Category: travel

Oriental, North Carolina…I have time, I can travel

May 24, 2017

Although we are home from our winter in Thailand, I am still retired.  Being open and available to opportunities that present themselves is key to a successful retirement.

Jeanne

I met Jeanne in Thailand when she moved into our building for a month.  I admired her nerve and her interest in the world.  She had already been travelling alone for 2 months throughout SE Asia, as a single at times, as part of a booked group at other times.  Being 67 did not deter her from walking 5 or 6 km every day or tasting all the street food.

She was quick to join into a group of regulars who had happy hour every afternoon in our yard.  She talked to everyone and listened for the best places to tour, to eat and shop for fresh fruit.  Her energy was infectious. I got to know her when her phone was so full of pictures that the red bar couldn’t be ignored for another day.  I helped her download them to her computer and set up a Google Photo album.  Her blog site needed a little help too.

Oriental, North Carolina

Before she left for Malaysia, her last stop before returning home to North Carolina, she told me about her “girl’s retreat”.  Every year she has access to a large guesthouse in her hometown of Oriental.  She invites people that she connected with in her travels abroad and her life at home, women that made a positive impression on her.  When I received my email invitation in March, I was ecstatic!

I decided that I had time and AirMiles so booked a flight from Calgary, through Toronto to Raleigh, North Carolina.  A rental car and 3 hours got me to Oriental on Sunday evening, May 7.

Stallings House

The Stallings House, where we stayed, was built in 1890 and sits on a large lot facing the 3 mile wide Neuce River.  It has 5 bedrooms on 2 levels and an open third level with several beds.  A sitting room, large dining room, kitchen and several bathrooms fill the rest of the house.  There are 2 wrap-around verandas overlooking the river.  This old home is often rented for weddings or large family gatherings.  Jeanne did quite a lot of work on the house and bartered the use of this great accommodation for a week every year.

 

foyer
from the street
2nd floor
view from my room
veranda view
2nd floor
third level

The Retreat May 8-11

There were 16 people stayed in the house.  I was from the farthest away.  There were 2 women from New York State that Jeanne had met in Viet Nam this winter.  There were 4 women from western NC who had travelled with her to China in 1982.  Another woman from Atlanta met her in Australia on another trip.  Jeanne’s cousin and a friend arrived from northern NC and another woman arrived from Florida. There were more but too many stories to keep straight.

There were about 25-30 local women who came and went through the week.

Things to Do

We spent the week doing a variety of activities that were mainly planned by the people who attended.

  • The town mayor/bank manager, Sally, used to visit the house as a girl and shared her stories with us from a book she is writing about her life in Oriental.

Sally’s stories

  • Flora, a 70 year old who won the over 60 North Carolina beauty contest demonstrated her incredible skills as a belly dancer

  • pedicures, facials and massages were also done on the lawn by the river

  • boat trips along the rivers and creeks in the area provided beautiful views and more history on the area and its connection to fishing and sailing
  • Miss Faye, who is a 94 years old, teaches several exercise classes a week.  She spoke on why the same streets have different names in Oriental.  She allowed us to visit her yard where she feeds about 40 turtles dog food every night in a creek behind her house.  They come when she calls.  She is also a Senior Olympian and Humanacare Game Changer. Check out the link about her and her daughter.
  • Pat brought driftwood, paint and wine to spend the afternoon deciding what we saw in our wood and bring it to life with colour.  Most women got right after it with excitement, even before they had their wine.  It surprised me the number who were very uncomfortable with this creative activity.  Their elementary art teachers must not have been very supportive.  Now that I’m in my 50’s I don’t really care anymore what others think of my creative projects.
    Drift and Wine
    What should this be?
    Finished creations
  • Cheryl took a small group of us who live outside the state on a boat trip to Cape Lookout.  We travelled through the inland waterway, past Shakleford Banks to the lighthouse at Cape Lookout.  There were wild horses, dolphins and an enormous sea turtle along the way.  Many fishermen were fishing in small boats and there were several shrimp boats with the large booms holding the nets out to the side. We were gone all day.

River front living
Our Captain, Cheryl
Sea Turtle
Shallow but cold
Lighthouse and museum
Cape Lookout lighthouse
Wild Horses
Shrimp boat in action
Shrimp boat
Shell collection
Debra
Joann and Stephanie

Things to Eat

  • Finola and her husband, originally from Ireland served us high tea on proper china with cucumber sandwiches and scones with cream and jam.
  • Miss Lilly, who was on a cooking show, “Chef and the Farmer” spent the day with us teaching us how to make proper biscuits.  She used lard, buttermilk and self-rising flour.  The lard and buttermilk went into a well inside the flour and was squished together until it was “silky”.  Then it was swirled in the bowl until it incorporated enough flour to make a ball.  The biscuits were squeezed off the ball, flattened in the hand and the edges rolled under.  The baking sheet was filled and then baked.  I’ve never seen any technique like that before.  The results were delicious, especially with some local honey brought by a woman in the group.
  • Miss Lilly and Stephanie
    Ready to bake
    Miss Lilly and Annie
  • We visited Georgie’s crab shedding operation.  When crabs get too big for their shells, they molt their shell and purge all their digestive tract and lungs.  Within 2 hours they start to grow new shells and organs.  If they are taken out of the water and put into the fridge, they can’t grow a new shell.  The upper skin is removed with scissors and you are left with a crab that is only meat.  Georgie came to the house one evening and dredged the crabs in flour seasoned with salt and pepper and deep fried them.  Eating outside on the lawn by the river at long tables made the food taste great.  The crabs, though, would be delicious no matter where you ate them.
  • Carol made chef salad for everyone’s lunch one day. This is Laura eating the salad.  Carol is enjoying the pedicure.

Food of North Carolina

Other things I ate for the first time

  • pimento cheese dip and sandwiches.  Everyone in North Carolina seemed to have their own special recipe, but the general ingredients are grated cheddar/monterey jack cheese, pimento, mayonnaise/Miracle Whip and maybe a little grated onion.

  • Grits mixed with chopped ham and bacon, butter and eggs then baked as muffins.  It also reappeared another morning baked in a casserole dish.  Laura arranged for Kentucky bacon and sausage to be sent to the house for this event.
  • low country boil.  After the Girl’s Retreat, Jeanne invited some old high school classmates from the class of ’67 for a “Big Chill” weekend.  Pat cooked up a boil for me before I left at the end of the week.  It consisted of new potatoes, corn on the cob chunks, kielbasa and beautiful shrimp caught the day before.  They are all boiled together with Old Bay Seasoning.  The food is drained then dumped onto a table covered with newspaper and you just pick out a little of each, and a little more, and a little more…  There were several cocktail sauces made with differing amounts of hotness available and lots of paper towels.  What a feast!
  • Not new but a catfish sandwich for lunch the first day.  Crispy fish topped with coleslaw and served between 2 slices of white bread.
  • North Carolina IPA and wheat beer
  • And I caught a fish…

Pin fish used for bait.

Lots of relaxing and story sharing

I had the best time with new people in a new place and I can’t wait to get back to this part of the world again.

Full moon over the river

Packing for a Winter in Thailand…What did we really need?

April 15, 2017

It was difficult packing for a winter in Thailand.  What did we really need?  Having never visited Asia before, we weren’t sure what was essential, what recommended and what would be nice to have. We only had 28 sq. m for living space so we couldn’t take too much.  As we packed to come home, I made some notes for next time.

Prepared for action

Clothing

As almost every travel site will tell you, pack your bag and then take half of it out.  I did that initially, but could have done it again.  Thailand is hot and humid.  It is also very casual.  The only people dressed up were the tourists from China.  I took dresses, shorts, skorts, and wicking t-shirts as well as some stretchy shorts and light t-shirts to use in the gym.  I added a couple of swim suits and a cover up.

Here’s what I found.  The laundry lady on our street washed, dried and folded our clothes about every 10 days for $7.  She usually had them overnight.  That meant I took too many t-shirts.  I also preferred wearing dresses with the stretchy shorts underneath.  The rayon dresses they sell in Thailand for $10 each are perfect for this climate.  They hang loosely and were the coolest, most comfortable option for me.  I had one nice sun dress I brought and a couple of other dresses that were also cool enough.  I would recommend buying dresses on arrival and a long wrap-around skirt to keep packed to use as a skirt or a wrap to be respectful in the temples.

Thai dress

The skorts were useful as they are appropriate for any occasion.  The black one was good when I needed black and white for a choir uniform. I had a white t-shirt but bought a dressier white top when we were performing. I rarely wore the shorts.

The most important item I took was a big white sun hat I purchased at MEC before we left.  I wore it every day.  The chin string seemed a bit uncool until I was riding in tuk-tuks and boats when it became essential.

swim cover and hat locked on

Travelling Clothes

Since we planned to visit the Great Wall of China during our Beijing layover on our flight there, we had a bag of clothes for layering.  We wore zip off hiking pants that were also very practical for our visit to Nepal.  I took a toque and mittens as well as a wind jacket and light fleece jacket.  As it was just around freezing with a light breeze, these clothes were perfect for the stopover.

The coldest high temperature in Chiang Mai was 23,  and only for a couple of days.  I wore my hiking pants once, just because I had them.  I wore a light sweater that I did buy there.  It was also useful in the movie theaters when we sat in the air conditioning for a couple of hours.  A scarf or skirt as a wrap would probably do. Most restaurants were open air with fans so we didn’t experience the chill I feel when sitting in A/C here.  We brought umbrellas and rain jackets.  It only rained twice and was too hot for a jacket.  The umbrellas could have been purchased at 7-11 for a small amount and then left behind.

Brisk day in Beijing

Footwear

For footwear I took flip-flops for the pool, hiking shoes, runners and sandals with good support.  I could have managed with just the runners and sandals but they both were pretty new and I wasn’t sure if they would feel good with all the walking we were going to do.  We had planned to do some hiking, but we didn’t, so I would take the same choices again another time.  There is plenty of footwear for sale, but with my feet I wanted to be sure I had what I needed ahead of time.

Toiletries

As far as toiletries are concerned, you can buy most of what you need.  There are many recognizable brands in the drug stores and grocery stores.  There were a few challenges.  Peter found the toothpaste tubes looked the same as at home, but the taste of Colgate was not the same.  Deodorant is either spray or roll on and contains whitener, as does almost every skin product in Thailand.  They want their skin lighter and we are all trying to make ours darker!  If you like solids, take lots because you will need it in the heat.

I wasn’t able to find 3 products.  I use a hydrogen peroxide solution to clean my contacts.  It is considered “dangerous” and is not sold in Thailand. I had to have some brought from England and Canada.  Blonde hair colour is also not available, which is to be expected in a country where everyone has beautiful black hair. I also had difficulty identifying antacids like Tums in the stores so my sister brought me some from home.

We took towels, but our apartment provided towels for the bathroom and for the pool.  I found some beach size quick dry towels that pack very small.  They were good when we went to the beaches in Krabi.  We also bought full face snorkel masks for the ocean, but there were places to rent them if we had wanted.

Games and Activities

I took a crib board, some cards and a couple of puzzle games.  We did use them, but there was lots to do in the evenings, or we were too exhausted to do much besides watch a little Nat Geo channel.  I took a couple of books with me, but there was a book exchange in our building and a couple of used book stores where I could find lots to read in English. Peter took his guitar and golf clubs.

Electronics

My computer got lots of use.  I bought an ASUS zenbook because it runs on a solid state drive so it is fast and is more durable if (when) it gets bumped around.  It is also powerful enough to run photo editing software. I used it to write my blog, edit photos, watch movies on Netflix, call home on Google hangouts and video call on occasion.  I also had a couple of external drives that I used for picture storage. Pete took his laptop and our tablet.  We also took along a small Bluetooth speaker that we used quite often. We did have a TV in our room that had many English channels, including a movie channel, National Geographic, History, and CNN International.

Phones

Our phones were old when we took them.  After a few weeks of trying to keep them charged or plugged into external batteries to enable Google Maps to keep working to help us find a location, we started looking for something more efficient.  Once Uber became an option, it was essential to have a working phone.  We ended up buying the first new phone in Laos.  It was 2.25 million kip!  This is only $350.  Peter bought another of the Huawei gr5 2017 phones when we returned to Chiang Mai.  They last about 1 1/2 days on a charge.  What a relief.

Chargers and Adaptors

Thailand works on 220V and North America on 110V.  We took a plug-in adaptor with us as well as a small power bar.  We found that our phone and computer chargers work on multiple voltages.  This is printed right on them.  Even my camera battery charger worked.

The cords in Thailand have 2 round pegs and no grounding plugs, however the slot plugs from home would fit into the outlets which had an extra slot for the third peg. They often had to propped up to stay since the plugs had to be inserted sideways, and they weren’t gripped as tightly as we are used to.  The power bar was useful but we didn’t need the adaptor for our plugs.  I didn’t take any other appliances.  I bought a small blow dryer when I arrived.

Money

Thailand, and most of South-East Asia for that matter, is a cash economy.  We rarely used our credit cards, and if we did there was at least a 3% fee added on.  The ATM worked well for taking money from our Canadian account and giving it to us in Thai Baht.  There was a $7 fee for the withdrawal on that end and a $5 fee from our account at home.  We always took the maximum amount possible to minimize the fees.  Next time we would be sure to have a larger limit for withdrawals.  We also needed American dollars to pay for our visas in other countries.  It would probably be cheaper to take some of that currency with us.

We paid our rent with a global e transfer from our bank to the hotel account.  This had a smaller fee than 2 withdrawals would have and worked easily.

Packing

Air China allows 2 free checked bags of 23 kg on their international flights.  When we came, we brought 2 large rolling duffel bags, 1 smaller duffel bag and Pete’s golf clubs.  I had a 40L daypack for my camera/computer equipment and Pete had a similar daypack for carry on as well as his guitar.  We also used the daypacks as luggage for our trip to Laos.

Daypack and hat went everywhere

To return, we were doing well with only buying a few small items for gifts and had decided to replace the smaller duffel with a larger pack from the market.  Luckily we sent the golf clubs and few other items home with our daughter, Melissa, in March before we went to Nepal.  The “made in Nepal” outdoor gear was too tempting.  In the end we brought home our 2 big duffel bags and 2 large North Face waterproof bags full of outdoor clothing that will be great additions to our truck camping supplies.

Things We Left Behind-maybe for next year?!

Supplies
Our kitchen supplies
My cozy chair and computer table
Left this for the neighbors

Thank you for all your interest in our travels.  I will share a few more pictures and shorter stories now that we are home and have time to look through them before we head off on whatever comes next.  I appreciated being welcomed back to church last Sunday with, “We thought you were in Nepal!” since that is where my last post referred to.  It let’s me know people were following us closely.  We never felt lonely on this trip.  Let me know if I can help if you decide to just go to see the world.

 

Pokhara, Nepal…Some views are good, and others not so much

March 31, 2017

Road to Pokhara

We had 10 days in Nepal and after 4 days in Kathmandu, we decided to take several people’s advice and go to Pokhara.  It’s a city about 200 km to the west.  I was told it was pristine and tranquil.  There is a big lake and the International Mountain Museum to visit.  After the noise, pollution and energy of Kathmandu, it sounded like a perfect trip.

Our hotel, the Tibet Peace Inn, organized it all for us.  We decided to book a car and driver so we could see some of the countryside.  He would also be available to take us to all the sites once we got there.  His hotel costs would be covered by us, but it would be less expensive than flying there.  In all it cost us about $300 for the transportation for 3 days.

At home, 200 km would take about 2 hours on a calm, organized highway.  In the mountains, it might take 3 hours with traffic.  Our trip to Pokhara took 6 hours with a half hour lunch stop!  The road travelled down into the valley and then mostly curved along the agricultural land and through small villages.  Where mud or rocks slid onto the toad, they were left and traffic just had to go around.

rock slide to navigate

Hundreds of buses and large, brightly decorated trucks all tried to pass each other on every curve.  The honking was constant, but along with flashing light signals, everyone seemed to know how to make it through.  I was going to say safely, but there were many close calls.  I stopped watching.  Our driver knew the road and didn’t drive as aggressively as he could have.

Nepalese Villages

The villages obviously did not expect to have that much traffic as they built there homes along old trade routes.  Houses were built close to the roads with terraced fields taking up most of the land along the valley floor and up the sides.  There were a few suspension bridges that crossed the river to allow access to more homes up on the slopes.  There didn’t appear to be any roads on the other side so most people would have to walk up and down steep slopes to get to their homes.

Water standpipes were in front of about every 6th house.  Women gathered here to wash clothes and children.  Men played games of chance on tables with cards or throwing coins at a target.  Families sat in the shade outside small shops.  Children kicked tattered soccer balls around. Farmers were already planting rice in the fields using cattle to pull a plow.  We saw one mechanical plow in our travels in Nepal.

Decorated tractor too
Family gathering
More laundry
Mom and her kids
Chickens in the yard
Bath time

We went to Pokhara on a Thursday and saw many children waiting with their parents for the school bus to pick them up.  Their traditional British uniforms seemed so out of place in these tiny, dusty villages.  Most of the women here dress in pants and Indian tunics in beautiful colours.  They really contrasted against the mostly blues and greys of the children’s clothing.  These bright sweaters were unusual.

school uniforms

Pokhara

Our arrival in Pokhara was quite disappointing.  It was cloudy and smoggy.  It is a large city (250 000) but the tourist area of Lakeside was admittedly tranquil, but certainly not pristine.  We checked into the Family Home Hotel which had been booked by our hotel in Kathmandu.  The room was large and even had a balcony to sit on and watch the goings-on of the community.  The hotels in Nepal advertise 24 hour hot water and we would agree that this shower had the best heat and pressure of any in Asia.  At breakfast the manager told us to ask for anything we wanted because we were to feel like we were at home.  From our experience, they “get” customer service here.

We walked by the lake.  I had my second surprise to see a scrum of photographers on the shore snapping pics of a woman standing in one of the boats, dressed in a lovely saree.  There was a fog machine nearby trying to create a misty scene.  I don’t know the story, but I took a picture too.  While Peter was waiting, he met a family from India who were visiting.  After a short conversation, they wanted to take our picture with their little girl.  As India is close to Nepal, there were mostly Indians and Caucasians in Pokhara.  We didn’t see many Asian visitors.

Sunrise

Our driver picked us up at 5 am and drove us to the top of a sunrise lookout.  People were waiting to be hired to show us the best place to stand.  We declined. As I was the first there, I had to choose the best place to set up my tripod.  The spot was great, but was difficult to protect once all the tour vans and buses began to arrive.  We did meet a very nice man from South Korea who was well-travelled and showed us some of his incredible mountain pictures.

The hills were still shrouded in mist and a few clouds had formed.  The sunrise looked nice and you could see several terraced fields.  Suddenly the top of a mountain appeared, way above the surrounding hills.  It had snow on the top and was barely pink in the sunrise.  This was Annapurna.  This is why people come to Pokhara.  It is the starting point of the Annapurna Circuit, a trek up the mountain.  Now I knew what all the excitement was about.  The tip of Fishtail Mountain also appeared for a few moments.  The smog and clouds soon covered all the spectacular views and left us with just hills.

Pokhara Sites

We spent the rest of the day touring the area.  We saw the White Pagoda on another viewpoint.  It was built by a Japanese Buddhist who wanted there to be 100  of these built around the world to honor the birth of Buddha in Nepal.  It was begun in 1974, but when it reached 35 feet high it was torn down by the government of the time but was finally completed in 1998.  The 4 Buddhas face the cardinal directions and were donated by countries like Thailand and Sri Lanka.  If you are not sure the expectations at a temple, look for signs.  They will usually tell you.  There was a great little coffee shop with views on the way down.

coffee shop with views
Everywhere has donuts
School tour
Expectations

In the town itself is Devi’s Falls.  It is the dry season, and you have to pay to get in to see the falls.  There are fences and walkways all around this area that is a little bigger than our back yard.  However, there is only on spot you can actually see the falls so it was a little underwhelming.

Devi’s Falls

Across the street is Gupteshwor Mahadev cave.  These were much better.  The river from the falls flows under the street and runs through a cave.  You enter through a newly (as in the cement was still being shaped) renovated entrance, past a shrine, and down many steps to see a waterfall entering the cave.  There is an opening in the rock behind the water so it was quite beautiful.

International Mountain Museum

After lunch we visited the International Mountain Museum.  It is a large, modern building.  We saw photographs and statistics on all the important mountains and when they had been climbed, including quotes from those who were the first to ascend to the peak.  There were profiles on some of the most prolific climbers and samples of some of the gear used in the past.  Descriptions of the culture of the tribes of the mountains were displayed.  Pictures comparing the glaciers in the mountains from 50 years ago to know show that the climate is changing.

Toni Hagen

There was also a display  of photographs taken by Toni Hagen in the 1950’s.  He was a Swiss geologist who came to Nepal with the United Nations to survey and map the area.  His pictures show Pokhara and the mountains at a time when there were no roads to this area. Supplies were delivered by a DC-3 plane in those days.  There is an interesting documentary about his time in Nepal that would be easier to watch with English subtitles, but the pictures and views are still worth seeing.

Neighborhood Happenings

After breakfast, we watched the neighbors across the street remove a tin addition to their small house and begin digging the dirt out from that area.  When we returned in the afternoon, the dirt had all been bagged and replaced with large stones and smaller rocks and bricks as a foundation.  A load of large cement blocks had been delivered and was waiting on the street.

The workers were resting, but 2 men on bicycles arrived.  They bagged up all the metal pieces and loaded them onto the bikes.  Even the tin walls and roof were balanced onto the bike using good knowledge of levers and balance.  They pushed the loaded bikes away from the site.

Digging out the dirt
Taking tin walls away on a bike

Sunrise #2

After being led astray by Google Maps to the wrong, but okay restaurant we planned on an early night.  A big lightning storm passed north of town for a couple of hours.  The sound of the thunder echoing around the peaks was more evidence that big mountains really do exist in this area.  We hoped some rain might clear the skies for another try at sunrise, although I worried for some friends who were trekking on the mountain at the time.

At 5 am the stars and moon were bright overhead so we were optimistic.  While the sunrise was quite lovely, and the tall peaks did appear in their entirety, the smog quickly swallowed them up so there was not much left for us to than return to Kathmandu.  Our friends who were on the mountain in the storm had arrived at their guest house early in the afternoon and got to watch the storm.  They arrived in Pokhara 3 days after we left and thought it was the beautiful place. Click the link to see what they saw. Pokhara Images.

A local guide to tour some Nepal villages…so worth it

March 27, 2017

We hired a taxi and a guide (Ranjan Mishra) for a day and headed south out of the city.  The village didn’t look much different at first, but it didn’t take long to realize that we were in a separate community.  It was noticeably quieter with few vehicles.  More people were just sitting outside but there were many people hard at work.  We started in Khokana, walked through the fields to Bungamati, then drove to the monastery in Pharphing, and finished in Kuripur.

Mustard Seed Oil

Ranjan led us into a small dark building that had 2 people working inside.  The owner joined us soon after.  They were making mustard seed oil from local crops.  The seeds had to be dried then roasted. They were put into a long narrow mesh bag then squeezed through rollers several times.   A tin bowl on the floor collected the oil.

Since Nepal only had 6 hours of electrical power per day up until recently, this operation works with an electrical motor for the rolling, but can also be operated with a large wheel that turns a series of gears to tighten the rollers and make them turn.  It took one of the workers, using his whole body weight to make this possible.

Another worker crushed, stacked and bagged the remaining material which becomes compost for the fields. Our guide suggested we give them a little money for showing us how this operation worked and taking their pictures.  He said they could use it.

The mustard seed oil is used to massage moms and babies in the sun after birth, cooking special Nepalese dishes, and rubbed into the hair to make it shine.  We had a little bit and it tasted like some of the local dishes we’d eaten.

mustard in the fields
tightening gear
turning the press gears
Hard work
rollers squeezing the oil
mustard oil
business owner

Rugmaking

We stepped into another building and found a rug factory.  There were groups of 2 women sitting  on benches together working on wool rugs.  Some rugs were single colors while others had elaborate designs.  The women were so fast, although the man in charge would come by and mark their expected progress along the side of the threads.

There were many other women in the village supporting this.  They spun wool using a hand powered wheel.  Others combined the spun wool into 3 ply using some special wheel that wool people would know the name of.  The wool was rolled into balls as part of this process.  These jobs were all completed while sitting on the ground on a mat.  The women sat in small groups while they worked.

spinning wool
Spinning wool
Twisting wool for carpets

Weaving

The usual weaving room was closed but Ranjan knew of another.  There were 4 looms in the room and on one they were creating some fine white material from bamboo fibres.  It had a white on white pattern that was controlled with cards punched with holes.  The young women sat on a fabric wrapped 2 X 4 and ran the loom with a foot pedal and shuttle.

The woman who seemed in charge was very knowledgeable and did her best to explain how the process worked.  When her English was too limited, she had a catalogue  containing pictures that she shared with us.  She was very proud of what she was accomplishing in their little room.  Another lady was working on a more rustic cotton fabric in shades of blue and brown.  She was repairing a broken thread while we were there.

According to our guide, women are working more outside the home now to help support their family income.  It didn’t sound like their incomes were very much, but they were doing beautiful work in this “factory”.

Weaver
Home weaver
Device used to wind spindles

Earthquake reconstruction

The villages to the south and west of Kathmandu were most heavily hit by the earthquake in April of 2014.  Not only was there one large tremor of 7.6, but the aftershocks over the next few days were nearly as strong.  Most of the houses are built of brick, but they are often 3-4 stories high.  Those built in the villages were older and the building techniques less stable.  Many of them lost the upper stories of the house.

As you walk through these villages today, they are in various states of tearing down and building up.  There are piles of bricks and gravel on every street.  The brick factories in the valley are working full-time.  This provides many jobs but also fills the valley with more smoke.  There is no place to remove the rubble so it piles up in a corner, or behind the new home.

Homeless rubble
Japanese funded temple rebuild
roof is gone
More rubble
temporary housing
village street
Old and modern
Another modern home
Traditional old home style
More light for the flowers

This construction is also providing lots of work for the locals.  It surprised me to see how many women were hauling bricks and gravel in baskets on their backs.  The building plans have engineer approval for earthquake resistance, but the workers did not all appear to be skilled for the job. We didn’t see any machines like bobcats or even many wheelbarrows for moving materials.  Most of the work was done by hand.

We did see a couple of men using chisels to cut mortise and tenons into window frames.  We saw another man putting them together.  There were also several men we saw carving designs into wooden lintels that were spectacular.

Brick-carrying in baskets
Hauling gravel
New construction
They have a wheelbarrow!
Earthquake damage
Hand work on wood
Putting window frames together
Homeless rubble
Brick piles
More brick piles

There are many families still living in temporary shelters beside the fields as they wait for the homes to be rebuilt.  I’ve put a few pictures here and the rest in another page in the travel section.

 

Agriculture

The flat land in the bottom of the valley and the terraced hillsides are used for growing a variety of crops.  We walked down to the bottom of the village Khokana and back up the other side to Bungamati.  What a workout!  The farmers were using terraced land to grow wheat, potatoes and mustard for now.  Rice will be planted in this area in May.

We saw workers in the fields when we were there.  They were weeding the crops by hand or with a deep, narrow metal hoe.  We saw cows being used to pull a plow that was managed by a man in flip-flops.  At the end of the day they all walk back up the big hill to the village.  It is a very difficult life.

Rows of potatoes
Terraced wheat fields
New construction
Field worker

Other activities

We bought some pop from a woman who had a little store in the front of her house.  She wanted about $1.05 for 3 bottles.  Peter insisted that was not enough and gave her double that.

As we sat on a bench outside, we watched her doing the family laundry.  She hauled the water in buckets from the inside.  At least she didn’t have to go to the nearby water pipe.  She had several pails and basins that she used to wash and rinse the clothing.  As the rinse water deteriorated, she would replace the dirtiest and continue rinsing from most soapy to least.  We saw many women in Nepal washing clothes in buckets on the ground near an available water source.

We visited a man who creates designs on metal statues sold in the market and to people who want Hindu deities in their homes.  Women were weaving rice straw into floor mats and corn stalks into table mats.  A couple were shelling what they called chick peas, that looked and tasted very much like regular peas.  They also had harvested a mat full of turmeric roots.

We saw many schoolchildren in their uniforms off to school as usual.

Cleaning peas and turmeric root
Washing clothes at the well
Hauling wood
Metalworker
Washing clothes in buckets
Making corn husks into mats
Kids off to school like normal
corn drying on a woven mat
Mat woven from rice straw

Pharping

We crossed the valley over terrible road but our taxi got us safely to the Pharping Yanglesho  Monastery.  We saw several differences from the ones in Thailand.  There seems to be a closer link to Hindu here. Since both religions come from India it is not so surprising. It also has lots of influence from Tibet.

The Tibetan prayer flags that epitomize the hike to Everest are in 5 colours.  They represent earth, air, fire, water and Buddha himself.  Read up on Pharping if you want to know more.  We climbed lots of stairs and had some good views.  A blessing was ending as we arrived at the top and some novices shared some oranges with us to share their blessing.

prayer wheels

Kuripur

We finished our day with a drive to Kuripur, just south of Kathmandu.  We walked through a quiet, old community to get to the Pagoda.  Children were playing.  Women were sitting under an enormous tree. Men were sitting on the stoops of their homes.  The buildings were mostly old, but there were also several more modern homes.  A large water containment area was built into the square.  It was the size of a swimming pool with steps down to accommodate varying water levels.

The pagoda is from the 16th century and is a tribute to the Hindu god Bhagh Bhairab who is the destructive form of Shiva.  It has a row of knives and swords hanging from the upper level.  If the sky were clear, there would be wonderful views of the city.

damaged home
Water storage
No traffic
Women gather
Buddhist shrine
The sky at sunset

Conclusion

We saw a woman with a crowd gathered around her in Bungamati.  I realized she was white.  I then realized that we had been the only white people in the village up until that point.  Our guide told us that she was a donor working with an NGO.  Until then I hadn’t noticed that we were the only non-asian people.  That is quite unfamiliar to us, although I didn’t feel like anyone acted like they noticed.  How lucky we are to be oblivious to the colour of our skins most of the time.

I am feeling more positive about Nepal after a few more days in this country.  It doesn’t work the way I think it should and I can see how difficult it is for the citizens to survive each day here.  They do have a strong sense of community, however, and that seems to just make things work for here.  Stay tuned for more comments as we continue our journey.

Having a guide for the day was priceless.  We paid him 5000 rp or about $50 and he led the way for the whole day and 15000 steps.  He said his usual rate was 4000 rp but we could pay him whatever we thought he was worth.  Without him we would not have found all the hidden treasures within the villages.  He also provided us with a local perspective on education, family, religion and how the government handles things in Nepal.  He was so knowledgeable on Hinduism, Buddhism and life in the village.  We are so glad he found us in Durbar Square and gave us the opportunity to write a reference in his little black notebook.