Practicing Tibet

The last two weeks were spent in the Boudha neighborhood of Kathmandu, an area of Tibetan refugees. Mornings began at 5:30 with the drums, horns and chanting of the Monks. They circle the stupa in morning and evening, prayer beads slowly clicking off to the Om Mani Padme Hum chant that is always present. Women still wear the colored aprons, turquoise and coral jewelry and tie their hair in braids. Some have been gone for years, and the only way home is a one-month walk if they don't have a Chinese passport. Many have never gone to school and most will never go home. Teens are without parents, living with extended family if possible. There's not many jobs, so they learn English, badmouth China and hope. I hope with them.

In the morning I'm off to Tibet myself to see if the stories are true. Is the culture gone? It's also taking Asia full circle, looping around again into the Orient, technically leaving the Indian sub-continent, crossing the Himalayas and back to the country I started from. Or is it?

Saturday at 6am Kathmandu Views

Nepal is still a place seeped in prayer, temples, rituals and sacrificing animals.... This is a Saturday morning around Durga Square that words seem to not do justice to.

Kayaking

Strikes have proven to be the norm here in Nepal so I left the road and took to the river for a four day beginner kayak clinic. Day one was on the lake with the final three on the river. While beautiful, my vocabulary was reduced to only two words, "oh" and "shit". I think I'll stick to sea kayaking in flat water...