Birthdays and such like

The last few weeks have passed in a bit of a blur … A few days after my last proper post about the strike and political situation, the Maoists backed down, allowing the country to awake from its dormant, unmoving state. For a few days before the end of the strike, ordinary people across the country had been becoming increasingly agitated and angry about not being able to work or get proper food supplies. Finally, there was a peace protest in Kathmandu which was organised spontaneously and attracted tens of thousands of people. The Maoists, claiming to represent the people, couldn’t ignore such a clear voice from the people, and thus lifted their strike.

Since then, things have been pretty peaceful but I’m not sure how long it will last. The legal term of the Constituent Assembly, established 2 years ago to write the country’s Constitution, comes to its end on 28 May and the Constitution is far from complete. Parliamentary bills have been proposed which would extend the CA’s term but the Maoists have not been consulted, and without their votes, the bill will not get the majority it needs to be passed in parliament. Without an extension, Nepal will technically have no government and no legal system. I’m not sure how this would be reflected in reality but I can imagine, and it has been widely rumoured, that the Maoists will again bring the country to a standstill. Personally I really hope they sort something out because mum is arriving on 27 May for a very brief visit and I want to be able to show her some of the beautiful sights in the surrounding Kathmandu valley. A selfish reason I realise but it’s the truth … Of course, I also want a solution for the good of this beautiful and brilliant country and its people.

Nothing particularly exciting has punctuated the last few weeks. In fact the most exciting thing has been by Saturday trips into Kathmandu or Bhaktapur where I’ve spent large parts of the day in relaxing cafes, reading books, eating food other than rice and drinking coffee. Pretty good really J Trying to explain to Muna why I wouldn’t be eating “lunch” (read breakfast) here was a surprisingly hard task. She kept protesting that she would get up at 5am to cook so I could still leave by 8am. In the end, I had to explain that I was going to eat a special western breakfast called a pancake. When asked how much it would cost, and upon replying “90 rupees” (about 85p), I had already predicted Muna’s reaction of “oh, that’s much expensive. Why not eat rice? Its free.” I persevered with my desire to eat pancake and was finally released from the house without rice although Didi insisted on delaying me by 20 minutes while she made me tea.

I have just realised that while writing the above paragraph my brain must have unwittingly wandered into one of its increasingly common daydreams because there have been in fact two exciting occasions to tell you about. The first was a lovely visit from Jo and Alan, family friends from Kingussie who had just come down to Kathmandu after a successful trek to Everest Base Camp. Muna had insisted that I invite them for “lunch” which she promised to cook. Sitting down, having already commented on my impressive lodgings compared to what they were expecting, Jo and Alan (poor things) were presented with a MASSIVE plate of rice and then 5 little dishes of vegetables as well as dhal. Muna placed them on the table with a triumphant and beaming smile; Alan and Jo looked slightly bewildered while doing very well with their appreciative remarks; and I looked at the food with a slight dreading knowing that I would have to finish at least my portion to satisfy Muna and make up for the inevitable fact that my guests wouldn’t be able to finish such huge quantities of food at 10am. It was of course delicious and as we all slowed in our massive consumption, Muna pointed out vegetables which were hardly touched, asking if we didn’t like them. She looked rather offended by the lack of progress and I had to explain carefully (again!) that in “our country” we are not used to eating so much, especially in the morning. Once I had finished my portion (refusing the kind offer of seconds) and Alan and Jo had reached their limits, I insisted that Muna keep the left-overs for my dinner, knowing that otherwise this vast quantity of food would be thrown away on the Hindu belief that it was contaminated.

The rest of the day was spent walking to the temple in the stifling and sweat-inducing midday heat, before being welcomed into Krishna’s house for special Newari sweets and tea. These were definitely yum – one slightly like Scottish tablet. (a hard type of fudge for you English folk). Later, we took the bus into Patan. I like to think that this, and our walk through Patan, allowed Alan and Jo to see a bit of the “real” Nepal. As the third person squished onto a two-person seat at the front of the swerving and increasingly crowded bus, Jo’s eyes were a brilliant image of astonishment, amusement, interest and concern – especially when a very young child drifted unheeded towards the open door before the “conductor” finally pulled him back to his worryingly relaxed mother. Ah, Nepal :)

The second exciting event was my birthday last Thursday. I had told Muna a few weeks ago that it was going to be my birthday and she had promised to organise for a cake to be made if I gave her the money. Apart from the arrival of this cake, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Nepali-style birthday. As it turned out, not really very much, but it was very interesting to see the slight differences between western ideas and those in Nepal. Saying that, I think my experience was definitely westernised by Nepal standards because many Nepalese people don’t even know how old they are let alone celebrate their birthdays.

In the afternoon, Muna came to my balcony where I was enjoying a relaxing afternoon read and presented me with a little newspaper-wrapped parcel which contained some beautiful if rather gawdy bracelets. And here started a process that, thanks to my unusually MASSIVE hands, would be repeated twice later in the day. Given that I can NEVER wear over-the-hand bangles, when I saw Muna’s gift, I knew they wouldn’t fit. After some squeezing and some finger crushing, we concluded that they weren’t going to fit and after presenting me with my cake and some grapes, Muna went downstairs with her head hanging. I felt so bad! She went straight to Thaiba to try and buy a different type of bangle that would fit but to no avail. She promised she would get me new ones the next time she was in Patan.

The cake eating took place just before dinner (I thought this was slightly odd), and when I suggested we had tea with the cake, they all laughed, so I contented myself with just cake. Krishna and his family had come over, and because they seemed to impose no ceremony to the cake eating, I decided to show them how we did it in the UK, so duly sung “happy birthday” to myself. After blowing out the table candles that Muna had placed somewhat ungracefully in the corners of the beautifully decorated birthday cake, it was my duty to cut my cake. Each person then came and took a piece of the very gooey substance in their hands with no plate or napkins in site, and said “thank you. Happy birthday” to me. After serving the 11 others, I enjoyed a piece of a surprisingly good chocolate cake, before serving everyone else their second piece. As Muna had said was what you did as the birthday girl, I handed each person a small bar of chocolate I’d bought for the occasion.

The most amusing but simultaneously awful part of the evening was when both Bina (Krishna’s wife) and Didi presented me with sets of Nepali bangles which all the women wear – a different colour for each kurta (the pyjama-like outfits they wear in every colour). Bina’s pinky-red collection were first and there was no way they were getting over my wrists. After trying several times and with several of these delicate glass bangles having shattered into pieces, flying like missiles across the room, I looked apologetically towards Bina and gave up on bangle mission number 2. And so onto bangle mission number 3. Those from Didi were slightly bigger and she was one determined lady. After the initial breakages, she sent her niece to get the oil. Now we were getting serious. I sat for the next 10 minutes while Didi and her sister smothered my hands in oil and while one of them manipulated my thumb and knuckles into unthinkable positions, the other pushed and squeezed the bracelets onto my wrist, which once there fitted perfectly and matched my new kurta beautifully! I am now however stuck with them because there is no way they can come off. Having been on my wrists through skipping, showers, sleep, clothes washing and everything else I do on a day-to-day basis, they are rapidly loosing their paint … Maybe I will finally bring myself to break them off in a colourless state once I’m on my flight home in 2 weeks.

SHEWD-Hipknit catalogue - ORDER NOW!!

To further spread the word (incase you haven't already received an email from me), I have now completed the first draft of the Hipknit catalogue I've been working on.

I'm giving you all a UNIQUE opportunity to order some of our beautiful handmade items from it directly. Usually these items and prices are only sold to retailers so when you would buy them in the UK, you would be paying at least double these prices as the retailer would add their profit margin etc.

Ordering some of our items really does help the women who we work with and you get a great deal in return. Just think of all the Christmas presents you could sort out now ... :)

Because I plan to bring the items back with me on 2 June (to save on postage charges), orders need to be in asap - by the end of this week would be best.

If you'd like to see a copy of the catalogue please email me at eblackshaw_320@hotmail.com and I'll send you a copy.

All orders very much appreciated - thank you :)

XXxx

Chitwan photos

A few photos from Chitwan XXxx

Maoist strikes: politics in Nepal

While everyone in the UK is focusing on tomorrow’s election, I thought I might allow you a perhaps much appreciated break from the Brown/Cameron/Clegg view of politics … Here in Nepal we are now coming to the end of the fourth day of “indefinite” Maoist strikes which have brought the entire country to a standstill.

To give you a better understanding of what is going on, I’ll give you a very brief overview of the political situation in Nepal. In November 2006, the civil war that killed 14 000 Nepalis (fought mainly by the Maoists calling for an end to an increasingly autocratic monarchy) finally ended. Nepal was no longer officially a “kingdom” and an interim government was formed which included the Maoists. In April 2008, Constituent Assembly elections were held and the Maoists, promising development, peace and prosperity, won an astounding victory of 220 seats (over a third of the total and double those won by any other party.) All sounds very promising I hear you say. Yes, and so it seemed.

I’m not sure of the exact technicalities but the government that followed the elections was made up of 25 parties who were to write the final Constitution. However, very little progress was made and in 2009 the Maoists were evicted from government although are still officially part of the parliament. Don’t ask me why exactly they were removed but Krishna hinted that it had something to do with pressure from India, who is itself facing Maoist insurgencies in parts of the country. (Don’t quote me on this!) Anyway, the Maoists were obviously unhappy by this, especially because a large majority of the people had voted for them.

Since their eviction, the Maoists have been holding regular but seemingly random strikes. They are now calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister and the start of a new parliament under their leadership. They believe that the PM and his cabinet are in power illegally as they were not those for whom the population voted. The lack of progress in writing a Constitution for which the original deadline is sometime later this month, is also key to their grievances. The Maoists held a massive rally in Kathmandu to mark International Labour Day, saying that if the PM didn’t stand down by the end of the day (Saturday), they would start an indefinite strike.

These strikes aren’t like those we know in the UK, where a single sector is affected and replacement workers are often organised, thus causing minimal disruption. People here, although they don’t say as much, and are in fact for the most part seemingly undisturbed by the strikes, obviously take the restrictions imposed by the Maoists very seriously. No vehicles are allowed on the roads except ambulances, water and milk vehicles, press vehicles and those driving for diplomatic purposes. All shops are officially closed although in small villages like Thaiba, many remain open. Kathmandu however is like a ghost town, the protestors being the only people on the streets. (Very glad I don’t live in Kathmandu.)

On first hearing these realities, you might not truly appreciate the implications of such restrictions. Think about it for a minute. No transport. Although there are government buses to take tourists to the airport from central Kathmandu, Nepalis aren’t allowed to use them. The newspaper yesterday showed images of Nepalis walking from the airport with all their luggage. Can you imagine walking to central Edinburgh from the airport with your luggage?!

Krishna’s wife, Bina, has been ill and before the strikes they had had some tests done and had been given a small supply of medicine. The medicine has run out, she is still ill, but the doctor isn’t in his surgery because he can’t get there and even if he was there, Krishna can’t travel to Patan to see him. No test results and no more medicine until the strike is over. If she gets seriously ill, they can pay extortionate fees for an ambulance to come but there are probably very few ambulances in the valley and only emergencies will be taken. It’s a serious problem. The Maoists don’t take a lack of strike observation lightly. Yesterday, they apparently torched a motorbike and injured its driver who had been driving round the streets of Kathmandu. Shops which opened in Kathmandu on Monday, were yesterday torched and looted. Not fun and games.

Staying on the theme of transport, the Maoist supporters who were bused into the capital for the International Labour Day protests and the ensuing strike, are now wanting to go home. The majority of them are peasants and with the onset of the monsoon (its now raining heavily for a period most days) they are eager to get home because the monsoon is a very important time for planting rice and harvesting other produce. The Maoists apparently gave instructions in many rural areas that at least one member of each household was to attend the strikes – I’m not sure how this was enforced and whether these people were wanting to attend anyway. However, the Party is now offering no way for these peasants to go home, instead leaving them to walk distances which must reach100s of kilometres! Even I can’t really conceive the reality of it.

With no transport on the roads, food can’t be transported and the newspapers (www.myrepublica.com) tell me that food prices are absolutely soaring in Kathmandu as supplies become increasingly scarce. In Thaiba we are fine because we are surrounded by fields and the family have their own fields of vegetables. Don’t worry, they’re not going to stop feeding me the massive amounts I’m becoming accustomed to! Fruit however is no longer available – gutted I didn’t stock pile some while I could! I also read reports that farmers in the Chitwan area are becoming very angry and are holding protests against the strikes by throwing their rotting produce onto the silent highway. They can’t take it to market to sell, even though people will be becoming hungry in the cities. I read a rather harrowing story by a Kathmandu taxi driver who says that the combination of increasing food prices and his inability to work during the strike, he has run out of money. He said it would be ok if he were required to go without food for a few days but he can’t explain the reality to his three young children. I imagine this is increasingly the case for many families because no one is allowed to work. In such a subsistence economy, 4 days (likely to be a lot longer) without wages is devastating.

I’m not really sure what the opinions of these people are regarding who is to blame. From my reading, I don’t think they blame the Maoists, instead blaming the government for the failure of satisfactory negotiations. At the end of today, there still seems to be little sign of reconciliation between the Maoists and the government. They have been holding “high level meetings” for the last few days but to no avail. The protestors are becoming increasingly violent and impatient. Today the Prime Minister held meetings with the foreign ambassadors in Kathmandu but I think with the intention of detailing the situation as it concerns foreign nationals in Nepal rather than in hope of political advice.

So, here I am, sitting on my balcony in Thaiba, where without the lack of fruit, and quietness of the town, (and the online newspapers and my discussions with Krishna), I would have little idea of the gravity of the situation in Kathmandu. I really hope it is all resolved sometime soon as I would love to sit in a relaxed Kathmandu café on Saturday with a good cappuccino and my current book – just started Mansfield Park. (My third Jane Austen – Sarah and I somehow managed to co-ordinate our variety of reading material very badly!) Also, Alan and Jo (friends from home) are meant to be visiting on Tuesday after finishing their trek to Everest Base Camp. They are probably blissfully unaware of the situation but they won’t be able to get here if the strikes continues. These are obviously very superficial personal reasons for a desire for the end of strikes … Of course, I want them to end also for the good of Nepal and the necessity of stopping their crippling effect on the economy and everyone’s lives.

I’ll keep you all updated with any progress but as I mentioned earlier, look at www.myrepublica.com if you want to find out more for yourself.

Take care XXxx

Here are some photos from the trekking part of our adventures. I'll upload some of Chitwan and elephants soon :)

Travels

I am now back in Thaiba after a brilliant 3 weeks of travelling, the highlights of which were reaching Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) as part of a 10-day trek, and bathing with elephants in Chitwan National Park.

The trek is a very well established tourist circuit, which depending on the route you choose, takes between 6 and 12 days. For those of you who know the area, we started in Nya pul, went to Poon Hill, through Chomrong up to Base Camp, and then on the way back walked through Landruk, finishing at Kande. This was meant to take us 10 days but for reasons explained below we surprisingly finished it in 9 …

For me, the best thing about the route was its variety. We trekked through terraced hillsides scattered with farms, the inhabitants of which seemed to take little notice of the constant stream of weary walkers. At other points we were enclosed in what is apparently the world’s largest rhoededendrum forest with amazingly massive trees. I’d never seen a rhodedendrum tree (rather than a bush) but Sarah assures me that they exist in Scotland as there is one in her garden! The bamboo forests were also brilliant, giving a sense of being in the wet, damp tropics whilst at over 2500m – bizarre! And of course, the amazing alpine dessert surroundings as we were nearing base camp were phenomenal. The sense of being so close to these brilliantly beautiful mountains, and yet in reality being so far away as they towered another 4000m above us.

We encountered many large organised trekking groups on our way, some with at least 15 people in them – all total strangers before embarking on their journey to ABC (Annapurna Base Camp). We also met a few hardy souls who were completing the challenge entirely alone, with no companions and neither porter nor guide. We were in the middle of the bunch, having decided to hire a guide and a porter but otherwise do it independently, allowing us the freedom to adapt our own itinerary and stop for extra long tea breaks if we so wished. I was pretty pleased with our choice generally although I didn’t get all the local and cultural information I’d hoped for from our guide …

In general our days consisted of between 4 and 7 hours of walking and a massive variety of seemingly never-ending ascents and descents. We stayed in tea houses which on the ABC trek are guesthouses providing varying degrees of comfort. The higher you got, the more basic they became, but nonetheless, we always had a room to ourselves, even if it was shielded from the room next door only with a very thin piece of badly fitted ply-wood! The food on the other hand was amazingly tasty. The menus were pretty standardised – apparently because the park authorities set them and then teach the owners how to cook the items! Pancakes with either apple or bananna, accompanied by milk tea proved to be our morning favourite. This was followed by veg noodle soup with chapatti at lunch and then some form of pasta, rice or even pizza for dinner!

The final ascent to ABC was absolutely fantastic. Having left our big bag at Machhapuchhre (Fishtail Mountain) Base Camp (3700m), allowing us to climb freely to Annapurna without necessitating an unnecessarily cold night at such altitude. Unfortunately, the cloud was already surrounding Annapurna long before we reached the base camp but the views backwards to Fish Tail were astounding. My only other real experience of mountains at such close distance has been in the Alps, but I’ve never seen glaciers hanging off cliffs in such dramatic fashions before. Astounding is the word. Also totally inspirational – I definitely want to return to Nepal to at least do some trekking peaks in the future. If my climbing becomes more serious you never know …

On reaching ABC, we had lunch and wandered along the boulders above the camp where there are rather eery prayer-flags (a Buddhist tradition) flapping in the wind. They are interspersed with plaques commemorating climbers who have tragically lost their lives on the surrounding peaks. A definite reminder of the dangers of nature.

Because I hadn’t seen Base Camp in its full glory (and because I’m me …) I resolved to walk the 1 ½ hours from MBC back to ABC in the morning. Thus at 5am, I was ready with headtorch and wrapped in all the clothes I possessed. Dawa, our guide kindly accompanied me, as did Sarah in the end, although originally she had thought the idea to be madness! The views as the rising sun tinted the mountains to a reddish colour was reward enough.

Our descent back down the trail took only 3 days. One of the highlights was definitely the hotsprings at Jhinudanda, where two pools of different temperatures were filled with naturally heated water. Ideally placed beside the rushing Himalayan river, we discovered the amazingly refreshing experience of plunging into the freezing cold water and quickly retreating back into the hot-springs. You couldn’t ask for better after 8 days of walking!

The end to our trek was rather unexpectedly cut short on our penultimate day. Lazing about our final teahouse at 4pm, having napped and showered, Dawa (our guide) discovered that there were to be Maoist strikes in Pokhra for the next two days, meaning no public transport at all. Not only did this mean that our guide and porter wouldn’t be able to travel back to Kathmandu but also that there would be no taxis to meet us at the trail head, meaning a 5 hour walk back to Pokhra. We thus quickly re-packed our bags and hit the trail again, taking a shorter route to the road, from where we reached Pokhra by taxi by 7pm. Shattered.

We then spent a few days relaxing in Pokhra, where in true Blackshaw style, hired a bike and had a good explore of Pokhra. (This involved me finding myself in the middle of a Maoist march – they all had their hammer & sickle flags!) Leaving Sarah in Pokhra to do some uni work, I then went for 2 days rafting on the Trisuli river which was great fun! I managed to stay in the raft for most of the time (excluding multiple voluntary swims), although I got chucked out in some rather large rapids but, adopting the ‘white water’ position I found myself in the calm water at the bottom of the rapids without too much bother.

I then met Sarah in Chitwan National Park in the south of Nepal where it is BOILING! Literally sweating lying in bed with as few clothes as possible, trying not to move. Eugh! Anyway, we still had a great time with activities including canoeing in a crocodile infested river (I was assured it was safe!), walking through the jungle, meeting a sleeping rhino, and being told in an urgent whisper to run away as quietly as possible so as not to wake him … Apparently if you are being chased by a rhino, you need to run in zig-zags so as to confuse him and to climb a high tree … Great advice!

On the first afternoon we went of a jeep safari during which the monsoon made its first appearance and we got absolutely drenched! Went from uncontrollable sweating to shivering and rubbing my sore arms (from the hard rain and strong wind) within a few hours. Not been so wet unintentionally for a LONG time.

I then took part in the elephant bath time in the river – AMAZING! The elephant kneeled done for me to get onto its bare back and it then starting spraying itself (and me from its trunk. Its hair was so funny – almost like wire! Trully beautiful animals :)

Our journey back to Kathmandu yesterday was the only really stressful part of our whole 3 weeks. With Sarah flying back to the UK on Monday, we went to check our bus tickets for Saturday on Friday night, only to be told that there were no buses because of Maoist demonstrations in Kathmandu (3 million people to mark International Labour Day). The likelihood of ‘indefinite strikes’ if the Prime Minister didn’t stand down (look at www.myrepublica.com for details of situation) meant that we wouldn’t get a bus on Sunday either. Panic ensued, especially on Sarah’s part, but fortunately we managed to organise a flight back to Kathmandu. Taxis were fine once we got to the airport so all is well.

I am now in Thaiba (ie a small village) with no possibility of going anywhere because a Maoist strikes mean absolutely no transport – no taxis, no buses! Sarah has apparently been told that she might have to be taken to the airport in an ambulance tomorrow! Madness. I’m going to write more about the strike and the whole political situation sometime soon. I will also upload photos once I can get to Kathmandu.

Enjoy free access to transport!

XXxx

Puja

In the last few weeks I’ve had the special and insightful opportunity to witness and partake in several local festivals and a day of family worship called Puja. I thought you might enjoy a wee insight into my Puja experience ….

So to start with, Puja is a form of Hindu worship which can be performed in various ways and at different times of year. Muna wasn’t able to explain (or at least in a way I could understand) exactly what it meant and why the family was performing it now, but I gathered that it was generally intended to bring the family good luck through their giving of symbolic gifts (lots of food which I quite fancied eating, especially since we fasted from the previous night until 3pm the next day!)

The preparations for the day of worship reminded me of Christmas. Lots of people in the house and LOTS of food being prepared. At about 5.30am the morning before I was rudely awoken by the chatter of women below my window. Didi’s (the mother) friends had arrived to help in the preparations. A rather impressive operation followed: 6 women sat crossed-legged on a mat, either kneeding dough or rolling it into neat circles, to make pourri. Pourri is a type of fried bread, a wee bit like poppadoms but more greasy and softer.

During the preparations, I felt the most isolated I have felt so far - language barriers can be a difficult thing. As I tried to include myself by sitting outside, the women would look at me, say something and then enjoy a wee giggle. They didn’t speak English and I certainly don’t speak enough Nepali to worth mentioning. Having persevered for a good hour, I gave up and went to my room, where Muna found me. She was very sweet after I had explained to her what the matter was. She obviously told everyone that they were to make an effort to include me and for the rest of the day and the following day, I was continuously motioned to sit down in different groups preparing different things. The mother, who speaks no English at all, was particularly attentive apparently having been very sad to think I was feeling lonely!

The morning of Puja was spent in the garden surrounded by vast numbers of different family members and close friends. Typically, the men were inside while the women sat busily chopping veg and making sure everyone had enough tea to see them through the fasting period. (I’m sure they were adding extra sugar in an attempt to increase their calorie intake) Although it was the women who prepared the veg etc, it was the men who would cook it while only the women went to the temple. They apparently cook only for Puja and weddings.

At 11am, we made our way up the hill to the temple. Some of the older women were already there, having started their part of the ceremony with the 5 priests earlier in the morning. They had built a fire and drawn special shapes around it in colourful chalk. As the priests chanted, they threw seeds into the flames. Each woman had a tray with certain items on it: bananas, coloured powder, flowers, a special doughnut thing, incense sticks … Yup, a fairly random collection! When it was their turn, the women placed these objects on an ever increasing pile beside the fireplace.

The action was then taken into the temple itself where all the women gathered and the priests continued to chant … Five bowls of waxed rope (which I’d help to prepare) were set alight, coins were dropped into them, and they were carried by five women who walked round the central shrine in a circle. At this point, with the heat of the fires and the lack of food, I started to feel rather faint so I had to go and sit in the shade. Unfortunately, I thus can’t tell you how the ceremony continued but at the end they all came out with very red faces, carrying charcoal covered bamboo canes …

We finally got back to the house at about 3pm and spent the rest of the afternoon eating. The men had been rather enthusiastic with the spices and chillies because everyone was having difficulty finishing their food without the help of gallons of water! (Yes yes, I know that some of the men out there are thinking that maybe cooking should be left to the women …)

All in all it was a very interesting day to be part of and definitely added to my understanding of Hindu culture in Nepal, especially the importance and extent of the extended family! All the connections of “this is my mother’s brother’s wife’s brother’s cousin” were lost on me …

Tomorrow I’m leaving here for 3 weeks to go trekking and travelling with Sarah. I’m having mixed emotions about it because I’ll miss the family etc but I’m also looking forward to seeing other parts of Nepal, and being in Western company for a while … A good beer or two (or maybe even a glass of wine!) will also be greatly appreciated 