Nepalis are sweet mannered people. I discovered this during my trip to the country last mont. Travelling for me is whereby each step taken into other people’s culture and society is a lifelong learning gained for me. If one is to break free from the confined parameter and one’s comfort zone, one can discover life from the many perspectives, besides changing one’s mindset.
Kathmandu is a congested city and everywhere you go, you are bound to see many young and eager faces. Put simply, it is a city of youths. Like any developing nations, the migration of youths to the bright lights of the city is also a phenomenon in Nepal.
HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT … Religions roles
Since our trip (read: hubby and I) from 1 to 8 August, 2018, was a private one, we hired a tourist guide for us to better understand and learned about Nepal with its past and present civilisations. The one thing that attracts me is the fact that religion does play a monumental responsibility in their life. Hinduism and Buddhism are two prominent religions practised by the people of Nepal.
The coherence and understanding of the religions by both the followers resulted in the establishments of temples or stupas next to each other. I learned that the religious harmonious and linked-ups have been rooted even during the past civilisations until today. That is the beauty of any religion in this world — always for the good of mankind.
Sadly, the big earthquake which occurred in 2015 in Nepal and which killed nearly 9,000 people was a day to remember for the Nepalis and the world. The earthquake itself and the many follow-up tremors witnessed the gradual erosion of the fragile buildings built centuries ago. Hence, to this day, strong woods are placed hard against the walls to prevent further erosion and collapse of the walls.
WOMEN – Economic participation matters
The women of Nepal work hard to earn their living. I saw women working in the rice fields, doing labour jobs in Kathmandu city, selling beads on the streets and selling flowers in marketplaces. Economic empowerment of women is synonymous at global level, be it in a developed or developing economies. Always nice to know that women here are given the recognition and opportunities to participate in the nation’s economy.
Even the marginalised women were assisted by the NGOs, for example, by the Women’s Skills Development Organisation, Pokhara, in its social enterprise activities. The bags made by the women were displayed in shops frequented by tourists. I bought one of the bags and I always have this great feeling buying such items because you know that the marginalised groups are benefitting from the sales.
NEPAL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS
On a lighter note, I discovered that helmets are only compulsory to be worn by the motorcyclists and not pillion riders. I have yet to understand this kind of justification, but alas, one country has its own rules and laws. And, of course, no nation can beat Vietnam when it comes to the numbers of motorcyclists.
Another finding, in the city of Kathmandu itself with a population of about 5 million, there are ONLY 5 traffic lights, according to my tourist guide. For that matter, only two were in operational. Now, how do the vehicles on the road move systematically? I witnessed traffic policemen manning expertly the traffic flow in all junctions of the city. Surprisingly, I was told that the number of road accidents hardly happened in the city of Kathmandu.
Another interesting discovery by me was the terraced rice fields. I remember going to Ubud in Bali to visit a showcase of an identified area of terraced rice fields. It was on a small piece of land where tourists would flock to take pictures of it. However, on our way to Pokhara (about 200 miles from Kathmandu), we witnessed along the road the many acres of natural terraced rice fields. The fields were tended by humans with no mechanisation. Since most of the young people have fled to the cities, the older populations have undertaken the tasks. I was enthralled by the layered rice fields. In fact, we made it a point to stop by one of the areas to have our lunch.
By the way, did you realise that there was no mention of Mount Everest? Oh yes, we are going for our second lap to Nepal again and this time for an adventure trip to Mount Everest.
Thank you guys for taking the time to be with me. 😍
P.S. All pictures were taken by yours truly.
Sojourner Noorul 