Reflections of Nepal

"In the last camp near the summit I had a very strange vision of all the human parts that I am made of. It is very difficult to keep the vision but I know that I could see a round picture with many pictures inside -- not only of my body but of my whole being. There was a lot of what my life has been, what I did these last years like seeing my life and my body and my soul and my feelings inside a mandala. I was not even sure if it was only mine or generally human, yours or anybody's, just a human being's. It was very, very strange." Reinhold Messner

Though these are not my words, when I read them I felt like YES! That is how it felt reaching the summit of Thorung La at 18,000 feet. It brought so many pictures of my life to my mind. Every person I've known and loved, every place I've been, every place I've yet to go, every word - spoken and unspoken, every dream, every feeling... they were all displayed before me like a like a poem of just images. Simultaneously tears and giggles came forward. My emotions were all celebrating the life moment that would surely be with me for the rest of time. Nepal has been like that for me. I am so carefree and happy, but daily I see images that remind me of how lucky I am to have the opportunity to be traveling, to be here in Nepal. There has not been a day when this thought doesn't cross my mind.

It's been nearly 80 days since I've arrived, though it feels like I've always been here somehow. Each day has been filled with memorable moments - some mundane, some adventurous, some hilarious, some a bit nerve-wracking, and all of them there to teach me something. I have so many photos, thoughts and reflections that it is hard to summarize, categorize and keep it interesting. For this last Nepal post, I want to share some photos that I feel really capture the essence of Nepal.

One of thousands upon thousands of temples in Kathmandu. This one devoted to Kali.

A child I met while trekking, saying "Namaste!" and undoubtedly asking for a sweet or a rupee.

One of a thousand photos I have of the beautiful Himalayas. Every moment of the day, the scenes change and each time I was completely in awe. I never, ever got tired of seeing the mountain vistas.


The daily migration of sheep both to and from their mountain feeding areas.

A public bath at Bhaktapur, one of the historic villages in Kathmandu. Most people in Nepal use public baths (though most are not as beautiful as this one) for all bathing and cleaning duties.

The lush, lush green of a rice paddy right before harvest. So much of the Annapurna region is covered with fields that families tend to religiously. During the Sanctuary trek, the fields looked like this, and during the Circuit trek, they had just been harvested and looked very different.

A typical shop selling socks, hats and other knit items.


One of the hundreds of times that Nepali students clamoured to be in front of my camera, and then to look at their photo with me. Invariably, this involved laughter and smiles.


A scene from Pashupatinath, one of my favorite temples in Kathmandu. These people are headed to the cremation of one of their family members. Notice their beautiful clothing...

Women returning from a long walk to the hills to gather food for their animals. Mind you, women do at least 80% of the heavy lifting in this country for reasons that I don't quite understand.










A few other random photos and observations...

People squatting to just rest or have a conversation, umbrellas in the sunshine, cows in the streets, terrible roads, landslides, insane traffic, the beautiful masala of Hinduism and Buddhism combined and the seamless way they are integrated into everyday life (like protecting cars), online chatting with a Buddhist lama, absolutely worthless police officers that seem to travel in groups of 20 and not do anything, public bathing rituals, affection between men and affection between women - but not affection between men and women, spontaneous celebrations including public dancing and singing, women at work, the hazards of just walking down the street (potholes, gutters that are two feet deep, random sharp objects, power lines that cross sidewalks), being offered tea in nearly every shop or office, , wandering sadhus (holy men) who will give you a tika for a few rupees, children in their school uniforms, girls with braids, signs that would never make it in the US, the enormous popularity of Brittany Spears and Avril Lavigne (that is the best America can offer?), the bright, vibrant colors of life, sheep and goats and buffalo, the enormous loads of porters in the mountains, the delicious taste of Pringles after a long day trekking, public transportation and fitting 28 people in a mini-van built for 12, shopkeepers who give you their cell phone numbers and invite you to their homes, Kathmandu's terrible air pollution, tuk-tuks and rickshaws, bridges that would never pass code in the US, sinks without pipes (so your toothpaste lands on your shoes), electrical wires that look like a birds nest that run the power system here, daily power outages ("load shedding") for 4-6 hours, "good price", the absolute natural beauty that is around every corner that you look, the obnoxious, ear-shattering horns in Kathmandu, getting out of the tourist areas toexperince life in the "real" towns, people sweeping their dirt floors, and so much more.


Of all the things that I am grateful for in Nepal, it is mostly the people that I have met (pictured here is Gerdien, Tine and Ellen) and traveled with. I am working to see every person as a teacher and every situation as a lesson...(thank you Liz Gilbert!). I have been enriched by my many experiences in this country and know that I will be back someday.

Next for me, South India on Sunday 12/7 through January if all goes as planned! (Yes, I promise to be safe.)

With love,
Pam


"The human soul does not want to sleep, desires to awaken and wants to win. When I become a traveler to the gold-shining peaks, I feel like I am going in search of heaven."
Mahakavi Laxmi Prasad Devkota