On the home straight

After nearly a week of watching the internet news updates it looks as if UK airspace has reopened and we stand a good chance of getting home on Tuesday - for a while there I did wonder if we'd be stranded. I've been assured by Air India that our seats are confirmed and won't be given to anyone who's been unable to travel, so fingers crossed all will be well and both us and our bags will get home on time (even though I have the jinxed suitcase, Evelyn!).

Unexpectedly on Friday (after my last post), the New Year procession came marching up our street, just as we were waiting for dinner. We charged downstairs to watch and take photos - there were lots of people dancing and a band dressed in all their finery; women in bright blue saris with flowers in their hair; lots of red tikka powder all over everyone; and a large Ganesh statue draped in flowers and garlands. The statue was being carried on two long poles (like a sedan chair) by about 12 men on each side. There's a fair hill on the way up our street so they were sweaty and exhausted looking! I was busy saying how heavy it looked as it passed when the man at the back of the poles on our side of the road put his hand out and said Happy New Year. I took his hand to shake it and he pulled me off the step and put me in the line in front of him! The statue was incredibly heavy (I still have the bruises to prove it) but I managed to help carry it up to the temple at the top of the street (about 150 yards - yes, I'm a wimp). Everyone thought this was hysterically funny - I guess it's usually only men who are allowed to take this role - and loads of people were shouting, cheering and laughing and taking photos on their phones - ah, my 5 minutes of fame - ha ha! After having my face suitably covered in red tikka powder and being forced to dance around like a loony for a little while I was released back into reality. Carlyn, one of the other volunteers here, was also involved in the dancing and has pictures on her camera of us when we got back - she's away rafting at the moment but is due back soon so I'll post a photo and you can laugh at me looking ridiculous.

Life has been quiet following that excitement. The kids are back at school and we've been going up in the afternoon to help with homework. Well, I say help - one of the older girls asked me to help her with trigonometry yesterday afternoon and I hadn't a clue - school was such a long time ago....! Alison and I went into Thamel a couple of days ago to get photos transferred from the camera onto a DVD and to eat chicken satay (oh yummy, yum), and we're going in again this evening for dinner with Blake, a volunteer who's off travelling in Cambodia and Vietnam shortly. She left the volunteer house about a week ago to meet her sister and they've been trekking in Langtang, which is up near the border with Tibet and looks beautiful.

Well, I'll be off for now - away to wash the final two blankets and then pack all the rest up for the summer. The electric has been mysteriously on for ages over the last few days - not sure what that's about, but we're not complaining - so I'll try to post some photos later on if I can.

Ann & Alison
x

Day to day life

Electrickery


The house and piece of waste ground across from where we're living. The waste ground seems to be used communally - the little boy in the picture goes to the toilet on it regularly (not what you want to see whilst having a cup of tea and watching the world go by, believe me!); people stop to read the paper; a board game is set up on a large oil drum; and people were singing and dancing here at New Year.


This elderly lady lives in a small house at the back of the waste ground and spends all her days sitting here, sometimes with a small black dog for company


The 'restaurant' (term used carefully, you'll notice) next door to us has its dish washing facilities on the waste ground too - nice.....You'll see all the rubbish that is everywhere - plastic bags are now embedded in the soil, they've been there that long. Everyone throws rubbish away here with no concern for where it lands. Having said that, the owner of the 'restaurant' next door does come out and sweep his bit of road, then throws the rubbish about two feet to the right!


Having posted quite a lot now, and not having too long left here, it suddenly struck me that we'd put up lots of pictures of the kids, and of 'touristy' type things, but not much that shows the day to day life here in Kathmandu. I'll try to take some photos of our local shops, and the busier shopping area down the road from us - the butchers' shops in particular are a sight to behold (complete with goats tethered outside and chickens in boxes waiting for their demise). There are also a couple of original houses left in the area, from before all the modern development, so I'll try to get some pictures of those too, and if it's possible to somehow show the bedlam and chaos that is the roads and traffic here if I can - although I suspect it has to be experienced to be believed! It's sometimes hard to take photos without feeling obtrusive, but I'll do my best.

The kids are back at school on Sunday, and those that have been away for the holidays will be back by tomorrow evening. We're going to spend our last week being tourists and getting to all the places we still want to see, and hopefully being able to help out with homework in the late afternoon after school. Strange to think that after tomorrow we only have one Saturday left to spend with all of the kids together. We're going to try to get small gifts for the girls that Alison's been playing with over the last couple of weeks - some have their noses pierced, for example, but don't have earrings to put in them, so they use pieces of stick! Although, talking to Sita today about her piercing it transpires that the school rules forbid jewellery - if they wear it, the Principal marks their grades down - they're also not allowed to have a fringe at school, and spend all their time trying to plaster my fringe across my head so it doesn't exist!

It's still really hot here, but we had another thunderstorm during the night and lots of rain, so it was a little cooler this morning. It feels awful to complain about the heat, but it makes it impossible to do anything or go anywhere because you just end up sweaty and tired - yuck.

I've been reading about the Iceland volcanic ash that's lingering over home - some days the heat haze and smog here are so bad you'd think we had it too! The hills across the road appeared yesterday after the previous thunderstorm, and I'd almost forgotten they were there.

Will try to post more photos as we get them.

See everyone soon!

Ann & Alison
x

Bodhnath photos

Small temple dedicated to the goddess of smallpox!


Buddhist gompa (monastery) - there was a service when we were there; the monks were chanting and playing music on huge ancient horns. It made me quite emotional - Alison thought I was nuts!


The main stupa at Bodhnath, with the eyes of Buddha watching all four corners of the Kathmandu valley



It turned out that the New Year celebration is being held on Saturday at the site where we went for the picnic with the kids a few weeks ago - if we've got the energy to hike over there! There was a group of Nepali men singing and dancing on the bit of waste ground across the road last night which was quite funny - alcohol had obviously been involved and they were initially singing and dancing under their own steam. Then they all vanished and came back in a micro (minibus) which was parked on the waste ground with the doors open and music blasting from the stereo. When we went to bed we could hear a party going on in one of the houses at the back, with music from Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Beyonce and The Three Degrees - it sounded bizarre enough on its own but when you added the barking, howling dogs....unique!

We went up to see the kids yesterday afternoon and they were all dancing, it was great. Some of the girls did traditional Nepali dances and the boys were all trying to be cool - there was even some breakdancing going on! I've got some video but I don't think this computer will cope with uploading it onto the blog - I'll maybe try later if I get time to sit and be patient (it's sooooo slow!).

Breakfast calls again, so I'd better go. Only 11 days till home now - it's going to feel strange to be back - 24 hour electricity and a washing machine - it'll be like luxury!

Ann & Alison
x

Happy New Year!

It's Nepali New Year's Day today and in their calendar it's the year 2067! There's a celebration tonight, I think, culminating at the small temple just at the top of our road.

We went to Bodhnath yesterday and it's beautiful. It's a Buddhist stupa surrounded by houses, cafes and little shops - really peaceful and gorgeous in the middle of the madness. My camera battery's charging so I'll get some photos on once it's done.

There was a massive thunderstorm last night - it lasted about 4 hours and the lightning was pink! In addition to looking amazing, it had the added benefit of frightening the life out of the local dogs so it was unusually quiet last night. Nepali dogs sleep all day and bark all night - it's like the dog chorus, you can hear them from miles away - it's a joy.....

Santoshi has just yelled that breakfast is ready - it's one of our favourites today, potato and chickpea curry with rice and dahl - so I'll disappear just now. Not sure what time the electric's on later but will try to post photos when I can.

Ann & Alison
x

More dentistry

I forgot to include this photo on the earlier blog - it's a shrine to toothache - if you have toothache, you nail a rupee to the shrine and your toothache is miraculously cured without the need to visit the dentist - amazing!

Shopping, shopping, shopping - instalment 2

Even the cows were shopping


Cleaning day at the temple


Rickshaw rank


Transport in Old Town


Dentist anyone?


The teeth in the bowl were real (the flash has obscured them a bit) - I had to drag Alison and Emma away from this window, the gruesome pair!

Shopping, shopping, shopping

Alison and Emma improving their karma


Tibetan hair extensions - yes, really


Emma at a shiny, sparkly shop


Very quick post - only 15 mins of electric left! Went into Thamel with Emma today and shopped till we dropped - spent quite a long time in the old town, down an alleyway with lots of 'shiny, sparkly shops' (bindis and bracelets!). I got blessed by a holy man and now have a big red blob on my head; someone touched Alison and then crossed themselves (is she really a Goddess?); we improved our karma by spinning prayer wheels in a temple; we wandered down 'dentist alley' - euw - and spent ages just looking at the general chaos - great fun.

Run out of time to post more photos - will try again tomorrow with the rest.

Ann & Alison
x