Reflections on Nepal
Reflections on Nepal
April 7-10, 2007
Before going back to our hotel in Katmandu, we had two more places to visit. First, our driver took us to Nagarkot, a little town perched on a small peak about half an hour from Katmandu that is famous for its panoramic views of the Himalayas. Bishnu told us that on a clear day, you can see Everest. Unfortunately for us, the smog in the Katmandu Valley is so heavy in April that we could barely see to the bottom of the hill, let alone any distant peaks. When we arrived at our hotel, the Country Villa, I took a picture of our splendid “view.”
Shortly after we arrived, it started raining and soon it was a full-blown thunder and lightening storm. When we discovered how expensive the restaurant was in our hotel, we decided to brave the elements and walk down the hill into the town to find cheaper food. As we stumbled along in the dark, getting drenched and cringing when the lightening struck, I wondered aloud if it was worth it to save a few dollars. Then Claude reminded me that one of the purposes of this trip was to challenge ourselves to learn to live on a budget and do with less – the harder we worked for our meals, the better they would taste. In the end, we found a nice little place where we enjoyed great food for half what it would have cost us to eat at the hotel. We even got to eat by candlelight when the power went out halfway through the meal.
The next morning, I woke up very early and stepped out onto our balcony to watch the sunrise. I was amazed to discover that the heavy smog had lifted so I could now see the entire valley shrouded in an ethereal mist while the distant peaks showed up in stark relief against the rising sun.
Later that morning, our driver took us to Bhaktapur, a beautiful town where the Nepali culture and its palaces and temples have been faithfully maintained and preserved. We spent a few hours wandering around soaking up the culture and learning about ancient Nepali traditions.
The kids and I got impromptu pottery lessons and Alexa was fascinated by the Thanka Art School where we learned about the art of Thanka painting.
Then it was time to head back into Katmandu to get ready for our trip to India. We had to shop, pack, ship stuff home and get our Indian visas organized (see “Adventures at the Indian Embassy”). Claude had called his brothers and sisters and told them about the incredible deals to be had on trekking gear and they had sent a shopping list. He spent the next two days shopping and shipping while I caught up on my emails, blogs and phone calls home.
As our days in Nepal wound down, we realized that we had fallen in love with this land of contradictions where breathtaking beauty and heartbreaking filth and poverty live side by side, where the crystal clear air of the mountains is offset by the dense palpable smog of the city and where so many sweet, generous and good-natured people live with corruption and rebellion as part of their daily lives. Here, we had tested our limits and discovered that we didn’t have any. We had learned to live with very little and to appreciate the beauty and awesomeness of nature. We felt like we had barely scratched the surface of this tiny country, landlocked between India and China, yet bursting with opportunities to explore, discover and appreciate nature’s wondrous mountains, valleys and jungles. Nepal has stolen our hearts and we will definitely come back to find them.
Tags: Nagarkot, Nepal, Travel
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