Again, I woke up late today. Le sigh. Why do I love sleep so much?
Past noon, I finally awoke and yay! was able to take a nice warm shower :)
Today was the first day of a holiday in Nepal and so we had an extra special lunch that consisted of different types of roots (to warm you up). Also, had goat meat. YUM! Tastes a lot like lamb to me... i'm an uncultured meat eater. Neha and her mother did not agree. They find the two meats quite different.
Following lunch, we were dropped off at the Monkey Temple (aka Swayambhunath). At this central temple, there are numerous stupas, many holy monkeys ( who are quite mischievous -- i saw some of them steal cotton candy from visitors!), and a main stupa. It was absolutely gorgeous. Not only that, but because of its high location in the mountains we had quite an amazing view of Kathmandu Valley.
I had my first real transactions with homeless people in Nepal. Not so much transactions as two separate experiences of being followed by homeless children. I've been told not to give any money to the homeless and I can sort of understand why. I saw a man give some money to one person and was subsequently followed by several others. There don't seem to be any social institutions that seek to aid impoverished people and homelessness is clearly a visible issue - homelessness is not the social issue that I am most aware of or educated about, so I won't speak further on the issue.
Neither am I an expert on Nepal's caste system... so I won't speak of that either... Except that I am quite curious... and wonder about the differences between the Untouchables in Nepal and those in Japan.
After the Monkey Temple, we drove to Dunbar Square, beautiful center of local life. We purchased some souvenirs but because of the darkness (roughly 6PM then) and the crowds, we weren't able to fully enjoy the scenary.. We then traveled to what Neha calls the Dongdaemun of Nepal -- a shopping center essentially.
I had a fun time trying on saris and after much debate, settled on a green sari with beautiful embroidery... I'm real excited for the wedding and can't wait to wear it. Hopefully I will have other opportunities to wear it as to not waste the roughly $90 US I spent.
Neha's dad picked us up and we enjoyed a nice dinner. I think I'm becoming more and more adjusted to Nepali food. It tastes really yummy :) However, I can't say I'm any more comfortable eating with my fingers... :(
Time for bed... we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Much love <3
___
Also, as I mentioned before, I've been hungry for more travel. And more recently, I've really been contemplating studying abroad again... In particular somewhere in Europe like Spain or the Netherlands or somewhere in Asia like in Thailand. I had quite a lengthy discussion about Thailand with Max... Still contemplating... I have until February to decide and apply...
Past noon, I finally awoke and yay! was able to take a nice warm shower :)
Today was the first day of a holiday in Nepal and so we had an extra special lunch that consisted of different types of roots (to warm you up). Also, had goat meat. YUM! Tastes a lot like lamb to me... i'm an uncultured meat eater. Neha and her mother did not agree. They find the two meats quite different.
Following lunch, we were dropped off at the Monkey Temple (aka Swayambhunath). At this central temple, there are numerous stupas, many holy monkeys ( who are quite mischievous -- i saw some of them steal cotton candy from visitors!), and a main stupa. It was absolutely gorgeous. Not only that, but because of its high location in the mountains we had quite an amazing view of Kathmandu Valley.
I had my first real transactions with homeless people in Nepal. Not so much transactions as two separate experiences of being followed by homeless children. I've been told not to give any money to the homeless and I can sort of understand why. I saw a man give some money to one person and was subsequently followed by several others. There don't seem to be any social institutions that seek to aid impoverished people and homelessness is clearly a visible issue - homelessness is not the social issue that I am most aware of or educated about, so I won't speak further on the issue.
Neither am I an expert on Nepal's caste system... so I won't speak of that either... Except that I am quite curious... and wonder about the differences between the Untouchables in Nepal and those in Japan.
After the Monkey Temple, we drove to Dunbar Square, beautiful center of local life. We purchased some souvenirs but because of the darkness (roughly 6PM then) and the crowds, we weren't able to fully enjoy the scenary.. We then traveled to what Neha calls the Dongdaemun of Nepal -- a shopping center essentially.
I had a fun time trying on saris and after much debate, settled on a green sari with beautiful embroidery... I'm real excited for the wedding and can't wait to wear it. Hopefully I will have other opportunities to wear it as to not waste the roughly $90 US I spent.
Neha's dad picked us up and we enjoyed a nice dinner. I think I'm becoming more and more adjusted to Nepali food. It tastes really yummy :) However, I can't say I'm any more comfortable eating with my fingers... :(
Time for bed... we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Much love <3
___
Also, as I mentioned before, I've been hungry for more travel. And more recently, I've really been contemplating studying abroad again... In particular somewhere in Europe like Spain or the Netherlands or somewhere in Asia like in Thailand. I had quite a lengthy discussion about Thailand with Max... Still contemplating... I have until February to decide and apply...
Comments
Post a Comment