Nepal: A back-packer’s delight

When we travel, I try to take a lot of pics of things around me. Ofcourse, we take selfies. But I also love to capture on camera the things I see – something odd, something unique, something funny, something beautiful. Because these little things add to the stories about our trip. Stories that are fun to tell and fun to look back at. Everyone visits the same places, but it’s these little moments that make our experience there unique and memorable.Here are some photographs capturing our experiences on our visit to Nepal a few years back. Unique by any standard.

1. ‘Distracted By A Goat’ –

We were visiting a temple. Sitting outside was this guy desperately trying to meditate. But this goat wouldn’t let him. It kept coming to play with him. And he obliged. What I loved was that instead of getting irritated about being disturbed or shooing away the goat, he kept alternating between playing with the goat and closing his eyes….till the goat finally left him alone on his own. And then he was back to meditating. That’s called going with the flow.

2. ‘The Flower With The Funky Hairdo’ –

This flower had so much character that I had to add the sunglasses to complete the look. 😎 Rayban makes everything look cooler. Ofcourse, you need to be cool to start with. Like this flower.

3. ‘Paragliding Over Lake Pokhara’ –

Right.. the image quality isn’t great. But I’m glad there is an image to document this at all. You see, I love adventure and the rush it brings. But that last step to actually do it takes a lot of courage.

My husband on the other hand dives straight into it. No two thoughts. So he took the camera with him. Coz I refused to hold anything except the parachute. Yup, makes no sense,coz if I fell it would be because of the parachute. But the mind plays these games. Lol.

The winds were strong, so he got a nice pic of me, but managed to just take a view shot from where he was paragliding. His shoe is visible, so atleast he got a part of himself in the pic.hahah.

What was scary was what my instructor told me – “paragliding works only coz of nature. The winds should co-operate. If the thermal air columns and wind currents don’t co-operate (it’s called something, I don’t remember the term), the paraglider can loose control and soar to higher altitudes and breathing can be a problem.” Damn. He scared the living daylights Outta me. So you can’t blame me for being terrified.

But I did it. And it was safe. It was awesome. Had the biggest smile when I landed. Phew.

4. ‘Hanging Out In Nepal’ –

This is at Bhaktapur Durbar square. It’s a café! Yes. A cafe , which looks like an old pagoda temple. It is a part of the World Heritage Site at Bhaktapur. The scenes inside are very tourist friendly while still maintaining the local rustic charm.
There are many such cafes at Kathmandu. We stayed for a few days near the Kathmandu market. The bakeries there are amazing. Best part, by the time you’re done sight-seeing and come for dinner, the bakeries are about to close( they close early by 8 or maybe before even), the food, yummy yummy baked goods,dinner rolls, quiches, etc are all half price. Nepal isn’t expensive as it is when you’re coming from India, but who doesn’t love half price 😉 .
Once you’re done with the dinner, you can go to one of these cafés, which have now transformed into lounges/music jamming studios, if you will, and listen to some of the most talented local musicians of Nepal. I mean, they. are. awesome. They play rock mostly and some retro. And they rock at it. I am heavily into music, and that place was just lit with some of the best music, every night we were there. It was a routine for us, we’d end our day “club hopping” at these pagoda looking cafés. Memorable holiday.

5. ‘Bullheaded’ –

I saw this at a market in Nepal. This little bull artefact stood out on that table with its “Whatchyu lookin’ at?” kinda demeanor. A bull is one misunderstood being. Do you know it is actually a peace loving animal? Ever observed a bull? He is happy in his own space, eating the grass, smelling the flowers, not bothered by tiny flies hovering around. Not much bothers him on a daily basis. He doesn’t get upset by the big things that usually upset others. But he gets crazy angry about the small things that others would overlook. He is a patient observer of the world. If you’d just let him be, everyone would be happy.
He is strong but unaware of his strength most times. But try and push his buttons, try to get him out of his slumber for no reason, try and mess with his head by poking him one too many times, and that’s when the rage kicks in. He operates on two extreme ends of the spectrum – Zen like Peace OR Mindless Rage. If you don’t like rage, don’t mess with the peace. Live and let live. It’s really that simple.

6. ‘Rani Pokhari’ –

Rani Pokhari, meaning Queens pond, a historical 17th centiry artificial pond situated in Kathmandu. This pic is from before the Nepal earthquakes. The calamity damaged the pond, and Wikipedia says it’s under construction currently.

7. ‘The colourful boats’ –

Colourful wooden boats on Phewa Lake in Pokhara. Love the colour it adds to the already beautiful lake.Strikingly similar to those vibrant Google colours.

8. ‘The Lady By The Prayer Wheels’ –

An elderly lady spinning prayer wheels in the Boudhanath Pagoda at Kathmandu. Oblivious to onlookers(and photographers), she was busy praying.9. ‘Places in Nepal’ –

Nepal is a beautiful country which gets a lot of its income from tourism.Their economy isn’t very strong and they still find a way to maintain their heritage sites and keep it very tourist friendly.I noticed how people from different nationalities so easily and comfortably blend in.In a lot of ways it felt like Goa. Especially the cafes. Walk into any cafe there and you’ll feel right at home. Need adventure?- you’ll find plenty things to do in Kathmandu, Pokhara, etc. Need to breathe easy and experience calm? – the place has beautiful open spaces for you to meditate/ write or just chill, as well as temples/ pagodas in equal measure. It’s not a rich country, but it has a big heart. And you’ll remember it for that.

10. ‘People Doing Their Thang’ –As a travel blogger, I hope to give my readers a glimpse into the uniqueness of our travels. These people, these places, these little anecdotes, mean that much more when shared with like minded people. Hope you enjoyed reading this blog. Come back for more such blogs about my other travels. In the meanwhile,keep up your curiosity in exploring this beautiful world.❤️