Home and I Have Grown

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller

Most of you reading this know that I love third world countries.  I love the simplicity of their lives and their strong faith in a higher power, their connection to nature, love for their family and them selves. I have traveled to Mexico, India, Thailand and now Nepal. I have lived among these so called “poor” people who have lives that have more meaning, purpose, love and joy than many "rich" people I know. They seem to be grounded in a way that has them feeling valued as humans. While in Nepal I experienced and now understand the true meaning of "Namaste".  Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture of palms together with fingers pointed upward and held in the middle of your chest is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. I am so very happy to have made "my stop to look around" in the greatest country I have ever visited, Nepal. 

Thank you everyone for making this my best holiday EVER!

Nepal is Always Ahead

Funny thing about time in Nepal...

Their clocks run 15 minutes ahead of India.  We were told they never want to be later than their neighboring country. 

24 hours and 45 minutes ahead of the Denver.

Nepali calendar 2069

Nepali calendar - Bikram Sambat Nepali Calendar or Nepali patro is approximately 56 years and 8½ months ahead of the Gregorian calendar. The Nepalese New Year falls in the middle of April. Unlike Gregorian months, the lengths of Nepali months are not predetermined, and change from year to year, varying from 29 days to 32 days. 



Very interesting.

A Few Final Thoughts

And a Few More Pics!

Luna loves to lead the pack.

May I never forget these steps in the forrest...

            Or view of the Himalayas...

Or the taste of water buffalo milk...

Or the interest of a child in technology in this world.

                   And may I always remember these words.

My Last Day in Nepal

Farewell Kathmandu 

We shared our final day in Nepal visiting temples and enjoying our hosts and each member of our group for one more precious time together.

Katy, Waveney and Sheila waiting for our day to begin

Swayambhunath

 The name means "self-risen".  The valley of Kathmandu was once a lake and this hill, now topped by this temple, spontaneously rose from the waters.  These brightly painted Buddha statues are at the bottom of the hill and were our view as we entered to grounds.

Buddha on the top of the hill.

We were lead up the steep, stone pilgrim stairway by our mascot, Luna, to this section of the temple.

The Great Tunderbolt.
The brass-plated dorje is a symbol of the power of
enlightenment and destroys ignorance. It
indicates male power, while the healing bell
represents the female power.

The Stupa

This monument hints at celestial perfection with its gleaming, gilded spire and white washed dome. The four faces of Buddha staring out in all directions 

represent unity and the insight of the Buddha.  The white ball on the very top

is the earth. The prayer flags have written mantras on them carrying requests to the heavens above for peace and love for all of us on earth. 

View of Kathmandu from Swayambhunath

Monkeys

They are everywhere!

Our Farewell Dinner

This is Kaji's restaurant.  He actually closed it to other guests so we could enjoy our last meal together. Notice our final tongba being offered on the left.  After our fantastic dinner Chandra and Debbie presented each of us with a handmade, white cloth bag colorfully embroidered. This is worn on the back to carry everything and anything while working in the fields, trekking the hills or shopping the markets.  You may have seen them on many of my pictures in this blog. This gifts were made by Chandra's sister.  It must of taken her weeks to complete all 20 of them. Unfortunately I did not get a pic of all of us
modeling our generous gifts from someone who loves Chandra and Debbie and so loves all of us as well. 

One Last Day in Pokhara

Pokhara's main street early in the morn.





Chandra and Kaji rented a row boat and took us across the 
climb up o the World Peace Temple.

Shopping and Boating and Celebrating a Hippy Birthday!

Row boats on the lake.

Chandra and Kaji took the four of us across the lake.

We climbed to the top of the mountain to this World Peace Temple.

The grounds had closed 10 minutes before we got there...but the view was incredible!!!

Aspen Glow without Aspens.

Annapurna South at sunset.

 We had to row back to Pokhara in the dark.  Boy was that fun. We got back just in time for Katy's birthday celebration.

You read it right...it was Katy's HIPPY Birthday!

Back in Pokhara

For the Most Breathe Taking Experience So Far

Parahawking...

John and I did this our first morning back in Pokhara.  The owner of the business is from England and he has been a birder since the age of seven. 

He came to Nepal when he heard all the Egyptian Vultures were dying off due to a drug used by vets to aid in joint pain in cows and other livestock. When the cows evidently die, the vultures will eat them. This drug causes liver and kidney failure in this beautiful rapture. These birds are now dangerously close to extinction. 

Meet Kevin.

Kevin is 3 years old. He was recused as a chick.  And due to his upbringing he can not be released back in to the wild. So he enjoys each day flying from one paraglider to the other.  He responds to a whistle, flies up behind us, grabs a chunk of raw buffalo meat and takes off to the other glider.

John is ready!

And we are getting ready.

In the air...side by side.

Coming in.

Closer.

It is water buffalo...you will like it.

Score.

And he is gone.

Until the next time.

We did this about 8 times on a 30 minute flight. Then as we got close to our landing a handler brought Kevin home with another blow of a whistle. 

Landing.

Kevin back in his cage.

Share the sky and save the vultures!! 

Final Trek

 Well for Some of Us Anyway

There is a jeep that runs daily on this extremely rugged road from Nangi to Beni.  And a few in our group decided to do that route. Debbie and Luna, Katy and John hopped in the jeep that juggled them all the way to the river. While the rest of us endured one of the best hikes so far. 

Final look back at Nangi

It started with an open trail with grand views.

Just ask Maggie.

The jeep.  Talk about a 4WD experience.

Going to the River.


Then we walked through this wonderful little village with a whole  
lot a character.  It must have been close to a mile of strolling through
their charming quaint town. 

Fresh paint!

Fresh patio!

Fresh design!

To our next rest stop.  I know you probably think we were here before.  No, these detailed structures are every where. Most provide shade and a comfortable place to rest and/or have lunch.

Chandra in a tree.

But not the same tree as this praying mantis.

Fellow resters.

Back on the trail and watching the monkeys.

Colorful Beni, where we meet up with the jeepers
and catch a bus to Pokhara.

Nangi Cultural Day

A Cultural Final Day in Nangi

On our final day in this lovely village our hosts entertained us with their cultural dances.  The young were upbeat and modern with an old style message of love.  We enjoyed 4 or 5 dances before the elders took over the stage. 

The young group performed first.

Chandra told us he used to dance in both groups. He even lead the youth group for awhile. Then he played the drums with the elders.  However, you need to be single to dance with the elders and now he is married.  He also shared with us that the young dance "with" spirit and the elders dance "in" spirit. The elders actually go in a trance while dancing and drumming. And he felt he wasn't feeling the spirit and so he was cheating the spectators as well as his people. One of the shamans actually passed out during a dance. I couldn't take my eyes off of them.

Then to older ones.

Then we joined in.

 Notice how good we are. I think we danced three full songs. Notice our beautiful Marigold necklaces that they made for us. A fun time was had by all.

And we danced...and we danced!

Debbie with her mother-in-law and sisters!

An afternoon with Grandpa.

Nangi locals were there to make sure we all had a great time.

Cardie gave her red hat and black Uggs to Prim's mom.

We were all gifted prayer scarves upon departure.

I will never forget this village.  I hope to return someday.  And I know for sure that I will gift them in some way.  If anyone out there wants to experience this village our even take a trek similar to this one, please contact me.  PattyBlank@gmail.com  I will help you connect with Debbie and Chandra.