I See Dead People & Ring Around the Stupa

I see dead people. Yep, this is actually a dead man awaiting cremation on the bank of the sacred and stinky Bagmati River in Nepal's Pashupatinath (similar to the Ganges River in India's Varanasi). Hindus from all over the country bring their dead and almost-dead to be cleansed, cremated, and their ashes placed in the holy river to give them their best chance at being reborn in their next life to a higher level/caste. Although the families mourn and sons must shave their heads at their father's funeral, they also celebrate death and cremation, and they invite anyone to experience this part of life with them. Cremations take place along this portion of the Bagmati River 24/7 to continually appease the Hindu god Shiva.

Ring around the stupa. A short 20-minute walk from Pashupatinath above, is a serene and welcoming village of Tibetan Buddhist exiles. The town is called Bodhnath or Boudha, depending on who you ask and which map you're viewing. The village is centered around a gigantic 14th century stupa, which is rumored to hold relics of a holy Buddhist person within. The Tibetan exiles, monks, children, tourists, etc. come to this stupa (I'm not sure how often) to walk around it 108 times...an auspicious number in Buddhism. I made seven laps and called it good, then opted to chow down on scrumptious grub at a rooftop cafe overlooking the lap-makers. I hope the video clip below works, cuz you'll get to see the beautiful Tibetan women in their traditional striped pangden (aprons) making their laps.

Volunteering in Kathmandu

So, Jason is trekking along on his way to summit Island Peak. I'm hanging out in Kathmandu, reading books, observing culture, making lots of new friends during my 2-hour long breakfasts, and volunteering with a wonderful program called Disabled Newlife Centre, and I've been loving it!

I'm only at the center for about 4 hours in the afternoon, hanging out with the kids and helping with their homework. The kids are wonderful and most speak incredible English (taught in many schools). There are 28 kids living the center with a whole range of disabilities, from congenital deformities, severe burns involving loss of limbs, cerebral palsy, polio, etc.

In Nepal, as in many other countries, disabilities are seen as a curse. Oftentimes people with disabilities are cast out of their villages in order to "remove" the curse. The concept behind the program is to provide the children with corrective surgeries, physical therapy, a good education, nourishment/shelter, teach them skills to work independently, and return them to their families, if they have a safe family. If not, it seems they stay at the center.

Although all (well, most) of the kids have already stolen my heart, there is one young boy, Bikash, who I really adore. His mother was deaf, and when he fell into a fire, face-first, his mother couldn't hear him screaming. His mom then left the village, and his father sent him to a school for the mentally disabled. The center has provided him with reconstructive surgery to re-open his eye and provide care for the loss of his right hand; he will likely receive more reconstructive surgery in the future. He is now in a "normal" school where he is getting excellent grades.

If you're interested, you can check out their website at www.disablednewlifecenter.org. They receive a lot of funding through an international organization, Nepali Children's Trust, which has a great website where you can see profiles of the adorable kiddos: www.nepalichildrenstrust.com/whowesupport.htm.

And We Realized What Happened...

A few days ago we got back to Kathmandu. Jason is heading off to summit Island Peak (20, 305 ft peak...next to Everest) cuz he didn't do enough trekking. Jaime will hang around Kathmandu, likely volunteering but details are not yet final...she had more than enough trekking.

We were running around town, getting Jason the last few items he needed for his Island Peak trek. Out of nowhere, a woman threw a bucket of water out of an upper-story window, splashing both of us. Only when we looked up, there wasn't a woman to be seen. Just the rear end of a large bird hanging over the roof eave. And we realized what happened...the "water" that splattered both of us was actually mass quantities of yellow BIRD POOP! And not just any bird poop. It seemed that the bird had been eating tons of whatever we've been eating; our food choices have provided us with ample opportunities to experience all the squatty-potties that Kathmandu has to offer. (Note: Bring your own toilet paper or be prepared to use your left hand!) But given all the sacred cows that aimlessly wander around Nepal, I guess we should just be thankful a cow wasn't perched on the rooftop, right?

Rafting in Pokhara (and Jason's Beard)

Wa-hoo!!! We just got back from a 3-day rafting adventure on the Kali Gandaki River near Pokhara. The river was calm in most areas, with plenty of Class 3 and one Class 4 rapid. The water level is a bit low right now, so the river was more tame than usual. Don't worry, Jaime still got ejected from the raft and into a water hole, where she thought she'd have to turn into a mermaid so she could breathe in the water.

We booked through Paddle Nepal, and they run a great program. The equipment was nice, and their crew set up camp and cooked excellent food all three days. I won't mention that we both got horrendous diarrhea or that we were concerned we were going to have mud-butt explosions in the raft. It would be gross to mention that.

And for those of you who are concerned about Jason's yeti-like appearance, he finally got his haircut when we got to Pokhara. I haven't convinced him to shave/trim the beard yet. He thinks it's cool. If by "cool" he means "creepy," then I agree. You be the judge.

Annapurna Circuit & Sanctuary

On April 17th, we officially began trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. There are a million guide books that tell you which villages you should stay at each day along the trek and what you can expect along the hike each day. You can also hire a professional guide to trek with you to keep you on track. We skipped the books and guide, opting for an old map instead. We made our way from village-to-village, stopping for morning tea and a lunch each day to re-charge. Sometimes we got a little lost, but we learned later that the guides get lost too, on occasion.

The most daunting portion of the trek is supposed to be crossing over Thorong La Pass, which is said on maps to be the "widest" or "biggest" pass in the world. We think they mean to say "highest," but the other translations are funnier. The pass was very high, and many people get altitude sickness. We both felt fine, other than breathing a little harder and walking slower than normal. Jason was an over-achiever and carried Jaime's backpack during the uphill portion of the pass (about 3 hours). He claimed to want the additional workout, but Jaime knew he was actually being a super-hero, trying to keep her from throwing in the towel, and walking back down the mountain the way they came!

It took us 13 days to complete the Annapurna Circuit. The western side of the Circuit was beautiful, scenic, and trekker-oriented with defined trails and friendly villages along the way. The eastern side was much more arid, dusty, and windy, with trekkers forced to walk along the newly-installed road with Jeeps and motorcycles nudging you off the road. For this reason, we we cheated and took a Jeep for a good portion of the eastern side of the Circuit.

After the Circuit, we decided to continue into another part of the Annapurna Conservation Area, called the Annapurna Sanctuary. This took another 6 days, and for those of you familiar with the trek, we did NOT go all the way to Annapurna Base Camp, just to Chhomrong (we also took detours from the main trek). We were ready to relax. The Sanctuary is a beautiful section full of vegetation and life, including leeches that get into your socks and make them bloody. Really though, it's almost mystical, with sun sprinkling through the mossy tree branches and ladybugs and streams everywhere.

We could go on and on about the details for each day of the trek, but to keep from boring you, we decided to pick some highlights:

• Mountain Views: Oh, were there mountains? Just kidding. The views were freakin' phenomenal, and you felt like a tiny ant in the midst of giant snow-capped peaks in every direction.
• Steep Hills: There is a joke here that even the "flats" are steep...and that's true. I have never experienced such consistently steep hiking in my life. I think they keep they purposely make steep trails up and down and up and down again between villages of the same altitude so the locals can place bets on which trekkers will be panting the hardest upon arrival.
• Hanging with Aussies: We met an Australian couple, Sam and Claire, and trekked with them for 12 days. We shared tons of laughs, and it kept Jason distracted from thinking about how slow Jaime is on the uphill climbs.
• Playing with Children: This is probably the most special experience for both of us. At the small village of Braga, we met some local children and ended up playing games with them for about 2 hours. Jason gave helicopter rides, we did the hokey-pokey, we played tag, and we played "Yak-Yak-Goat" (like Duck-Duck-Goose, but with animals they would know). The kids loved it, and we all had a blast.
• Heat: Being so freakin' hot at the lower elevations that I thought the world was coming to end and I was going to die. Seriously, I could hardly see through the sweat pouring over my eyes.
• Bridges: The numerous, long, high bridges were sketchy at best, and we were constatnly hoping they wouldn't come tumbling down while we were on them.
• Yak Herding: Upon leaving a village one morning, a local villager used body language to ask us to herd her yak to the bottom of a hill for her. We got to smack it's bottom with a stick and yell to make it move. Add that to the resume, huh?
• Soccer: Watching a high school girls soccer game with about 200-300 people in the middle of the afternoon, with waterfalls in the background and drunk men all around.
• Marijuana: Marijuana plants grow wild all over the trek. Some of them a smoked as part of the culture (including the really old grannies), and most are not. I'm so naive, someone had to show me what they looked like.
• Porters: These men (some of them half the size of Jason) were taking loads of up to 90 Kilos (about 200 pounds) each. They get paid next to nothing and made us realize that we didn't have it so bad with our backpacks.
• Stinging Nettle: Don't touch this plant, cuz it stings like a son-of-a-b*#%$ and makes your arm numb. It also makes Jason jump up and down while screaming.
• Animal Care: It broke Jaime's heart to see how poorly many of the animals are cared for. Many of the mules/horses used to carry supplies have bloody hooves, and the saddles and straps wear them so rare that they have large, bloody sores. Many dogs have to fend for themselves to find food/shelter...even the puppies.
• Temples: We had an emotional and calming moment at a temple near Manang where monks were chanting and drumming, and an older woman placed prayer necklaces over us, wishing us luck over the pass.
• Learning Songs: One of the local guides taught us an old trekking love song that is part in English, part in Nepali. Jason now sings it all the time.
• Food: The food was surprisingly good. Each of the guest houses would makes your food upon ordering, so it would be hot and fresh...about an hour later. We loved the apple pie and Snicker's Rolls (Snicker's rolled in a thin dough, fired, and served melty).
• Butterflies: There were hundreds of butterfly species everywhere. They danced all around us as we trekked, making me wish I could flutter over the hills like them.
• Sparkling Trails: The rocks (not sure what type?) were ground into the trail, making the the trails sparkle with silver and gold dust.