An excerpt from my year away. This was the next stop after India:
Next stop on my adventure would be Nepal. I had met another industry colleague at the conference in Udaipur, India in 2005 named Sundar. Sundar is a colleague of my fathers who works in the freight forwarding industry. He met my dad about 5 years ago at a conference and became close friends with him when there was a conference here in Nepal in 2003. Dad was very eager for me to meet Sundar in Udaipur at the conference last year and we hit it off straight away, so when I decided to go to India on the way to England I knew I had to take the chance to see Sundar in Nepal.
My father had been to Nepal twice and had raved about it ever since. The first time he visited was when I was 5 years old and he brought me back a little Nepalese costume. From that moment on, I had been fascinated and had wanted to go to the land of such pretty clothes. Sundar had arranged for me to visit for 6 days and would show me all that Nepal had to offer. Again, it’s so great to have a friend, guide or host in a country to see the true nature of a country.
Nepal is full of culture. It is a world away from most anything I had ever known and it is certainly all unexpected. There is a lot of information and news about India but there is not much about Nepal, so I was very intrigued to get to know this small mountainous country of the North.
Nepalese people are just lovely. People would smile at me as I walked down the street, and the children run up to me and say hello! I love the children here, they are all so beautiful and I love to see their small little faces looking up at me. it breaks my heart to see so many of them living in such a poor lifestyle; if I could I would take them all home and adopt them. I thought then it might be lucky England as I cant take them home, so maybe if come back via Nepal on the way to Australia I will grab them up and take them home.
Well I should probably explain how I got to be where I was in Nepal before I jump in full force. I went to Nepal on the 31st of January. It was strange to be travelling again, and it actually felt natural. It felt like I had been away for so long as I had already experienced so much but at this point I had only been away one week.
Sometimes you have to pinch yourself during these journeys to remember that it is real. This is really a year away and it’s actually happening. I made it!
On the plane, I was again approached by a lady sitting near me. I am starting to wonder what my facial expressions are on planes as I must look like I need talking to or I’m desperately lonely and scared. This woman, Indrani, was from India and was working in Nepal for some months on a project. She worked for a Not for Profit organisation called Planted Finance which works in microfinance to build economis of thirs world countries through trade and tourism. She was in Nepal to work with the European commission and hence her interest in my visit. Her organisation also arranged visits to rural areas so that tourists can see the true Nepalese way of life. The project was in support of the indigenous and farm people of Nepal and they were also helping them to establish trade for there goods and wears that they make. It sounded terrific and such a great experience for a western person to undertake. It was really wonderful to talk to someone who was also foreign to Nepal about visiting and the things to see and do there. It got me more excited for the trip ahead. She also pointed out the beautiful Himalayas which were to our left for the entire flight. It’s amazing to see some of the most famous wonders of the world that close.
Indrani was curious as to my situation and she after only a short time of speaking offered me to stay with her in her home there in Nepal. I was so stunned at people’s generous offers! I ensured her I would be fine staying in the hotel and that my good friend Sundar would be taking care of me. We exchanged details once we arrived in Nepal as I hoped to meet her again during my stay.
Lovelly Travels 