I read a couple of interesting articles in the paper this morning – when a man was asked why he was a Maoist supporter he simply replied ‘communism is about sharing what is available, everything else is about individual fulfillment’ and argues that it is this individual fulfillment that is the driving force behind government – maybe this could be said about any government not just Nepal and I can see why the people who have nothing can be misled by thinking they would have a better life.

The other article was headed ‘atithir devo bhava = guests are like our god’ The major portion of the Nepalese economy comes from tourism and it is obvious that if this banda goes on much longer or turns violent then it can only be to the detriment of tourism & the economy and next year is the Year of Tourism 2011 in Nepal with a huge advertising campaign.

I met a rickshaw on my walk to work, which is unusual outside Thamel, in it was a large rucksack & holdall, the owner was pushing it & a western man walking alongside – he was obviously going to the airport and with no taxis operating he took the next best option for his 1 ½ hour walk.[too slow getting camera to get photo so here's one i took earlier]

I made handbags with the 9 older girls today from felt with wool for straps and fasteners and embroidery thread, they used various stitches learned with other volunteers to sew them together and were delighted with the results

I found out that the shops are opening from 6-8 each evening so I stayed late to go to the superstore near the orphanage as I want to but some of the stainless steel plates & dishes used here to eat from and they take credit cards, but only the ground floor food hall was open the stairs to the other floors was blocked off – and the 3 ATM’s on site were not working and I am again down to my last few rupees. Bipin, from social tours, said to me ‘now you now how it feels to only have a pound in your pocket’, I have less than that!!

Wednesday 5th May

2010-05-07T10:54:00.003+01:00

Taxis parked at a closed petrol station
4th day of the strike, not counting Labour Day, and I think everyone is getting fed up with it – I am as I am not able to talk to the board about the things I would like to buy & I am halfway through my stay and the shops aren’t open anyway. The only good thing is that the power is not being cut off according to the timetable & of course no traffic or pollution.

Yet again I’m the only one here apart from the live in staff. Even the teacher hasn’t come today as she hurt her foot walking home. The area from the house to the orphanage has no cadre presence and the demos have been peaceful but the papers report that a lot of people are afraid to leave their homes incase violence does break out. The young sociology student who was going to help me with the children’s profiles hasn’t come in so I found some origami paper and instruction books and the boys spent this morning making planes, birds, animals etc and then 3 of them helped me to make them into a mobile for the toddlers nursery.

I managed to find an electric supply shop open walking home last night so bought4 light bulbs to replace those out in the girls toilets etc. I had to spend some of the money I had borrowed. All the banks & even the ATM’s are closed. If it goes on much longer I will have to go to the tourist hotels and see if they will change some English money.

Tuesday 4th May

2010-05-05T10:19:00.002+01:00

As I was walking to work I got a call from social tours to say they were opening, so I went on to their office– there were cadres [Maoist supporters] & police on the street at the main crossroads before Thamel, but no demos. We had he meeting that should have been held last Friday, discussing my time so far at the orphanage, changes I had found since 2008 & what I thought my donation could be used for, but because of the strike and difficulties traveling to work I have not been able to have my meeting with OCCED board about their needs. I checked my emails, posted 3 days blog [no pictures sorry as internet slow & locking up will try to add later if I get my laptop fixed, also a casualty of the strike] and had lunch at social tours before walking back to the orphanage, which is about half way between Thamel & the house where I am staying. [for those who know Kathmandu the house is just inside the ring toad near to Pashupati, the cremation temple]

There were still cadres & police at the junction but all peaceful but further along there was a dmo down a street to my right. A few shops are starting to open & others have their shutters half up – most shops have roll up garage type doors with the counter right behind and customers do not go inside most of them but stand on the street, or pavement if there is one.

I worked on the computer then went to visit the new toddler, she was shy at first but as I played with the other 3 in the nursery she joined in and was laughing. The didi told me she is Newari, a region of Nepal with there own language, and doesn’t understand Nepali that makes it even harder for her to settle in.

It started raining again as I walked home. When I arrived I could hear a lot of noise coming from the ring road nearby so I went onto the roof and watched as lots of Maoist supporters walked passed shouting & chanting. They apparently sat on either side of the road for 27 kilometers.
The papers have reported that a lot of them who were transported in from the villages have been sick from the food or water provided and a lot more are returning home as the rain means they need to plant crops.

Monday May 3rd

2010-05-05T10:05:00.002+01:00

No traffic again today – so no pollution. What a difference it makes to the air we are breathing it is so much pleasanter and the sky is blue for the first time, but still no shops open so my shopping trip will have to be postponed again. None of the office staff have come to work again today, only the teacher, but as well as the 6 didis there is a nurse and 2 men who also live here one is the guard and the other is ‘office boy’ and a good friend to the boys

The orphanage consists of 2 rented buildings with a yard in front. The 1st has offices on the ground floor, boy’s dormitories, bathroom & common room with TV and above is a flat roof for play. Behind this is a yard, with slide, climbing frame and basketball hoop but it is dry & dusty and doesn’t get much use, leading to the 2nd building that has washroom kitchen and dinning rooms on ground floor, nursery for babies & toddlers and clinic on 1st floor, girls dorms & nurses room [she lives in] on 2nd and classroom & playroom on top floor The new library & computer rooms are in an outhouse near the 2nd building. These premises are rented, in poor condition and not ideal for a children’s home. OCCED, the charity who run the home, are in the process of raising money so they can have a purpose built home but land prices in Kathmandu are very high.

The pre-school children are very well provided for- their classroom contains lots of books toys & games [although no cars for the boys] and there is a TV in the playroom. There is a teacher & assistant teacher who come in from 10am – 5pm everyday except Saturday, their religious day. The girls also have a good supply of games etc & have access to the classroom/ playroom, but the boys don’t have as much & what they do get is squirreled away by individuals – must buy some plastic containers & encourage them to keep everything together in their common room and ask if a cupboard can be provided to keep it all in.

Sunday 2nd May

2010-05-04T07:36:00.004+01:00

I got an early call from Binita at social tours to say the meeting was canceled & she was not going to the office because of the disturbances by the Maoists, I said I was in Thamel & would call at the office anyway for my lesson but she called back to say that was also canceled and the office closed. When I went for breakfast in the hotel the news was on showing the disturbances with large groups of Maoists on the streets and a lot of police. I left the hotel to find all the shops in Thamel also closed so went to the orphanage after all.

As I started walking there was a group of Maoists ahead walking down the middle of the street shouting, chanting and waving flags. I followed at a distance & when they reached the junction turned right & were confronted by a line of police & stood face to face still chanting. My route was straight on – it was very strange as there were no vehicles on the roads, quite a lot of people walking & a few cyclists. Nearly all the shops were closed and it looked so different that I stopped a couple of times to check I was on the right road
None of the office staff were there and the children were off school again. Nabina, the oldest girl, greeted me & I asked if I could get onto the internet & check my emails – I showed her how to do that & then showed her my blog, which I didn’t update as it would take too long.

The things I had taken for the children were locked in the store room and the lady with the key wasn’t in so I checked a cupboard containing colouring books etc to keep the boys occupied – they spend a lot of time watching videos if the electric is on.

Two new girls are at the orphanage, they must have arrived after I left yesterday. One is about 18 mths old [the one in the middle] & looks totally bewildered, according to the other children she cried loudly all night, but by the end of the day she was smiling. All the children are so kind to her & the toddlers take her hand to show the way. The other girl is about 5 years old and much more at home – a little quiet but playing in the nursery with the others, happy to sit on my knee & has obviously posed for photos before.[sorry about the blurred image Laxmi must have moved while taking it]

It rained heavily again through night & cleared the air and the hills around Kathmandu are visible for the first time, but still not very clear. I could see the monkey temple on the hill in the distance from the orphanage roof. Walking home was such a joy – no traffic to watch out for [there are no pavements] and groups of people sitting talking out in front of their closed shops, children playing & riding their bikes in the streets, at least 3 or 4 on each one, it is more like a country village than a city.

When I got home I was told still no water, but they had collected rain water last night & I could use that for laundry – then the water came on so I will do it in the morning - i cannot believe i am excited about doing my laundry!!!

Saturday 1st May

2010-05-04T07:35:00.004+01:00

Labour Day Holiday & the first day of the strike, but there is traffic on the roads and a few taxis. I went to the orphanage did all the usual things including giving the boys some balloons to blow up to play with, which I bought on the way in because I needed a bottle of water that costs 20 rupees, I only had 500 note and knew the shops would not be able to change it – the ballons all had holes in them and only 4 out of 80 were any good.

I asked the staff what they needed so I could decide how to spend my donation & the money given by my family. Most of the boys & some girls need new school bags; the basketball hoop is broken & needs replacing; the boys need somewhere to keep their games DVD’s etc; there are no mosquito nets in the boys rooms & the didi’s don’t have any either; they have run out of cleaning materials for the bathrooms & shampoo; the fan in one of the girls rooms is broken & the little ones need new winter undervests [bhoto]. I will discuss this with the board members at my meeting on Monday.

As I was going to Thamel after ‘work’ & have a Nepali lesson & meeting at Social Tours in the morning I decided to stay there in a hotel tonight [there may not be any taxis tonight anyway] & take tomorrow to do some shopping & visit the garden of dreams – a wonderful oasis in the middle of a noisy, dusty city. There is very little water left at the house so I took my laundry to the hotel & they said it would be back by 4pm tomorrow, but later they gave me it back saying that the laundry was on strike tomorrow & couldn’t do it!!

Friday 30th April

2010-05-04T07:33:00.004+01:00

My laptop has gone down!!!! One of Haribol’s sons works in IT so he is going to see if he can get it working. The Maoist students union called off their strike and most of the children are back at school so I spent the morning putting more information onto the children’s profiles. In the afternoon Laxmi, one of the older girls who has a scholarship to a different school that was still closed, asked me to show her how to write on the computer. It appears they have only been used to play games as there is no-one to supervise and teach them – they do use computers at school. After she had written a piece about herself I showed her the photos I had taken here 2 years ago and soon some of the pre-school children and most of the Didi’s [means big sister] who work here looking after the children, cooking, cleaning etc, were watching the slide show too.
I transferred the pictures from my flash pen to their computer, along with photos of Nepal taken on my trek, and showed Laxmi how to find them and show them as a slide show. I also showed them photos of home, family & last winters snow, they were fascinated as they have never seen snow except on the top of the mountains [in clear weather] When I was taking my stick out I got an electric shock, so now that computer needs repairing too. The other one needs a new keyboard and mouse and doesn’t have games on it.

All the other children came home so I went to see the older boys and looked at their school books and talked to them until home time. Shruti, who is liaison/interpreter for volunteers, walked part of the way with me and told me she goes to college from 6.30-9.30 every morning then comes to work. The assistant teacher also does this as do a lot of students. Bijaya & Shruti

I should have left at 3.30 to go to the office of Social Tours, the company who look after the volunteers, for my weekly meeting to discuss progress/problems etc, but I got a call from them telling me not to go as there was too much activity on the streets. The Maoists were going around the shops ‘asking’ for donations and so most of the shops were closing. I was disappointed by this as I was also going to go and meet Lynda & Frances at their hotel as they had finally got a flight from Delhi

Saturday 1st May

2010-05-01T14:07:00.002+01:00

My laptop is down, hope to get it fixed soon. In internet cafe at present so Namaste to you all and will post asap

Thursday 29th April

2010-04-30T02:22:00.004+01:00

The tradition here is that when a son marries he & his family lives with his parents, so as Haribol & Indu have two married sons, who each have a baby daughter they all live in this house. They each have a floor in the house with a shared kitchen dinning room with outside roof space and the 3 wives share the household duties with help from a teenage boy that lives with them and attends school in the early morning.
I have a room on the same floor as Haribol & Indu and share their bathroom

Walking to the orphanage I pass a football ground which has no grass just very dry and dusty so I asked if the older boys wanted to go there for a kick around I took 12 of them aged 7 – 13, but the clouds went and it got so hot we only stayed about 30 minutes, but they enjoyed it. On the way back I offered to buy them a bag of crisps each, they chose noodles that are a similar thing [it cost me £1.80 for 12packets]
But they didn’t eat them, every one put them in their pocket for later! I forgot to take my camera so no photos - will have to take them there again
When they got back they all drew me a picture – one 9 year old is brilliant at copying and drew a kingfisher from the picture on the packet of crayons

I did some more work on their profiles and left early to go to Thamel to meet 2 women I know who are coming for a trekking holiday, they volunteered here in 2008 and want to visit the orphanage. First I went for a sauna, hair done & had a manicure [cost £16 total] While there it started raining – heavy –the road flooded and I would have to wade through 6 inches of filthy water. Luckily there was a rickshaw at the end of the street so he came for me & I took that to the hotel only to find their flight cancelled because of the weather and they were stuck in Delhi overnight, so I got a taxi home!

Wednesday 28th April

2010-04-29T01:29:00.003+01:00

I took a photo every so often as I walked to school this morning to make a record of the journey and stopped on the way to have some laminating done. Some past volunteers had sent me a message for the children along with photos of themselves so the children would remember them and I had made them into posters and decided they would last longer laminated.

The shops are open fronted and customers stand on the street, it wasn’t long before there was quite a crowd asking me where I was from & what the pictures were. I also bought a calendar for the library so I could mark on the days I will be at the orphanage as the children keep asking how long I am staying.

I went up to the boys common room and found them sorting out a lot of school books, so I looked in an English book – it said ‘do not pronounce the r in doctor, farmer, sailor – in Nepali they roll the r. Also pointing out that ow sounds different in cow / window. Makes one realise how difficult it is to learn and why I find it hard to understand their English.

I gave them the playing cards, chess, snakes & ladders etc I had taken and they quickly split into small groups to quietly play the games, very different from 2 years ago when they would have grabbed & quarrelled over who had what – progress!

Previous volunteers have been compiling profiles on each child & I was asked to continue this so I read through them while a young Nepalese sociology student volunteer who comes once a week took the older boys for a group discussion I asked her if she would help with the profiles, as it will be easier for her to ask the boys for the information needed, and to write a piece about each child for their file, which she agreed to do

Some info for past volunteers: Nabina will be going to college next year; Prem, Tilak and Kishmet have won scholarships to the Nepal Police School and are now boarding there; definite plans have been made to take groups on outdoor pursuits breaks starting in October

Tuesday 27th April

2010-04-28T02:20:00.004+01:00

Another good day – I had a lie in till 6, sent emails and posted on blog before electric went off at 7, had a cup of tea [with pepper in it] then did my laundry by hand as no electric for machine but water was on yesterday so tanks are full. The supply here is quite good as it is usually on every 3rd day and they have holding tanks on the roof!

They have kaanaa [main meal] around 9.30, which was rice mild vegetable curry & spinach followed by fruit & curd, they work 10-5. I then walked to orphanage, which takes 15/20 minutes [Monday I tried using a cab as I was going into Thamel but got in a jam and got out of cab walked passed the jam got another cab, in another jam and it took longer than walking]

The schools are still closed indefinitely and it looks like being a long time as the Maoists have now announced a general strike from May 2nd, so all the children were at home again. I was met by some of the boys who wanted to play hangman again then we did puzzles from books I took – dot to dot, spot the difference etc. I played with the pre-school children until lunch time, had my kaajaa [snack]then had a meeting with the volunteer who is going home tomorrow who asked me to complete some child profiles they had been working on. Played dominos with some of the older children till home time & walked back. Quickly checked emails before electric went off again at 6 and am now writing this to post on blog in the morning. It is dark now [7pm] but there is a backup battery, to power some lights, that will be recharged when power comes on. We will have kaanaa at about 7.30 and I will probably be asleep by 9.
I was, kept falling asleep reading! Kaanaa last night was roti [small dough pancakes]with vegetable & chilli curry & beans with onion followed by hot milk

2010-04-27T01:58:00.003+01:00

Its 6am on Monday 26th and I cannot sleep, the bells are ringing and traffic moving [they get up at 5 and go to bed early too] so I am writing this up and will copy it into my blog as soon as the electricity is on while I’m at the home where I am staying, which means it will not be until tomorrow!!
There is load shedding and at present no supply for 12 hours a day and times change each day – today it is off from 6-12am and 4-10pm, tomorrow it doesn’t go off till 7am so will get it posted then

I had a great holiday and saw more of the country than my last trip with great company [14 of us on the tour] and the guides, porters etc couldn’t have been better, so I am recommending the company I booked thro & the local company they use by adding them to my links. The highlights of the trip were rafting and going into the river on an elephant & washing it and the wedding – one couple in the group had a Hindu wedding in Pokhara, he proposed at dinner and they had the ceremony at noon the next day in traditional costume. We all had to rush out and buy something smart to wear. Photos included

I am now at the home of the Nepalese family where I will be staying for my 3 weeks at the orphanage. Its very different from our homes but even though I have only been here 2 days I feel at home, they are so friendly & kind and most of them speak English which is good as my Nepalese is only a few words. There is a young American girl here too who has been a great help showing me the ropes, but she flies home today.

I spent a few hours at the orphanage yesterday – there is school on Sundays but the Maoists are preventing the schools from opening in protest to the rise in fees, so all the children were there. 2 of the older girls remembered me, which was so surprising as they were only 6 then and it’s been 2 years.

I have my first Nepalese lesson today at the office of the company who are looking after me while I’m here, which is in the Thamel – the old part of the city where all the shops are. It takes about 30/40 minutes to walk there or 200 rupees for a taxi [£2]. Before the lesson I am meeting Rob Steele for coffee [a guy from my village who has been stuck here trying to get a flight out because of the chaos caused by the volcano dust from Iceland] He has got a flight on Tuesday.

Back home after my lesson, very interesting and the children are also helping me to practice. No school again today I went around the buildings to see what they were doing, it is very hot and most were watching videos, dancing to the radio and playing computer games. One of the computers is not working, as the keyboard is broken, again! I cannot see it being possible to teach them to use the computers if this is the case

I stayed in the library with a group of 8 children and played hangman, then noughts & crosses, listening to them read and one boy asked me to read Alibabar & the forty thieves, his English isn’t very good so I don’t think he understood, but he enjoyed it! It is impossible to do anything with them all together 25 school age & 17 todlers & 3 under 1, being on my own, so if the schools remain closed I think I will try doing small group ‘workshops’ for those that are interested in doing craft work etc

2010-04-09T21:33:00.004+01:00

Packed & ready to go! I set off for Nepal tomorrow morning. Will be in Kathmandu for 1 night [Sunday] then off on my holiday. Will be back on 23rd so will start writing soon after that & will post photos of my trek.

Returing to Nepal & Naxal orphanage

2010-03-13T14:18:00.018Z

Why? Well this adventure really started three years ago when I had just returned from a holiday and was thinking about the next one - I like to have something to look forward to. One of my 'must do's' has always been to go trekking in Nepal. During my search I spotted an opportunity to volunteer at an orphanage there too. This was something else I have always wanted to do, we watch programmes on TV like Band Aid and think wouldn't it be good to go there & help - well here was my chance.

After a lot of emails, form filling & transferring of money it was done and I was booked to go in Feb/March 2008. There were more emails to/from other volunteers who were going out before me. This was a new project and I would be in the second group to go to Naxal orphanage in Kathmandu, which is run by OCCED a Nepalese charity. We were all apprehensive about what it would be like & what we could do whilst there so contact with each other really helped.

I was doing the trek first but when we arrived at the Malla Hotel in Kathmandu at the start of the holiday the first group of volunteers were staying there so I got the chance to talk to them about their experiences and when I returned to the Malla after my holiday they were still there having finished their stint and waiting to return to England. I spoke to them again and they gave me a bag of things they were leaving behind, some craft stuff for us to use with the children and also toiletries etc for us. The holiday group & volunteers all left on the same day, I stayed on at the Malla and waited for 2 other volunteers to arrive, Jean would be with me at the orphanage & Yvonne teaching at Samata school.

Being at Naxal was one of the best times of my life. We were thrown in at the deep end & asked to teach a class of twelve 4-6 year olds! They start school at 6 in Nepal. Neither of us were teachers & it was so difficult as the children & staff spoke hardly any English and we relied on a 6 year old girl to help us explain what we wanted them to do, but it was also very rewarding as they are so friendly and loved learning new things [making paper flowers & vases from toilet roll middles] . The buildings they live in & the facilities are very basic - even primitive by our standards - but the children are very well cared for & happy.

I was so sad to leave. I have followed the progress at Naxal from the peopleandplaces & Travelpledge websites and reports from other volunteers who have been there since, thanks to Sallie forwarding them by email. Everytime I read another one & looked at the photos attached I wanted to go back - the feeling I had could only be described as homesick.

So I am flying out to Kathmandu on the 10th April. I will again be having a holiday first, then starting at Naxal on the 24th. This time I have opted to go through p&p and do a homestay as it will give me a much more interesting & rewarding stay, living in the home of a Nepalese family, and more flexibility as to the time I spend with the children. I want to be at Naxal when the older children are home from school [Saturdays, evenings & holidays] so I can help them use the computers. It was Jean & I who donated the computers when we were there in 2008 and it took over 12 months of badgering by peopleandplaces, socialtours, their local partners in Nepal who look after us when we are there, & future volunteers before a room was prepared for them where the children had access. [They had been in the office and not freely available]

The computer room/library was made possible by donations through TravelPledge - A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO GAVE MONEY from Jean & Dot

Please click on http://travelpledge.org/projects/achieved-projects/ - scroll down to 'Children's Common Room for Nepali Orphanage' to find details of this project.

While I am in Nepal I am going to discuss another project to raise more money to support the children & will ask for your support - watch this blog!!!!

emails from 2008

2010-02-01T21:52:00.019Z

Getting a message sent is not easy, the wireless network is difficult to get on my laptop & the hotel computer is in constant use, so here I am at 7.30am sending this

In Kathmandu after a wonderful holiday, great people - fellow travellers, guides, porters & lodge staff, locals we met, couldn't have been better. The weather was cool at night & hot in day with clear views of mountains until late morning then heat haze. Walked up to over 6500 ft [twice Scafell] most of uphill was steep uneven steps made of slate [just like ours]. Houses have slate roofs & yes there was booze on the trek - happy hour each night from 6-7 before dinner [all included with no measures, just pour!] restricted electricity so in bed by 8.30 -9 and up at 6

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Finally got connected to hotel wireless internet on my laptop after a bit of problem, There is power sharing here with no supply for 8hrs a day its off for 4 hours between midnight & midday and 4hrs between midday & midnight and times change depending on day of week. List of times posted in reception, generator comes on during cuts but only some lights work then & not plugs. Hotel is one of best in Kathmandu not marvellous but OK, staff very good & friendly. It is very dry and the whole city is covered in a layer of dust, it gets everywhere. The pollution is also bad and even though it is hot there is a blanket of ‘smog?’ over the city, which is surrounded by mountains but can only make out outlines occasionally. The other 2 volunteers here with me are really nice and we get on well. Only one at school as other was ill & not come

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We have spent our first full day at the orphanage today, the last 2 days we have been taken around Kathmandu as our orientation to the city & visited the school & orphanage.
There has been a religious festival & the schools were closed for 2 days so when we visited Naxal yesterday Jean & I were asked if we would look after the ‘big boys’ today, 12 of them between 7 & 10. As we didn’t expect to be with kids that old we hadn’t much with us for that age group so we spent yesterday afternoon shopping for paper, card etc & making a bingo game.
I took my laptop and showed them photos of England and from holidays in China Kenya and Spain. I then took each one’s picture with the webcam and saved it by letting him write his name as the file name, they managed the keyboard really well even though I think they said they do not have computers at school. I will print them out so they can put up in the room they use for homework & days like today. While I was taking the photos Jean was giving them a sticky label each to write there name on and put on their jumper but it was bath day and they all went in turn and came back with clean clothes and the labels disappeared!

They had never played bingo before but soon understood and really enjoyed it, so our efforts were rewarded. Their English is good in that they can write & read it very well but their understanding of us & pronunciation is not so good as they are taught it by Nepalese & don’t often hear English people so we found it difficult to communicate sometimes.
At lunchtime we met the current chairman of OCCED and the former/founder chairman, who had been attending a board meeting that morning

We played a few games outside like 'Simon says' as well as card 'picking pairs memory game', got them to write about themselves in English and do some maths, which we had written out, but they were too simple for them & they finished quickly so I put Inspector Gadget cartoon DVD on the laptop as a reward [and we were knackered & run out of ideas by this time]
Bejoya, the young lady who works in the office, came to see why the boys were so quiet and stayed to chat. She was interested in what life was like for women in England, we told her about our lives & family and she told us a little about hers

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The orphanage buildings look quite dilapidated, the furnishings are sparse, facilities are poor and their clothes are well worn but the boys are cared for, happy and so friendly, what a wonderful day we’ve had with them – looking forward to Monday when we will be with the little ones
The orphanage is in a residential area on a plot of land with 2 buildings and 2 small yard areas surrounded by other buildings/houses. One building has the office on the ground floor, boy’s dormitories, classroom etc on second floor & flat roof for play. The other house has kitchen & dining room on ground floor and on second & third floors a nursery with 7 babies; 4 under one & 3 toddlers, playrooms; bedrooms etc for the 20 under fives and classrooms on top floor

With little ones this week 23 aged 3-6, start school at 6 here. Split into 2 age groups we are with older ones, 13 of them, very good at writing English but again difficult communicating. Had language lesson and asked to learn ‘very good, sit down, be quiet’ etc instead of how to find taxi, restaurant etc.
I said I’d see others at 8 for breakfast so bye for now, love & miss you all
Say Happy Birthday to Joe for me

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First week in, not used to working full time, but the kids are great and they told the girl in charge that we have lightened their life as we show them lots of new things. They just have basic supplies and learn by rote with not much fun. Just had dinner & ‘Everest’ local beer and off to bed as its after 10 here, I see its only 4.30 there so not over yard arm yet, but have one for me.
We are going off for weekend to visit other places, will be good to get out of city and into clean air see you

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Having great time with the kids, we now know all their names and different characters and can understand them a bit better, whether that is because we are getting used to the accent or their English is getting better I don’t know but hope we are helping them. We are all finding the daily work pattern hard and are worn out by evening and in bed by 9, up at 6 [sending emails] and off again.
We had a good weekend visiting Dhulikehl, stayed at a lodge resort high on a hillside which looks over to the Himalayas but couldn’t see them for heat haze and then visited a school on Sunday that is sponsored by the SAGA charitable trust, very smart compared to the ones we're at

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There is a festival on Friday when everyone throws water bombs at each other! The kids are off school and will be playing this all day, we thought we would go in for an hour, but changed our mind as the water is awful and we don’t want to swallow any and come down with a bug. We would probably be their main target too. Will have to just stay in hotel grounds and have a rest!!
Have been invited to a picnic on Sunday by the girls who give us our Nepalese lessons, they are good fun always joking and laughing so looking forward to that as don’t know what to expect except they said there will be dancing

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Had another busy week at school, still teaching 4-6 year olds. No not doing any admin [not needed, don’t know what they were taking about] and there isn’t a computer for the kids to use, went away for repair apparently and not come back. Still Jean & I have asked for our donation to be pooled to buy one and should be here Monday, so may be able to show older ones how to use it next week
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Had a day off yesterday as it was the festival where they throw water bombs, some of them coloured water and we knew the kids would have targeted us. Some holiday people went out into the town and came back covered in coloured die - they didn’t seem too pleased about it.
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Had another restful day today, shopping in the Thamel area near hotel this morning then sat reading in garden. Tomorrow we are being taken on a picnic out of the city by the girls who are giving us Nepalese lessons and their friends, looking forward to seeing how they spend their days off.
Only one more week left, can’t believe I've been here 5 weeks
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Went in bus about 1hr out to a wood with a temple in it and concrete areas for picnics, some with roofs They took gas bottle burners huge woks etc and someone to cook, were given cheese & coleslaw sandwich & hard boiled egg for breakfast at 10.30 then later 'nibbles' - poppadoms, fresh roasted nuts with spices, chips- fresh cooked some with hot sauce, mushrooms in spicy sauce and mutton. At about 4 we had main meal of rice and curried vegetables with chutney all made from scratch there. Not very hygienic looking so did wonder if we would come down with something but ok so far, would have happened by now, I hope.
Well only one week to go, see u next week
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The real teacher came back to work this week after two month holiday but was happy for us to continue working with older group- didn’t know until now that the young Nepalese lady who had been there was only a temporary volunteer - so more craft projects & spending evenings preparing & making out worksheets, their maths & writing ability is far better than our kids that age. So sorry not been in touch for a while.
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Wednesday evening went to visit home for abused kids run by same girls who took us on picnic & had supper there. There are 2 young English/German girls volunteering there so good crack, invited them to hotel Sunday for English breakfast as they are getting fed up with rice 3 times a day!

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Took kids out yesterday for a picnic to botanical gardens which are out of Kathmandu & first time some have been out of city and seen trees and grass to run about on. Tell Mam I used most of her money to pay for this and they loved it, lots of photos of it to show her.
Just a bit more site seeing this weekend then set off home Monday evening