11.14.11
This is a continuation of my trip to some remote villages.
The third village we went to was Deurali Ukali, located about a two hour bus ride from Pokhara. There I visited a school which I was quite impressed with. It was a private school which meant the parents of the children had to pay tuition. This village seem quite affluent probaly due to its close proximity to Pokhara so the farmers had easy access for selling their goods.
The enrollment at the school was about 150 with classes from preschool through 12th grade. The kids were amazingly well behaved and seemed very happy and smiley. So i am posting some pictures. Notice the uniforms with both girls and boys wearing ties.
Since I posted this I have been on another jouney to Mustang, a district of Nepal to the North East of Pokhara. This trek took me to 3800 Mt, or about 12000 ft. elevation and placed me in thr center of the Annapurna range. The views were awesome being just at the edge of snow level. Here lies Muktinath and the sacred Muktinath temple, venerated by Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims from time immemorial. To see the pictures go to >
http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/home/ and then log in using my email address, Paiinthai (at) gmail.com and my password which is fishysnp6. This will save me the time of uploading the pics to this blog.
These pictures are amazing, transporting you to medieval time in a vast expansive part of freezing cold Mongolian/ Nepali territory, enjoy. I will add more information here later. Now it's time to rest. It was a grueling trip but worth every laborious step of the way.
Well so many things are happening its hard to keep up with it all. There was a 3 day Hindu festival here with the mainevent being a Water Meditation along the banks of the lake. Was a glorious day of singing, chanting, praying and dancing. The ironic side of it all was that it was actually a promotion to line the pockets of the Guru who cam here from India and claims to be some kind of reincarnation of the god Genesh, his name is Gurudav. The locals I talked to here were not impressed!
But it was colorful and entertaining, why not enjoy, did not cost me anything.
Heres som pictures and a video of the spirited dance of the yoginis and yogas.
And now the dancing video:
Its morning on a beautiful clear dayhere's a video of sunrise from my bedroom window:
Now it's evening time and I wish I could send you the fragrance of the night blooming jasmine, it's intoxicating, and there is the sliver of a new moon.Sleep well.
I am going to title this entry:
BIZZARE NEPAL
Its uncanny how being in a country that is culturally vastly different from my own and yet after a while the bizzareness becomes commen place, yet there are new surprises daily as well. So here is a collection of photos that reveal what seemed strange to me at first. Some of the photos are not good quality because I took them with my mobile phone camera. It always seems the most unusual shots present themselves when I do not have my best camera with me.
There's a lady under this enormous bundle of rice grass!
Here a lady is making plates and bowls with large green leaves.
A band, all musicians are blind, playing on the street and receiving lots of donations, it's Christmas.
The most common work horse/tractor. Have no idea why the engine is so far out in front of the driver's seat?
A wedding in a row boat on Lake Fewa.
These guys come up to Nepal from India, carrying huge sacks of raw cotton which they fluff-up by whacking the cotton with long sticks, then fashion it into pillows to sell. They are semi-nomadic.
An out door crematorium, or "burning Ghat" as they call them, along lake Fewa.
Most popular snack foods street vendor. "Chat" made with mashed lentils and various deep fried goodies, mmm!
This restaurant serves a great homemade beer made from fermented barley, served in a large wooden mug. The mug is filled with barley and hot water is added. You get a large thermos of hot water and refill your mug as often as you like. A great drink on a cold night, makes you sleep very well with mellow dreams!
Fresh fruit squeezed while you wait.
common practice for the owners to keep the animals close to home and out of their gardens and farm land where they could damage the crops, consequently the farmers (usually the women) spend long hours gathering greens each day by hand to bring home to feed the animals!
How would you like to run into him on the street!
A most common shrine to the Hindu god Shiva, a many headed cobra snake. Good for protection !
Wild boar roasting on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant Christmas eve.
How about this one? Wouldn't that go over big at your local public park, maybe it would be a good sign for dog owners!
To be continued each day or so...
2/25/12 Surprise, Surprise, I'm in India, time for a new page, see Page 3.
This is a continuation of my trip to some remote villages.
The third village we went to was Deurali Ukali, located about a two hour bus ride from Pokhara. There I visited a school which I was quite impressed with. It was a private school which meant the parents of the children had to pay tuition. This village seem quite affluent probaly due to its close proximity to Pokhara so the farmers had easy access for selling their goods.
The enrollment at the school was about 150 with classes from preschool through 12th grade. The kids were amazingly well behaved and seemed very happy and smiley. So i am posting some pictures. Notice the uniforms with both girls and boys wearing ties.
Since I posted this I have been on another jouney to Mustang, a district of Nepal to the North East of Pokhara. This trek took me to 3800 Mt, or about 12000 ft. elevation and placed me in thr center of the Annapurna range. The views were awesome being just at the edge of snow level. Here lies Muktinath and the sacred Muktinath temple, venerated by Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims from time immemorial. To see the pictures go to >
http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/home/ and then log in using my email address, Paiinthai (at) gmail.com and my password which is fishysnp6. This will save me the time of uploading the pics to this blog.
These pictures are amazing, transporting you to medieval time in a vast expansive part of freezing cold Mongolian/ Nepali territory, enjoy. I will add more information here later. Now it's time to rest. It was a grueling trip but worth every laborious step of the way.
Well so many things are happening its hard to keep up with it all. There was a 3 day Hindu festival here with the mainevent being a Water Meditation along the banks of the lake. Was a glorious day of singing, chanting, praying and dancing. The ironic side of it all was that it was actually a promotion to line the pockets of the Guru who cam here from India and claims to be some kind of reincarnation of the god Genesh, his name is Gurudav. The locals I talked to here were not impressed!
But it was colorful and entertaining, why not enjoy, did not cost me anything.
Heres som pictures and a video of the spirited dance of the yoginis and yogas.
And now the dancing video:
Its morning on a beautiful clear dayhere's a video of sunrise from my bedroom window:
Now it's evening time and I wish I could send you the fragrance of the night blooming jasmine, it's intoxicating, and there is the sliver of a new moon.Sleep well.
I am going to title this entry:
BIZZARE NEPAL
Its uncanny how being in a country that is culturally vastly different from my own and yet after a while the bizzareness becomes commen place, yet there are new surprises daily as well. So here is a collection of photos that reveal what seemed strange to me at first. Some of the photos are not good quality because I took them with my mobile phone camera. It always seems the most unusual shots present themselves when I do not have my best camera with me.
The ever present sacred cows wandering throughout the most busy parts of the city. Common in India and Nepal but Nepal goes one big step forward, they have the huge water buffalos roaming the streets as well. It's
A most common shrine to the Hindu god Shiva, a many headed cobra snake. Good for protection !
An finnaly, love those trucks, note the "No Fear" message in the grill, and they mean it!
Hope you enjoyed the show. Its a beautiful sunny day here today, Wednesday, Dec.28. I will be attending a vipassana meditation retreat starting Jan 1, 2012, for a month. Have a wonderful bountiful peaceful new year in body mind and Soul. See you next year!
To be continued each day or so...
2/25/12 Surprise, Surprise, I'm in India, time for a new page, see Page 3.
