Over the past week we have made two separate trips to the hills in Nepal. They may not count as mountains here but I'm sure they would in England!
The first was to Dhankuta where two of the girls from the clinic were taking an exam. As there are not many patients coming into Chisang they asked if we would like to come to which is a chance we jumped at, as much to get away from the heat as anything!
The morning began very early - we were told we would be leaving at 4.30am. Naturally, this is Nepali timing and so we wondered out of the clinic at 5am to start the fairly long journey up to the mountains. As soon as we started climbing the mountain road we got a fantastic view over the valley and I realised how well populated it was; there are many more houses than I expected. I do not know if it is the different places that I have visited or if Nepal has moved forward a lot in the past four years but it does seem richer than when I was last here. There are quite a few houses that would be impressive in England, let alone by Nepalese standards.
It was a relief to get to Dhankuta and we settled into the hostel and enjoyed the feeling of sitting still without sweating and then went to explore the town a bit. After spending four weeks in the plains of Nepal it was a bit of a shock to suddenly have to climb a hill! Although after living in Sheffield I think both Josh and I fared better than Alka who had to stop regularly due to pain in her legs.
We visited a market in Dhankuta which was similar to the one we visited in Bhaunne, although on many more levels. Everyone sits on their plastic mat with their vegetables / clothes / whatever they are selling in front of them and people wander about and choose. We normally attract a fair bit of attention as it's very unusual to find foreigners in Bhaunne or Dhankuta and even less common to find them in a market. In fact when I bought my kutra in Bhuanne I turned around to find I had an audience of women who had been reviewing my purchase!
The visit to Dhankuta was only a couple of days but we found time to go for a walk. After many days in the clinic it was nice to go for a longer leg-stretch in different scenery and it really couldn't have been more different. Just outside of the town there is a fairly unpopulated part of the hillside that we could walk to the top of and see across the valley. It is always very peaceful in the mountains and you can spend a surprising amount of time sitting and watching the valley below. It always amazes me how much you can hear. Despite barely being able to see the bus on the road winding along the other side of the valley we could still hear it!
On the final day in Dhankuta was Alka and Degu's exam, which started at 4pm. Shockingly, this did start on time and is the first thing that I've encountered in Nepal that has done so. We wondered off to get a drink and returned when they had finished. After every exam that I have completed at university we have immediately walked out of the exam hall and into the pub. However, after their exam everyone needed to get back to where they came from, and some people had travelled considerable distances. Therefore there was a mad rush as everyone tried to get on a bus. We managed to cram onto one and, after filling it with as many people as possible, we started the 4 hour journey home. It is very different to the post-exam feel back at home which normally involves a good few drinks!
It was great to visit the mountains and see a bit more of Nepal but it was also strangely nice to get back to the clinic - and also Laxmi's cooking!
The first was to Dhankuta where two of the girls from the clinic were taking an exam. As there are not many patients coming into Chisang they asked if we would like to come to which is a chance we jumped at, as much to get away from the heat as anything!
The morning began very early - we were told we would be leaving at 4.30am. Naturally, this is Nepali timing and so we wondered out of the clinic at 5am to start the fairly long journey up to the mountains. As soon as we started climbing the mountain road we got a fantastic view over the valley and I realised how well populated it was; there are many more houses than I expected. I do not know if it is the different places that I have visited or if Nepal has moved forward a lot in the past four years but it does seem richer than when I was last here. There are quite a few houses that would be impressive in England, let alone by Nepalese standards.
It was a relief to get to Dhankuta and we settled into the hostel and enjoyed the feeling of sitting still without sweating and then went to explore the town a bit. After spending four weeks in the plains of Nepal it was a bit of a shock to suddenly have to climb a hill! Although after living in Sheffield I think both Josh and I fared better than Alka who had to stop regularly due to pain in her legs.
We visited a market in Dhankuta which was similar to the one we visited in Bhaunne, although on many more levels. Everyone sits on their plastic mat with their vegetables / clothes / whatever they are selling in front of them and people wander about and choose. We normally attract a fair bit of attention as it's very unusual to find foreigners in Bhaunne or Dhankuta and even less common to find them in a market. In fact when I bought my kutra in Bhuanne I turned around to find I had an audience of women who had been reviewing my purchase!
The visit to Dhankuta was only a couple of days but we found time to go for a walk. After many days in the clinic it was nice to go for a longer leg-stretch in different scenery and it really couldn't have been more different. Just outside of the town there is a fairly unpopulated part of the hillside that we could walk to the top of and see across the valley. It is always very peaceful in the mountains and you can spend a surprising amount of time sitting and watching the valley below. It always amazes me how much you can hear. Despite barely being able to see the bus on the road winding along the other side of the valley we could still hear it!
On the final day in Dhankuta was Alka and Degu's exam, which started at 4pm. Shockingly, this did start on time and is the first thing that I've encountered in Nepal that has done so. We wondered off to get a drink and returned when they had finished. After every exam that I have completed at university we have immediately walked out of the exam hall and into the pub. However, after their exam everyone needed to get back to where they came from, and some people had travelled considerable distances. Therefore there was a mad rush as everyone tried to get on a bus. We managed to cram onto one and, after filling it with as many people as possible, we started the 4 hour journey home. It is very different to the post-exam feel back at home which normally involves a good few drinks!
It was great to visit the mountains and see a bit more of Nepal but it was also strangely nice to get back to the clinic - and also Laxmi's cooking!
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