Back to Reality

I have been home for over a month now.  And now I am thinking why didn't I stay.  Regardless, it is funny to go back and read all of my old posts, because I feel very differently now, then I did when I first wrote them.  The thing is, that now I feel like Nepal was home.  I was part of a family, which was the best part of my whole trip.  

I believe I made a best friend there too, someone I will never forget; an 85 year old grandmother from a village, who stood up to my waist.  Her name is Dahvi, which is a name of a Hindi god, but everyone calls her Buddhi Ama, which means old mother.  How is it that life would allow me to meet, and love a woman like who called me her daughter and would kiss me everyday?

Many thanks to the wonderful folks at the Kathmandu Post, and all other photographers who helped me get around.  I learned so much and had a great first internship experience. 

Finally, I could not have gone to Nepal without the help from my family, Alli Kwesell, Rajendra Acharya and his family.

Needless to say, I cannot wait to go back.

Namaste y'all.

Rafting and Chitwan National Park

On a recent Monday, I took the day off work and got myself a river fix. I told work I would write a story on "adventure sports," in return for a day off. I am usually on the river in the summer for about 65 of the 90 days of summer in America, hence I miss it a lot. Anyway, I gladly paid the standard day trip fee of about $50, hoped on the bus with a bunch of first time foreigners and played "customer," not guide, for a day. After stopping at The Last Resort Lodge, near the Tibetan border, famous for outdoor activities, watching someone bungee jump down a 500 ft river gorge(!), we hit the Bhoti Kosi river for some awesome class IV-high water- monsoon action! Great whitewater, great guides, great time. Although no excursion like this can go off without a hitch in Nepal; we got stuck in a 2 hour traffic jam right outside of Kathmandu due to a bus stuck in the mud. Nothing like 10 singing French-men on a hot, crowed bus to pass the time!

For four days I went to Chitwan, with my teacher's son Brendan, for a jungle experience. We had a blast! Although, according to guide books, we broke every rule possible, some of which are:
1. Don't take a bus anywhere in Nepal (not trying to sound like a hero, but I take at least two buses everyday).
2. Don't go to Nepal in the monsoon season, which is now (too late for that, already survived 8 weeks of the monsoon!)
3. Whatever you do, DO NOT go the Terai area (which is where Chitwan is located) because of (old) political tensions and malaria
4. Forgot to take the malaria pills

But hey, you live and learn, and I'm still doing both! We stayed at a little jungle lodge with good food, all activities and a guide for only $70. We went on two elephant rides, saw one rhino in the wild, along with deer, birds, wild boars, and crocodiles. My favorite part was the elephant bathing in the Rapti River. The most depressing part was going to the elephant breeding center, where they have to chain the babies up so they don't run off into the jungle. The baby elephants could have possibly been the cutest things I've ever laid eyes on. But their eyes glazed over, just wanting to be by there mom's was heart wrenching.

It also really bothered me how the elephants are treated (hit with wooden and metal sticks if they don't listen or go fast...it's an elephant, they don't walk fast!!) Is this eco-tourism or animal maltreatment?! (I feel an op-ed piece brewing inside me...) I may be a little backwards when this bothers me more than poor, hungry village families, but I can't help it.

Tibetan Protest

About two weeks ago, while on another assignment, I got a phone call from an Agence-France Presse photographer/mentor/friend that there was a protest going on outside of the Chinese Embassy in a half hour. I immediately left the (boring) Oliver Twist play I was covering, for this, something I had been wanting and hoping to cover while being in Nepal.

I got there just as it started and there were about 100 Tibetan protesters in the streets marching, shouting and waving flags and banners. Pretty peaceful I would say. Apparently not to Nepali cops; this does not fly with the them. Immediately protesters were detained and thrown into awaiting trucks, taking them to local jails. I have never seen people so passionate, and with so much conviction as these Tibetans. Right before my eyes, people were being punched, pushed and kicked to the ground. I even saw one man get kicked in the stomach and head, after he was unconscious. This is when I stepped in and tried to help him.

You have to be a person before a photographer sometimes. I could tell he could have been killed if it was to keep going. I got a group of other protesters and helped them drag his limp body to the sidewalk. I was punched by cops and told to stop helping him and leave the scene. I said, "This man could die!" and was pushed some more by that response. My first aid and WFR kicking in, I made sure he was still breathing then tried to wake him up. People were screaming and crying that he was dead. They dumped cold water on him and a few minutes later he woke up. Needless to say, I was sure there were many internal injuries, just looking from his bruised and battered stomach. I have a picture of this man's head out cold on the cement with a cops boot next to it, right after he kicked him one last time.

Meanwhile, nothing stopped as more and more people were hauled off into more awaiting jail trucks. The protesters would not stop the chant "Free Tibet!" even as they were thrown into the trucks. It didn't matter if it was women or old people, they were treated just as poorly as the rest. Absolutely no human rights in this process. Bamboo sticks flying in the air, coming down with a snap onto limbs and skin.

After about forty five minutes of hell, it was all over, streets cleared, photographers scanning their photos, other tourists continuing on their way, storekeepers back in their shops.
However, I was shaken up for days to come.

OSHO Commune

Last night I went with my friend from the paper to the OSHO Commune where she lives. OSHO was a famous guru and holy man in the 20th Century and set up numerous communes around the world, focusing on meditation mostly. There are 35 alone in Nepal today, and the largest used to be in Oregon, but was taken down by the Reagan-era government. This commune is about 8 kilometers outside of the city, in the jungle hills surrounding Kathmandu. It was beautiful. The commune is surrounded with wonderful gardens, paths, statues, waterfalls, a meditation call, kitchen, office, library and of course small rooms and houses.

I was welcomed into the group right away, even though I was just staying for one night. I had to buy maroon meditation robes, because you aren't allowed to wear regular street clothes on the Ashram's premises. When we got there, which we barely did as my friend's motorcycle was almost out of gas due to the the petrol shortage, it was time for dinner. On the welcoming sign it says, "NO DRINKING, NO SMOKING AND NO NON-VEG'S ALLOWED." In Nepal, they say non-veg if you are a meat eater, unlike how we usually say vegetarian. After dinner, it was time for evening meditation, which is done in white robes. So there I am, the only red robed, white girl in the room. It turns out this meditation is really a big dance party. Music thumped from the meditation hall, blaring Nepali drums, shouts, and beats of all kinds. I got my groove on, even alone in my dark robes. It was awesome!

Transportation Strike

Today is the first day I am actually really frustrated with this country. There is a transportation strike because of high gas prices. The govn't, won't pay for oil/gas to be shipped to Nepal because its so expensive. So there are no taxis, or buses and you have to walk or bike everywhere if you don't have a car or motorcycle.

I heard someone talking about it say, "After all, this is Nepal." 

Pokin' around in Pokhara

I will get a decently sized story along with five photos for this clip, one of my bigger ones so far...

I got to write a tourism travel log for the KTM Post while I traveled to Pokhara, Nepal. It is the second largest tourist town in Nepal and I can see why. It is set on the second largest lake in Nepal called the Phewa Tal, with fun shops and restaurants and most importantly CLEAN AIR! The backdrop is the Annapurna Mountain Range, the second largest in the country after Everest of course, which gets the trekkers coming to the town. You see either hippies, trekkers, or do-gooder's for the country, along with natives for the most part.

In order to do a tourism log, I had to be the ultimate tourist. I took a pony trek up the World Peace Pagoda, which was cool; you go through the jungle and then up to the hillside where Buddha apparently found his enlightenment. I felt like a lazy American though, sitting high on a horse, named "King" because he was the biggest on the farm, but I thought he was actually pretty skinny... while leeches sucked at his hooves (without horse shoes :( ... ) and my guides ankles. Ugh. Nice views at the top of the Pokhara Valley though. I tipped the guide way too much probably, but hey I'm a guide and now what its like to take tourists on a river, so maybe its good guide karma?

I also visited a cave called Mahendra Cave, named after an ancient Nepali king. It was cool, you walk inside about 100 yards into the earth, but that's about it. I took a rain check on the bat cave nearby though.

One of the best times I had while in Pokhara was visiting an orphanage called the Kopila House, or Sam's House. I met a guy on the plane over here, from Minnesota no less, who started a children's house with his wife a few years ago. This visit inspired me to begin a personal project on Nepal's orphanages and their usually poor conditions. This one however was super nice. There are about 20 kids, they all have their own beds with clean sheets and are probably more responsible and mature than your average college kid. I was pretty happy with some of the photos I made. They do all their own chores, help cook/clean etc. I was beyond impressed; unfortunately this is a rare case in Nepal. More to come on that project later.

Besides shopping, eating, and getting over a nasty cold, I also went to a Yoga and Meditation retreat center for a day/night. A couple owns this resort, that is still being built called the Sadhana Yoga Center (if you're ever in the area ;) They offer yoga three times a day, along with meditation and chanting and serve all organic vegetarian meals from food grown in their garden. You also get a mud or steam bath, yogic body clensings, which cured my head cold. All this is included with your room for $20. Cheap cheap.

I took a bus there and back which was an interesting experience in itself. Imagine the Greyhound, but Nepali style. Then picture that on a bumpy road, over a 400 ft river gorge below, a single lane highway passing other buses and trucks. Sound like fun yet? Then add in a traffic jam that took 3 hours to go about a mile.

ps : THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN TRAVEL COUNTING AS WORK OR INTERNSHIP HOURS!!!

Temples in Nepal

Yesterday there wasn't much to do at work after my first assignment so I ventured out on my own for some standard tourist sightseeing...

I went to the Pashupati Temple, which is the holiest place in the world for Hindus. You are greeted by a 250 rupee charge if you have white skin like me, and lots of monkeys. A tour guide quickly comes up to you, eager to take you around, for a charge of at least 500 rupees. I let him, because I knew I wouldn't get as much out of the experience if I wasn't told about the history of the place.

It is a large compound made up of statues and temples thousands of years old. The Kamma Sutra temple is there, where human sacrifices used to be preformed, and now animals are still sacrificed there. Some intresting engravings and statues, if you know what I mean... This temple is also the place where people are creamated, or rather burned under a pile of straw outside. I saw about three bodies being burned with families watching their loved ones turn to ash. It was very intense. I didn't want to take photos up close, out of respect for the families, but took some from viewpoints across the river, where the bodies are first cleansed before being burned. I never thought I would know the smell of burning flesh, but now I do. You can't go into the actual temple unless you are Hindu, but I was thrilled just to see the outside.

There are holy men who cover themselves in the dead's ashes and live in the many smaller temples on the compound. Their dreadlocks alone were older than I am, some growing their hair for more than 25 years. They have devoted their lives to their gods, and are gauked at by tourists like me. They wanted me to pay them to take their picture, which I did, because hey, it was less than a dollar, and these guys need to eat somehow.

After walking around everywhere there, seeing the hermit caves, and the golden bull, my tour guide took me on the half an hour walk to the Bouda Stuppa, which is one of the holiest places in the world for Buddhists. The Budda's eyes look over the area and look like they are staring right at you. When I got there, I left my tour guide, pay him off and entered in my myself.

You walk in the gate and in the middle is the Stuppa, which is a huge circular temple. You can walk around the outside, but also cannot enter in it. Surrounding it were many shops, restaurants, alleys etc.; it reminded me of a Little Tibet, not that I have seen the real one, but anyway... Many Tibetan monks and flags surrounded the temple, people worshipping and spinning the prayer wheels on the entrance gate. I walked around the loop a few times, did some shopping and caught the bus for a long ride back to my neighborhood.

It was a wonderfully, culture-enriching afternoon, for only about $30 dollars (including wine and groceries for dinner). Gotta love Nepal.