After 6 wonderful weeks here in Nepal, thanks to Lauren and Sara, and especially to our Nepali friends L. and S., it's time to say goodbye. My Nepali isn't fantastic, but a few more months of classes and it should become passable. At least I'm quite proficient when talking about my family.
I think learning Nepali will prove to more useful than I thought, especially given the large number of Nepalis in NE India (though I might eventually have to learn Assamese and Nagamese). Tomorrow though, I'm going to have to try and squeeze in a little Hindi for my one night in Delhi - I'm still not sure about my accommodation because the hotel hasn't got back to me to confirm my booking. If they don't show up, I'll just get a pre-paid taxi and head to Paharganj myself.
I'm looking forward to getting back to Nagaland on Thursday. There's a Sumi Ahuna harvest festival on the weekend called which I would like to attend (apparently it's become the 'main' Sumi festival of the year, superseding the Tuluni festival which takes place in July.) The annual Hornbill Festival in Kohima is also coming in December where representatives from all the tribes of Nagaland come to the capital to perform traditional dances and other things - I'm not really sure how I feel about this one, because from what I've heard it's mostly for the benefit of tourists.
I also realise that to some of you it may seem that all I do is attend festivals, and you would be right. It just so happens that October and November are festival-heavy months here in Nepal - Dashain and Tihar being the main national festivals for the year. They are Hindu festivals, but most Buddists also observe them to some extent. On the other hand, Mani Rimdu up in Solukhumbu is a Buddhist festival and is more important to the Sherpas and Tibetans.
Alright, time for bed. I've had a fantastic time in Nepal, made some great contacts and might have a potential language project or two to get involved with if I wanted to - I still envisage my PhD project will look at multiple language projects, not just one. And I don't think this will be my last time here.
By the way, 2011 is Visit Nepal Tourism Year - visas to enter the country next year are going to be free! (I'm not sure how the country is going to cope with a surge in tourist numbers though...)
Monday, November 8, 2010
Everest View Hotel location
I mentioned that the Everest View Hotel is difficult to find without a guide, and especially without (m)any clear signs to it from Namche. Even people who rely on Google Earth are being misled!
I'm sure there's no mistake with my marker (in yellow) and GPS map, as this was the second time I had tracked my journey to the Everest View Hotel, and via a different route to boot. Someone at Google Earth needs to be informed about this...
If you're looking for directions to the Everest View Hotel from Namche Bazaar (this doesn't exactly follow the path I took, but with a little luck it should get you there):
First, head towards the town exit for the road that leads towards Tengboche, Gokyo etc. You should see a large mani stone on the right and a small fence with a gate on the left. Behind the gate are some pretty steep steps. Follow the steps till you reach a plateau area where you'll see the Syangboche airstrip on the left and a small ridge in front of you.
Do not walk towards the airstrip. Instead, you should see a building in front of you up on the ridge. There should be a path leading towards the building - if you can't find it, make one. Once you get to the building, you can either take the path on the left path leading through a bit of forest, or you can follow the edge of the ridge to your right. Either way, you should soon see another building on your left (I think it's called the Syangboche Panorama Hotel, but it looked closed when I was there). From this building, there should be a path on your right that follows the edge of the ridge.
Follow the path till you get to a grassy field. You should already be able to see the Everest View Hotel by now. Simply cross the field and follow the steps, which should take you right to the hotel's front door.)
I'm sure there's no mistake with my marker (in yellow) and GPS map, as this was the second time I had tracked my journey to the Everest View Hotel, and via a different route to boot. Someone at Google Earth needs to be informed about this...
*****
If you're looking for directions to the Everest View Hotel from Namche Bazaar (this doesn't exactly follow the path I took, but with a little luck it should get you there):
First, head towards the town exit for the road that leads towards Tengboche, Gokyo etc. You should see a large mani stone on the right and a small fence with a gate on the left. Behind the gate are some pretty steep steps. Follow the steps till you reach a plateau area where you'll see the Syangboche airstrip on the left and a small ridge in front of you.
Do not walk towards the airstrip. Instead, you should see a building in front of you up on the ridge. There should be a path leading towards the building - if you can't find it, make one. Once you get to the building, you can either take the path on the left path leading through a bit of forest, or you can follow the edge of the ridge to your right. Either way, you should soon see another building on your left (I think it's called the Syangboche Panorama Hotel, but it looked closed when I was there). From this building, there should be a path on your right that follows the edge of the ridge.
Follow the path till you get to a grassy field. You should already be able to see the Everest View Hotel by now. Simply cross the field and follow the steps, which should take you right to the hotel's front door.)
Everest View Hotel
Backtracking a little to Khumbu (the Everest region), there's one place in particular that requires special mention: the Everest View Hotel. It's the highest hotel in the world and not only does the place provide a wonderful view of Ama Dablam and Lhotse (oh, and Everest), but it's notoriously difficult to find without a guide, as Lauren can attest.
The view from the hotel - Ama Dablam on the far left, Lhotse in the middle and Everest just to the left.
Everest, with Lhotse to the right
Of course the view isn't always great, especially on cloudy days. Also by afternoon, you often get clouds coming in from the South (at least at this time of year) It's not so nice, but at least you can still see Ama Dablam here:
But when the weather is good, even the reflection in the glass is magnificent.
Sara had a little argument with a lady at the guest lodge in Khumjung who was complaining that the hotel was an 'abortion', what with its white concrete steps and 'Western-ness'. Of course, the hotel was built by a Japanese company and opened in 1973. As for the 'white concrete steps', here they are:
And I agree with Sara that in terms of design, it blends in quite well with its surroundings.
The view from the hotel - Ama Dablam on the far left, Lhotse in the middle and Everest just to the left.
Everest, with Lhotse to the right
Of course the view isn't always great, especially on cloudy days. Also by afternoon, you often get clouds coming in from the South (at least at this time of year) It's not so nice, but at least you can still see Ama Dablam here:
But when the weather is good, even the reflection in the glass is magnificent.
Sara had a little argument with a lady at the guest lodge in Khumjung who was complaining that the hotel was an 'abortion', what with its white concrete steps and 'Western-ness'. Of course, the hotel was built by a Japanese company and opened in 1973. As for the 'white concrete steps', here they are:
And I agree with Sara that in terms of design, it blends in quite well with its surroundings.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
भाई टिका (Bhai Tika)
Yesterday was Bhai Tika day, the last day of Tihar,when each bhai 'younger brother' receives tika from their sister(s). I was given the honour of being S.'s adopted little brother, so I got to receive tika, among other things.
Quite a bit of preparation is required to give this tika, which is not like the red dots that the mad saddhus (holy men / crazy ascetics) dish out to tourists on the streets.
The set-up requires a carpet (for the brother to sit on), along with a whole lot of other stuff in front of it. To the best of my knowledge, starting at the back on the left, there's white powder on the floor making a half-face, a guava, a pomelo, a butter candle, a small jar of water, a bowl of curd, a small plant (not sure if it's barley) stuck in a bit of cow dung, a bell, and a pot with some water and marigolds (with stalks). In front of these from the left are a plate of grain, a large plate of marigold petals, more white powder making another face (and a sun I suppose), and a plate of oil. (I'm not sure what the significance of most of these items are - something to do a bit of research on later.)
The sister starts off the ceremony by walking around the brother three times, sprinkling water on the floor and door. She then repeats this with oil. She then rubs some of the oil in his hair, around his ears, and in his ear. I was reminded of this oil afterwards when I used my mobile. She then places red-stained grain on his head, shoulders, elbows, palms, knees and feet - basically the joints and extremities. This is then repeated using marigold petals.
After this, a multi-coloured tika is applied to the forehead.
A purple malla is placed around the neck, followed by a topi (Nepali hat) on the head. The sister then feeds the brother some curd (not putting that picture up) and presents him with a huge plate of food - I had a mountain of fruit and deep-fried shel roti (see Lauren's post on this) with nuts, dried fruit and sweets, which I'm still working through today.
The brother then places tika on the sister's forehead and gives her a present (like a little envelope containing some money). He then gets to finish the curd he was given previously, and food is served! (I was quite hungry by that point because I'd thought that we'd be having breakfast first. Apparently, no food is to be consumed prior to receiving tika so all we got was a cup of milk coffee to tide us over till lunch.)
Lauren, Sara and me - after Lauren and Sara got to give L. tika.
(Thanks go to Lauren and Sara for most of the photos. Many thanks to L. and S. for the priviledge of getting tika on Bhai Tika day,)
Quite a bit of preparation is required to give this tika, which is not like the red dots that the mad saddhus (holy men / crazy ascetics) dish out to tourists on the streets.
The set-up requires a carpet (for the brother to sit on), along with a whole lot of other stuff in front of it. To the best of my knowledge, starting at the back on the left, there's white powder on the floor making a half-face, a guava, a pomelo, a butter candle, a small jar of water, a bowl of curd, a small plant (not sure if it's barley) stuck in a bit of cow dung, a bell, and a pot with some water and marigolds (with stalks). In front of these from the left are a plate of grain, a large plate of marigold petals, more white powder making another face (and a sun I suppose), and a plate of oil. (I'm not sure what the significance of most of these items are - something to do a bit of research on later.)
The sister starts off the ceremony by walking around the brother three times, sprinkling water on the floor and door. She then repeats this with oil. She then rubs some of the oil in his hair, around his ears, and in his ear. I was reminded of this oil afterwards when I used my mobile. She then places red-stained grain on his head, shoulders, elbows, palms, knees and feet - basically the joints and extremities. This is then repeated using marigold petals.
After this, a multi-coloured tika is applied to the forehead.
A purple malla is placed around the neck, followed by a topi (Nepali hat) on the head. The sister then feeds the brother some curd (not putting that picture up) and presents him with a huge plate of food - I had a mountain of fruit and deep-fried shel roti (see Lauren's post on this) with nuts, dried fruit and sweets, which I'm still working through today.
The brother then places tika on the sister's forehead and gives her a present (like a little envelope containing some money). He then gets to finish the curd he was given previously, and food is served! (I was quite hungry by that point because I'd thought that we'd be having breakfast first. Apparently, no food is to be consumed prior to receiving tika so all we got was a cup of milk coffee to tide us over till lunch.)
Lauren, Sara and me - after Lauren and Sara got to give L. tika.
(Thanks go to Lauren and Sara for most of the photos. Many thanks to L. and S. for the priviledge of getting tika on Bhai Tika day,)
More Rangoli
Here are some pretty examples of rangoli spotted outside shops here in Kathmandu.
Note the trail of toilet paper inside the shop. Much more sensible than getting clay paint all over the carpet.
I would've put up a few more pictures, but I've somehow managed to almost hit my monthly Flickr upload limit in one week.
Note the trail of toilet paper inside the shop. Much more sensible than getting clay paint all over the carpet.
I would've put up a few more pictures, but I've somehow managed to almost hit my monthly Flickr upload limit in one week.
Rangoli and Lakshmi Puja
So two days ago, right after Kukur Puja (where the dogs were dressed with mallas around their necks and had tika placed on their foreheads), it was Lakshmi Puja, where households welcome the Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth into their homes.
Part of the preparation for this was by painting a rangoli, a kind of floor painting, just outside the threshold to one's house or shop. Using a kind of clay mixed with water, a path was then painted from that first rangoli into the building, usually to the puja room (the room reserved for worship). It just so happened that our friends L. and S. live on the 4th floor of their building, so there were a few more obstacles to overcome, in addition to all the little kids clamouring to see what we foreigners were up to.
Although women are traditionally in charge of rangoli painting, S. allowed me to help out. Lauren, Sara and I then took turns to do the painting.
Sara painting up the stairs - large circles were also painted at certain points along the path, especially when the path turned or when it branched out to another family's apartment.
And as if the path wasn't enough to entice Lakshmi to enter the house, footprints were also painted onto the path - the white prints were made from some mixture of flour and water, while the red 'toe prints' were made by applying red powder using one's five fingers. After taking over from S., Sara had the more difficult task of applying the white flour mixture, while I followed from behind adding the little toe prints.
Once the footprints had been applied, an offering was placed at the entrance to the building.
Going back up to the apartment, Sara had the job of scattering marigold petals on the path, while I followed behind with incense and candles which needed to be lit as offerings at every large circle along the path between the entrance and the puja room.
The whole affair took about 2 hours to complete, after which the clay we used to paint the floor was mixed with the white flour mixture (?) and some grains, and applied to our foreheads as tika.
I am so glad I decided to stay in Nepal for Tihar and not fly out early to India for Diwali (which was one possible option). Not so sure my stomach agrees right now, given the amount of shel roti I've consumed, but that's for another post.
Part of the preparation for this was by painting a rangoli, a kind of floor painting, just outside the threshold to one's house or shop. Using a kind of clay mixed with water, a path was then painted from that first rangoli into the building, usually to the puja room (the room reserved for worship). It just so happened that our friends L. and S. live on the 4th floor of their building, so there were a few more obstacles to overcome, in addition to all the little kids clamouring to see what we foreigners were up to.
Although women are traditionally in charge of rangoli painting, S. allowed me to help out. Lauren, Sara and I then took turns to do the painting.
Sara painting up the stairs - large circles were also painted at certain points along the path, especially when the path turned or when it branched out to another family's apartment.
And as if the path wasn't enough to entice Lakshmi to enter the house, footprints were also painted onto the path - the white prints were made from some mixture of flour and water, while the red 'toe prints' were made by applying red powder using one's five fingers. After taking over from S., Sara had the more difficult task of applying the white flour mixture, while I followed from behind adding the little toe prints.
Once the footprints had been applied, an offering was placed at the entrance to the building.
Going back up to the apartment, Sara had the job of scattering marigold petals on the path, while I followed behind with incense and candles which needed to be lit as offerings at every large circle along the path between the entrance and the puja room.
The whole affair took about 2 hours to complete, after which the clay we used to paint the floor was mixed with the white flour mixture (?) and some grains, and applied to our foreheads as tika.
I am so glad I decided to stay in Nepal for Tihar and not fly out early to India for Diwali (which was one possible option). Not so sure my stomach agrees right now, given the amount of shel roti I've consumed, but that's for another post.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Reserving an Indian Railways Ticket
For the past few days I've been trying to reserve an Indian Railways ticket for my train ride from Guwahati in Assam to Dimapur in Nagaland. I've tried using two credit / debit cards which have both worked when booking flights and buying stuff off the net.
So far, I have received a few copies of the following two error messages:
We deeply regret that this reservation (reference no.XXXXXXXXXX) requested by you did not materialize as the Communication Problem. Kindly retry the booking if you have not been able to complete your booking yet. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. If the amount was Debited from your Account,We shall be making the refund back to your account shortly and it will start reflecting in your bank statement in 3 to 4 working days.
Yes, the Communication Problem.
And in typical Indian bureaucratic fashion, the message essentially blames the client for the fault, before suggesting that the transaction might have actually taken place:
We regret that the booking of your ticket could not be processed at this time as the transaction with ref. No. XXXXXXXXXX was not authorised by your bankers. The failure may also be due to some sort of inadequacies in your card / bank account.
You may kindly try using another valid card / account.
However, before proceeding further, we suggest that you kindly check from your 'Booked tickets' history if transaction has already been booked by you.
Sigh.
So far, I have received a few copies of the following two error messages:
We deeply regret that this reservation (reference no.XXXXXXXXXX) requested by you did not materialize as the Communication Problem. Kindly retry the booking if you have not been able to complete your booking yet. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. If the amount was Debited from your Account,We shall be making the refund back to your account shortly and it will start reflecting in your bank statement in 3 to 4 working days.
Yes, the Communication Problem.
And in typical Indian bureaucratic fashion, the message essentially blames the client for the fault, before suggesting that the transaction might have actually taken place:
We regret that the booking of your ticket could not be processed at this time as the transaction with ref. No. XXXXXXXXXX was not authorised by your bankers. The failure may also be due to some sort of inadequacies in your card / bank account.
You may kindly try using another valid card / account.
However, before proceeding further, we suggest that you kindly check from your 'Booked tickets' history if transaction has already been booked by you.
Sigh.
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