Mel & Steve in Nepal

Not exactly 'Russian' home

2010-05-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings once again loyal readers,

Having left Nepal over a month ago, we are both taking the opportunity for final adventures on the way home. After touring through China, as covered in the last blog, we parted company in Beijing (sniff!). Mel has gone to spend some quality aunty time with her new nephew in LA and I have continued on the trains, in the reverse route to the one we took over 2 years ago, across Siberia and Europe.

The first leg of my journey was from Beijing to Irkutsk (in Siberian Russia). Unlike on the way to Nepal, I didn't go through Mongolia but instead took the slightly longer route through Manchuria. Despite this, the length of time spent at official border crossings seemed significantly longer. Having been woken at 3.00AM when we arrived at the Chinese border, we didn't clear Russian immigration (20KM further on) until 5.30 PM. Still, this did give me the chance to chat with other train travellers since I had quickly discovered that not only did I have my cabin to myself, I had the entire carriage to myself (well except for the 2 bored provotnitsas - carriage attendants). The time at the Russian side of the border was also filled up by the comedy routine of us all keep spilling out onto the platform every 30 minutes when the train pulled up, only to have to all go back in again when the train returned, once more, to the maintenance sheds. This was all, presumably, because the train needs to be lifted, one carriage at a time, to have the wheels changed (Russia being a different gauge to China).

Despite being spring, Siberia is still very cold in April. Here is a shot of one of the small stations that we passed through (I didn't get off but it looked 'all white'):

After 3 days on the train, I was ready to get off and do some exploring. Luckily, I had decided to break the journey at Irkutsk. This Siberian city is close to the world's largest freshwater lake (Baikal) but is also an attractive town in its own right. Although it has been enlarged and modernised, everywhere, the old-style, Siberian wooden houses can still be seen:

As well as these, there are some lovely examples of Orthodox Christian churches, such as this one:

The orthodox religion has seen a dramatic revival since the fall of the Soviet Union and the tourist potential of the various churches, cathedrals and convents has helped them to be well maintained and restored.

As well as exploring the town, I set off by bus to visit the 'must see' Lake Baikal. This lake is narrow but very long (100s of Kilometres) and the world's deepest (about 2 kms). It was still frozen so no chance to see the rare Nerpa freshwater seals or to look down into the famously clear waters. On the other hand, the ice formations were very impressive in places:

I also managed to sample some of the local speciality fare. Smoked Omul (native fish) which seemed all the tastier having been bought direct from a Russian babushka:

After a few days in Irkutsk, it was back on the train for another 3 day voyage to Moscow. I needed to stay here for 4 days to get a Belorussia visa (required for the next leg of the journey) and so made the most of this fascinating city. Like Irkutsk, the old buildings and churches still stand impressively, such as the Kremlin and St. Basil's cathedral in Red-square:

They nowadays have to compete with more recent but equally grand structures that show-case the power and wealth of soviet and post-soviet Russia. For example, this rocket was parked up to remind us that the Soviet Union was, in the 1950s and 60s, the world's leading space-faring nation:

Having obtained my Belorussian visa, I felt quite pleased with myself for having booked my train tickets weeks previously and thus avoided the chaos and confusion of all the travellers stranded in Russia by the icelandic volcano. I then caught my next train to Berlin, via Belarus and Poland (24 hours). I stayed a day in Berlin, where my visit coincided with glorious weather, before boarding another train, which whisked me back to London (via Koln and Brussels).

And so, 5 weeks and more than 21,000 KM after leaving Nepal, I stepped off the last train to a familiar site:

And so end our adventures in (and around) Nepal. Mel is due back into the UK on 12th May and we'll no doubt be making plans for another adventure sometime in the future. For now, we'll need to settle back into British life, catch up with the news (I hear that there's some sort of election going on) and work out what things have changed in the last 2 and a bit years.

We've enjoyed our time overseas and have learned a good deal from it. Memories of the places, people and situations that we've encountered will stay with us far into the future.

Thank you for reading this blog and for the lovely E-mails that many of you have sent us. We'll no doubt be seeing most of you, in person, sometime soon. Mel may post again to show you photos of California but this is Steve signing off. Goodbye.

Culture Shock: China

2010-04-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to another blog,

Since we last blogged, we have left Nepal and started our journey home, through China. In fact, right now Steve and Mel are on different continents, Steve is on a train in Siberia and Mel is in the somewhat warmer US city of Los Angeles. We'll blog more about our separate travels later. This blog records our adventures through China, and especially some of our responses to Chinese culture in the context of our arrival from Nepal. It should be said that a 3 week journey in China did not, of course, give us the same understanding of the culture as we were able to get from 2 years of living in Nepal. Also, like in Nepal, there are many cultures in China too, so a lot of our feelings and observations are generalisations.

First, a quick summary of where we traveled. We started in Kunming in Yunnan Province in the far south of China. Coming from hectic Kathmandu and having the idea that Chinese cities are all overcrowded, the city of Kunming was a lot less busy than we had expected:
From Kunming we headed to Zhongdian, in the North West of Yunnan Province, to get a flavour of Tibetan culture. Zhongdian has been cleverly renamed Shangri-La by the Chinese government to draw tourists to the area - well it worked on us! It is an 'autonomous prefecture' of Yunnan Province and was part of Tibet in the past. The culture and language of the local people is Tibetan, not to mention the yaks:
From Zhongdian we took a bus to Lijiang, where we stayed in the 'ancient town' (rebuilt after an earthquake):
After returning to Kunming, we took a train to Xian:
... and from Xian to the ancient walled town of Ping Yao:
Finally to Beijing where we parted company:
During our travels, one area of culture shock was that we were suddenly unable to speak to people in their language. Our frustration and embarrassment at not being able to communicate with most people made us realise just how much we had come to rely on speaking Nepali.
Luckily though, due to an increasing number of international tourists in China, some places had signs translated into English. Because of differences between the structure and uses of Chinese and English words and grammar, some signs don't quite get the message across in the way they are intended. Steve, however, liked to take the instructions on the signs literally, as you can see below:
Another area of culture shock was that we were surprised to find that, despite being neighbours, the culture of China and Nepal are different in many ways. Of course the Himalayas provide a pretty big barrier between the two neighbours but we still found it strange to find so many 'opposites'.

Before pointing out the differences, it's also worth saying that we noticed some similarities. The most obvious of these relate to religion. Religious ideas, rituals and icons did manage to cross the Himalayas. Many of the mostly Buddhist temples we visited were very similar to those in Nepal and many Hindu symbols and icons are mixed in with the Buddhist. While there were temples everywhere we went however, we didn't get the impression that religion and ritual played such a major part in daily life and influencing behaviour, in the way it did in Nepal. This is partly due to the values brought in by the Communist government in China after the revolution in 1949, and especially during the 'Cultural Revolution' of the 1960s and '70s.
It was a real pleasure in China to meet so many assertive and independent women. On our train to Xian, we got chatting to the women below (some of them spoke English). All of them were traveling alone on an overnight train. They spoke confidently among themselves but also when interacting with the men on the train. Those who had children talked openly about issues such as their experiences of pregnancy and childbirth. It was surprising to us that they would share this information in such a relaxed way with strangers because these issues are taboo in the far west of Nepal and even our closest friends did not discuss these matters with us there.
In the places that we traveled, we also found that a number of Chinese ethnic minority groups have in the past, organised their society and families on matrilineal lines. That means that all the property was owned by and passed on to women and that children were raised in the mother's family home. The photo below is of Naxi women - a group that has a history of matrilineal organisation.

You may remember from our blog on gender in Nepal, that women in our area were not usually engaged in leisure activities like playing games. We enjoyed seeing women at leisure in China, like these playing Mah Jong:
In both China and Nepal, a lot of respect is given to older and elderly people. However, in Nepal, like in the U.K. when people get old, they are not expected to, or provided with, many opportunities to take an active part in life and are usually confined to their homes. In China, we noticed that older people are generally very much more active and they seem to be the people who are having the most fun, too. China's beautiful parks and public spaces are packed with older people having picnics, taking their grandchildren for a walk, playing cards, Mah Jong or Chinese Chess, or doing gentle exercise like these people practising Tai Chi:
In many places, the local government provides free outdoor equipment for gentle exercise and physiotherapy (see photo album for photo), and most of the tourist attractions are free or heavily reduced in price for the elderly.

Other cultural differences meant that we had a chance to do some things for the first time after two years, like...

... boarding a bus that wasn't falliing apart ...
... feeling a little more confident that our health and safety wasn't being left up to the gods...

Sharing a plate of food. (In Nepal, 'jutho' rules mean that food must be kept strictly separate, although there are exceptions for close family in the home) ...

... walking down clean streets where people take some pride in doing their jobs well, whatever they are ...
... buying completely unnecessary, low quality tat. In Nepal, most shops sell necessities or high quality goods. In China, we are embarrassed to admit, we did allow ourselves to be seduced a few times by the consumerist monster that has taken up residence in recent decades ...
... and showing affection in public:
We'll try to keep you updated with more blogs before we return.

Goodbye Nepal

2010-03-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

Namaste everyone and welcome to our last blog from Nepal.

Since the last blog, we have been in Kathmandu and Kaski. In Kaski, we visited possible areas for volunteers to work and met with some of those who will be working there. Lucky them, working in schools with views like this:In Kathmandu we've been mostly sorting out our visas, changing our travel plans, writing reports and complaining about the pollution and traffic.

Our latest travel itinerary is to fly (unfortunately) to China, due to Tibet being closed to visitors. We will however, be making the most of visiting the Chinese province of Yunnan, before taking the train towards Beijing. In Beijing, our paths will split, with Steve heading West on the Trans-Siberian railway, stopping in Irkutsk, Moscow and Berlin. He is due to arrive back in the UK on 26th April. Mel is heading East, with more polluting flying! She will be visiting her sister, brother-in-law and nephew in Los Angeles, before heading home to the UK in mid May.

After being here for two years, we thought we could reflect on the things that we will miss about Nepal ... and the things that we won't.

We'll miss:

Friends and colleagues who have shown us kindness and generosity. They have invited us into their homes and taken the Nepali tradition, that 'the guest is god', literally. Here is Harikala, below, after some persuasion, allowing us to buy her dinner for a change. Other friends and colleagues appeared on the last blog and in the albums.

The laid back pace of life in Nepal. This isn't always a positive point but the fact that there is no pressure to be slaves to the clock, results in people showing less stress. Anger is an emotion almost never shown (at least in public). Here is Steve taking his time to read the guide book, with a rickshaw driver taking a break from 'pedalling' his business:

Exploring the beautiful natural environment and discovering exciting and interesting wildlife:

Being able to communicate in another language (or so we think!). Here is Mel, sharing a joke with Ambika, the most cheerful member of staff at our guest house in Kathmandu:The abundance of fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables (especially lychee and mangoes!)

The general colourfulness and unexpectedness of Nepali life. Walking home from the VSO office, we came across this colourful display:

And most importantly of all, we will miss Nepali children. Their cheerful, contented attitude often contrasts with their surroundings:

And it would be dishonest of us to pretend that there is nothing that we won't miss. Here are a few:

Feral dogs, worrying about everything we eat and drink (one of us more than the other) and, more importantly, the hierarchical and often discriminatory nature of society.

We also won't miss the lack of logical thinking in many areas of life.

Suffering from toothache? Worried about your teeth? No need to change what you're eating or clean your teeth more carefully. Visit this old tree stump and stick a nail in. Problem solved!

Somewhat more logically, a business-minded dental surgeon has set up shop nearby to catch those who want to hedge their bets.

Reliance on fate and the gods to keep you safe affects everything. One recent, alarming example of this, was when we were travelling down a steep, windy hill on a bus. We soon realised that the bus we were on did not have any workable brakes. No fear though, because after much excitement and alarm, the bus boy found the incense sticks, which he lit to appease the gods.

Let's hope that the gods can protect this old Newari house, especially in this earthquake prone region.

Despite annual accidents including deaths, these young men are eagerly building the next Indra Jatra chariot as dangerously as ever.
It's certainly been interesting for us to learn about a different culture and world view.

We won't be forgetting our two years in Nepal. We're grateful to the Nepali people for making us feel so welcome in their beautiful country. Dhanyabad!

We'll try to blog on the way home. So watch this space!

Celebration and Ceremony.

2010-03-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another blog entry,

Since our last update, we have been busy visiting other districts in order to write reports for VSO and the new education volunteers who are coming out to start placements. The biggest event for us, however, has been the finishing of our own placement in Mahendranagar (which seems to have more or less reverted to its old name since the Maoist government left power). As can be imagined, this was a hectic time with over 6 years worth of volunteer furniture and possessions to sort through and move. It was also a time of partings and sad goodbyes to all of the friends, aquaintances and schools with which we have worked and socialised for the past 2 years. We were lucky enough to receive 'Goodbye' ceremonies from some of 'our' schools, at which tikka (red powder on the forehead) and malla (garlands) featured prominently:
This brings us to the theme of this blog, which is about the ceremonies, celebrations and religions that make Nepal such an interesting place to live. When we think back to our time here, it is these that will, no doubt, be amongst our strongest and fondest memories. Ceremony, religion and ritual are inextricably linked here. Beautiful, colourful, fascinating and frequently all three, a hundred blog postings could not do justice to the subject. Here then is a mere taster and more photos can be found in the accompanying album.

Celebrations, Ceremonies and Religions in Nepal

The two main religions of Nepal are Hinduism and Buddhism (especially Tibetan Buddhism). This over-simplifies the matter however because there are hundreds of local variations of each. One religion dominates in some areas whilst the other dominates in others, with the two frequently being merged together. Buddhism has incorporated many of the images and ideas of Hinduism, whereas Hinduism has incorporated the Buddha (as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu). This vast range is reflected in the variety of sacred places. Some can be very humble, such as this small linga shrine to the Hindu god Shiva: Whereas others can be much grander, such as this Buddhist temple, built at Lumbini, the location of Buddha's birth, with German funding:New temples are being constructed and dedicated (with the relevant statues) all the time, often to earn respect or divine favour for the sponsor. On the other hand, almost everywhere in Nepal can be found ancient and unique sites. For example, amongst the hectic traffic in Kathmandhu, we came across this Shiva temple, built within the living roots of a Pipal tree, :We couldn't work out which came first, the tree or the temple. Incidentally, the Pipal tree is an excellent example of a living thing sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists (it was under such a tree that the Buddha was said to have gained enlightenment). Again at Lumbini, the exact spot where the Buddha is supposed to have been born is still marked by a stone, placed by the emperor Ashoka the Great, over 2000 years ago:
The rituals and ceremonies that accompany these religions are as varied as the temples. Almost every week seems to mark a festival of some type, with some being national (or international) and others being very local. In Mahendranagar, we came across this procession through town, featuring a brightly decorated elephant (no doubt on loan from nearby Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve):Some days are of special significance to schools, students and teachers. In particular, almost every school in the country will put on a grand show for Saraswoti puja day, where the image of Saraswoti (goddess of learning) is paraded, propitiated (given offerings) and tikka'd:Indeed, many schools give the impression that it not so much the quality of teaching or the curriculum that influences how well children learn but, rather, the amount of honour shown to Saraswoti.

Whatever the festival, two things that they all seem to have in common are colourful fun and as much tasty food as possible! Here is a Mahandrenagar Mitai (sweets) shop, specially re-enforced for the important festival of Tihar:Sweets, fun and days off work. You can't say fairer than that. Whatever your religion!

Tales from the Country.

2010-01-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

Hello once again and a very Happy New Year to you all. Since Mel wrote the last blog single-handedly, and not to be outdone, I thought that I would take a turn. Unfortunately, being somewhat lazier than Mel, most of this blog consists of a poem that I wrote for the VSO Education newsletter and have pasted here. First though, the customary update on our news for the last month:

We have been trying to keep busy during school closures for festivals, exam marking and bandhs (protests) but have managed to get into schools sometimes. In particular, we spent a very enjoyable and interesting week in the most remote part of our district, which we visited for the first time. We spent several nights staying at a residential school for the deaf where we had fun getting to know the children and learning sign language:
We also got the chance to visit several small, rural schools. As we near the end of our placement (5 weeks and counting) and think back on all the interesting times that we have had here, it is travelling to and working in such schools that is probably the thing that I will miss most. Back in the UK, there are few schools that can compare with this:
You never know what you'll encounter next. If you are very lucky and quiet, you may even get the chance to see some hobbits:

To illustrate some of the ups and downs of working in rural schools, I composed this entirely unique and original poem for the VSO newsletter. Any similarity with a certain well known children’s book from the UK, is purely coincidental.

I'm Going on a School Hunt