Sisters, sisters and more sisters

Hello blog readers,

You may have noticed that we have become increasingly infrequent bloggers. Perhaps that’s because dealing with cows in the middle of the road and wading through rivers to get to school no longer seem new or strange to us. Life here has become ‘normal’ and we only seem to get around to blogging when something different or special has happened.

In this case, the special something was the Desai holiday. Mel headed off for a female and more specifically, sisters themed break. To start with, I joined two of my VSO ‘didi’ (didi means older sister in Nepali but can be used for any female who you respect), Pragya and Christine:

Pragya is a volunteer from India who is working with an HIV / AIDS organisation in Pokhara. She very kindly offered me and Christine a place to stay. Christine is a volunteer from Kenya who works with an organisation in Kathmandu that helps Nepali ethnic minorities to claim their rights. As you can see from the photo, these two sisters were very cheerful company and as well as going on walks and visits together, we sat around Pragya’s kitchen table chatting long into the night together. Here are some amazing flowers we came across on the way to a Buddhist pagoda in the hills:

And from Pragya’s rooftop I took this ironic photo of tourists heading off by aeroplane to go trekking around the retreating glaciers and newly formed glacial lakes:

It’s not all doom and gloom. Anybody interested in local efforts to reduce impact on the environment should check out our ‘environmental’ album in Picasa.

My next sisters experience was with ‘the Chettri sisters’ trekking company. This company is run by 3 ‘real’ sisters (very unusual in Nepal, especially as all 3 sisters are also single). The company has a ‘sister’ charity which aims to empower women by providing free training for women who want to become trekking guides. Almost no other trekking agency has any female trekking guides at all. The charity also runs a hostel for child workers who have been sent away from their homes to work in difficult jobs in the mountains. These children are ‘rescued’ and stay at the hostel where they can go to school. My trekking guide, Shanti was a great ‘bahini’ (younger sister) to me. Actually, despite being younger than me, she was more of a ‘didi’ because she looked after me so well. Here we are setting off on the last day of our 3 day trek:

Shanti bahini very quickly found that I wasn’t the most serious trekker that she had come across. Many people who go trekking in Nepal are very purposeful and focus on reaching their destination. I, on the other hand like to stop and enjoy local culture (in this case playing ‘ping’ – swings which villages put up during Desai):

… not to mention feeling the need to stop every five minutes to admire the view, look at a bird or butterfly, or more likely, to take a photo:

I was incredibly lucky with the weather and was treated to a wealth of stunning, breathtaking views. It was the end of the monsoon season, but I only got wet once and the leeches were mostly very well behaved (as far as I was concerned). Another set of sisters to mention are 3 more sisters whose guest house we stayed at in the village of Panchaase. In the photo album, you’ll find a photo of us all in their kitchen as well as a very nice ‘view from the loo’. Yes – I really do take my camera everywhere! I spent a lovely evening and morning at the guesthouse, from where I was treated to amazing views, delicious food (dhaal bhaat of course), very amusing company (I think some naughty tourists had been teaching the sisters some rude jokes), great birdwatching and stunning sunset and sunrise:

I was lucky enough after my trek to be invited back to my guide's room for tea and to get the chance to meet her very sweet SISTER! I had been a bit upset because, during my trek I had found out that Shanti's sister was visiting from Kathmandu for the Desai holiday, but she had had to leave her to come away for my trek. So, I was pleased to have the opportunity to apologise to Shanti's sister in person, for stealing Shanti away from her for 3 days. After my trek I headed back to Pokhara, met up with volunteers Gordon, Miranda and … yes you guessed it, Miranda’s sister.

Meanwhile back at the homestead ……………. here’s what Steve was up to:

The good news is that his commitment to writing his dissertation rather than going swanning off trekking in the mountains, resulted in his finishing his work shortly after the Diwali break.

Just to round off with another note on sisters. Shortly after Diwali, Lalitha and Latha our twin sister friends who we visited in India (and whose photos can be seen on our last blog) came to visit us in Mahendranagar during their whirlwind tour of Nepal.