Day 30- Nepal "Namaste!"

Wow! That pretty much sums it up. Kathmandu is not particularly impressive but the countryside in Nepal is amazing! I took an overnight trip to a town about 20 miles from here, up in the mountains. The elevation was about 7,500 feet and when the weather is clear I guess you can see the snow capped Himalayan mountains (including Everest). Because it is monsoon season it was fairly cloudy (actually we were in the clouds!) but the views were incredible regardless. The bonus to being here during the wet season is that the whole valley is bright green!

Nepali woman harvesting rice
Sunset from rooftop of one of the hotels in the village. (ok this is kind of a tangent) A couple weeks ago I realized that I have been so happy since being on this trip. All of the typical stresses of life have kind of faded away and I just feel really, really good. There are multiple reasons but I think one of them is the frequency of what I call "serene" or "life is good" moments. Basically slowing down and just really enjoying life for a little while. Watching this sunset was definitely one of them. As was kayaking in Italy, standing on top of the sand dunes in Qatar, watching the sun set over the Taj Mahal, walking around the Xativa castle in Spain. However, what I also realized is that I don't have to be doing something grand to have these moments. Tye-dying shirts while chatting with my brother and sisters, playing backgammon with Mom, eating dinner with my family on the veranda in Spain and laughing with friends also count. I have a tendency to rush around like mad when I am home, but one of my goals is to slow down and make a "life is good" moment of some sort everyday. My hope is that it will help me hang onto this low stress feeling I have now.
In the distance I could see a little bit of the snow capped mountain, but it didn't really show up in the photo
This is the view from my hotel balcony. When I got to the town I had a plan: check out a few places before getting a room, and negotiate the price. This was the first place and in my head I was saying, "be cool, don't rush it" but as soon as we stepped out here I said, "OKAY!" I am sure I could have gotten a better deal (not that $10 was bad), but it was worth it anyway!
This woman was tending to goats grazing on the mountain side.
On the way up to the village I took a public bus. The road was 1 lane, and 2 way. Scary! As we climbed and went around blind corners the driver did not slow down, he just honked his horn to let oncoming cars know we were coming. If we encountered someone one of us would back up until enough room could be made to pass. The Nepali people did not seem phased by this but I was terrified! The driver seemed to be humored by this spastic white girl doing deep breathing exercises with closed around every turn.

I am so impressed by the loads I have seen people carry on their backs!

I decided to walk back down to the valley the next day. I was excited to get out and explore the countryside, but I admit it was also motivated by fear of getting on the bus again!
As I walked down I encountered so many people who always greeted me with a friendly "namaste!" (which means hello or greetings to you)

(My pictures are a little out of order but I tend to accidentally erase them when I move them around)! Ate dinner at this cute place on the hillside called Sherpa Cottage. I had a Tibetan noodle soup dish that was so good that I got 2nd's AND went back the next day to have it for brunch. The air was cool and clean and setting very peaceful. I was just thinking about how nice it would be to share this perfectly romantic moment with someone special when this dog curled up in the chair across from me. Maybe I should be more specific in my wishes next time...
Cafe overlooking the Bodnath stupa (Buddhist temple). This is a sweet yogurt drink called lassi, a new personal favorite. I make a point to try and have one everyday. :)

This is Indu, the mother of the family I couchsurfed with my first night here. We ate on these little stools surrounding a table in the kitchen. They very impressively ate with their hand. Fortunately, they gave me a spoon!

I feel it is a shame to have only spent 3 days here but it is certainly better than nothing. I would love to get out and explore more of the beautiful parts of the country. This afternoon I head to Thailand where my goal is to swing in a hammock and do a lot of snorkeling! I will then work my way down the coast and end up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to visit my friend Hilary.

Extra thoughts...
This may get a lengthy (hey I am just warning you in case you want to stop now). After my last India post I was kind of bothered because I really did not feel I did it justice. I loved India, but it was very intense. From what I saw it was the poorest country I have ever visited. Quite humbling really. One morning on our way to the train station I was lamenting a poor nights sleep when we literally drove past hundreds of people sleeping on the streets within a matter of maybe 15 minutes. I also thought about my backpack and handful of outfits that have been well used. I would venture to guess that these 5 t-shirts I brought with me might be more than many Indians own in total. And they don't have the luxury of a washer and dryer like I do. It was very hard for me to really understand what the 'standard' is for an average Indian person but from what I saw an average person there would be considered rather poor in America. It was a whole new level of poverty from what we know. What impressed me was their adaptability. They live in these awful circumstances but they make the most of it. They work hard doing whatever dirty work is necessary to survive. Also kind of shocking were the people with severe disabilities and how they got by. Once as we were waiting to get on the train a man with deformed legs literally crawled off in front of us dragging his legs behind him. Of course there were many beggars as well, tiny children to the very old. As we walked down the street we were assaulted with a variety of smells, frequently that of human waste since facilities are sparse and homelessness common. It certainly helped me to be more grateful for what i have. In fact I think I might feel ashamed for some of those people to see how I live with my comfortable house and nice truck. I don't think I necessarily work harder than they do, for some reason I was just born into different circumstances with more opportunity. For that I am indeed grateful.

Something else I found interesting is the idea of arranged marriage (in Qatar, India and Nepal). I have had multiple people ask me if I was married and when I say no they assume it is because I don't want to be. (Which is not true for any of you that may be wondering)! They are not afraid to very directly ask why so I tell them that I just haven't found someone that I love enough to marry. This is foolish thinking to many. I was talking to one man about his marriage. When he was ready he put an ad in the paper that said he was looking for a wife. A woman responded and it seemed like a decent match so they got married! He told me "it is not nearly as important to marry who you love as it is to love who you marry." I can respect that thought but still it is such a foreign concept in our society. Granted the divorce rates here are much lower but I also wonder if the people are truly happy. Certainly something to think about.