So Far in Nepal...

It's been 17 days here in Nepal so far and my photo collection has grown substantially. Don't worry, no photos from Dashain but here are some of my favourites from the past few weeks:

Our house... Nic and I are staying in a four-floor, updated group guest house with 10 other volunteers. It's pretty fun so far but there's only 1 other guy - hmmm...

Here is a view from the Monkey Temple, one of the highest landmarks in the city. The shot is part of Kathmandu, a much larger city then first anticipated!

The monkeys at the Temple are fierce - loud, in-your-face and love to steal shiny things. I saw a woman get her water bottle taken right from her hand when she wasn't paying attention and the monkey simply sauntered off chirping away...! When Nic and I run up here it's tough to watch everything that goes on around you since there's just so many of them. Hopefully they don't jump out of a tree and latch onto one of our backs for a ride!

So this is a local butcher shop. It's not dirty, it's FILTHY! They simply chop things up right on the street corners then put them into plastic bags and sell away. You can now see why I will ask many more questions as to where and how my meat has been prepared.

Only a few more... So I'm guessing the city was built for those no taller than 5'8. I'm a mere 6' even and walking through some of the alleyways and doorways the need to duck and cover comes into play. This was a shot of one of the very old buildings and I'm not joking when I say I'm almost a story tall! My head almost reaches the second floor window! Pretty cool being a giant out here... Dave... There's no way you would ever survive being 6'7 !!

SO after finally waiting as long as I possibly could for a haircut, I bit the bullet and paid a whole $1.25 CDN for a new doo. There was a big debate with which razor to use, either a #1 or a #5, and I finally said "just do what you want... it's just a haircut!"

After a few knocks to the noggin, a scary shave of the neck and some serious pulling of the scalp, this was my new doo... I am now wearing a hat!

Well, that's it from Nepal for now. Orientation starst today and we're heading out for an afternoon on the town.

Dashain - Nepal's main festival

I've never considered myself to be particularly interested in watching animal sacrifices but since I am here in Nepal and the festival going on this week embraces them, I thought I'd grin and bare it to see what the stir was all about.

During the month of Kartik in the Bikram Sambat calendar (late September and early October), the Nepalese people indulge in the biggest festival of the year, Dashain. Dashain is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout the country. The fifteen days of celebration occurs during the bright lunar fortnight ending on the day of the full moon. Throughtout the kingdom of Nepal the goddess Durga in all her manifestations are worshiped with innumerable pujas, abundant offerings and thousands of animal sacrifices for the ritual holy bathing, thus drenching the goddess for days in blood.

Today I witnessed two water buffalo get sacrificed by having their heads taken off in one fell swoop from an ancient sword by a man decorated in Nepalese clothing. A very disturbing scene (no details required) and I can honestly say that this will be a once in a life time occurrence as I felt my stomach get VERY queasy! None-the-less, I did it, I saw their ritual and have witnessed a new culture's way of celebrating freedom and life.

One thing is for sure from this point on however... I want to know where and how my meat gets prepared before I sink my teeth into it. There is a very good chance now that I will ask more of these questions and will probably need to pay more for a higher quality cut!