Aint no party like a Dashain party...

So I’ve gotten a little bit behind here and forgetten to tell you all about Dashain. I’ve stuck a heap of photos up on Facebook if you’re keen to get more of a visual of our adventures!

In terms of public holidays and families, Dashain is pretty much the Nepali equivalent to the Aussie Christmas and New Years break- which meant a heap of public holidays for us vollies (some more than others- sorry Alec!).

Dashain is based on the lunar cycle, and this year started on the last Wednesday of September. A couple of days beforehand I found out that it was technically a holiday for NEWAH, but that it was the day of the ‘NEWAH Dashain Party’- akin to the Aussie work Christmas Party.

Except I had to be at work at 7am and watch the slaughtering of a goat. Oh, and women don’t drink whilst the men do vodka shots. So it was slightly different to Aussie work Chritmas parties, where I'm known for drinking a little bit too much champagne, and perhaps being asked by old men at The George to dance on the table (FYI- I didn't!!)

Preparing offerings so that our work vehicle won't get into any accidents this year

Men pulling hair off of the goat... note the lack of head :S

In any case, the men doing shots of vodka meant they were much more eager to practice their English on me, and I formed a few new friendships that day- albeit one of them was with a goat that was killed and eaten with about 2 hours of me meeting (chatting) with it.

On the Friday I travelled to Pokhara to stay with Alec and Amy, who have a great apartment there. As I hopped on the bus I realised that this was the first time since Amanda left that I had seen another white person- and they all seemed to be wearing bumbags. Seriously people, they don’t suit anyone. I was slightly ashamed to be associated with these tourists (however, it’s my own fault for not speaking enough Nepali, that would have made it more believable that I live here).

Being able to ramble in English was amazing, and I don’t think I shut up for about the first 8 hours of being with Amy and Alec (sorry guys!). Probably not helped by the many beers and cocktails consumed that evening!

The next morning we were feeling a bit under the weather, but were determined to watch the AFL Grand Final. Unfortunately, nobody was showing it in Pokhara, so we resorted to listening to ABC radio and watching the game via Mum and Dad’s TV over Skype- it wasn’t without its issues (such as the radio having a 7 second delay) but we did get to see the majority of the game, and, in particular, an angry Mick Malthouse. Hoorah!

That afternoon Amanda arrived from Nepalganj, and we took her out for dinner. It was so nice to be able to talk to yet another native English speaker, although the obnoxious Aussie accents in the restaurant drove me bonkers- I think perhaps tourists just drive you up the wall wherever you are!

The next morning I had my first hot shower in weeks (mmm) and we headed into Lakeside to prepare for our trek the following day. Then on Monday morning we rolled out of bed early and were off!

Ready for trekking! Photo by Amanda Binks.

 

As we dragged ourselves up a crazily steep hill, I remembered a family trip down south as a kid, including a visit to Bluff Knoll. Hannah and Kelsi had gone and climbed it with Dad, whilst I’d stayed in the car reading Sweet Valley High. So perhaps climbing really wasn’t in my blood. When it started raining and we were still on a fairly steep incline, I decided that holidays involving trekking and mountains weren’t really for me. I’m much more of a pool and cocktail holiday girl. Bring on Singapore!

As I was feeling sorry for myself, we were overtaken by a guy also going up the hill. But he didn’t have a tiny day pack like us- no, he was carrying a CHEST FREEZER up. Strapped to his head. So that kinda put my internal whinging into perspective, and I forced myself to brighten up after that!

Chest freezer... light as a feather. Photo by Amanda Binks.

Only slightly exhausted! Photo by Amanda Binks.

In the late afternoon we passed through a village where there were a group of 5 kids (as in baby goats) standing around and on a wooden table and chairs. The kid on the top of the table was jumping around and clicking it's feet together and swirling in the air- quite possibly THE cutest thing we'd ever seen.

The mazaing dancing kid! Alas, by the time I'd gotten my camera out he'd jupmed off of the table top.

We eventually arrived at our home for the night, 10 hours after we'd started walking. No wonder we were absolutely exhausted! After gulping down cold beer and daal bhaat, we hit the sack early, some of us (me) dreading what was to come the next day.

However, we woke up to a beautiful view across a valley to Ghandruk. Although getting there would involve a steep climb down and an even bigger climb up, we could tell that we'd have an amazing view from there. So we set off again, heading down from Landruk to a river, then up the other side to Ghandruk. I was feeling much better spiritually, and was actually enjoying the killer hike.

Stopping for a water break

About 20 minutes before we got to Ghandruk my legs just refused to go any further. Every step was killer. However, Alec got quite a nice photo of me looking up at him, as though I'm just admiring the scenery, and haven't stopped for the fear that i might die if I take another step!

Photo by Alec Leonello

We reached Ghandruk around lunchtime and spent the afternoon exploring the area. In the late afternoon we got a great view of the top of Machupucchre, and from this angle could see the two peaks which afforded the mountain the name 'fish tail'. You can't see both peaks from Pokhara, so this was pretty cool!

Photo by Amanda Binks.

The next morning we woke to an even better view of the mountains, though we couldn't quite get a photo which included both the 5 of us (if you include Blinky!) and the mountains.

You can kind of see us! But the mountains are more impressive. Photo by Amy Dowler.

On the third and final day of our trek, it was all downhill or flat. Hurrah! Unfortunately this actually led to me getting a common hiking injury (according to Google) known as black toe. Without trying to gross anybody out too much, alot of fluid accumulated under one of my big toenails, and it looks like it might fall off soon. Just add it to the list of my Nepal-induced injuries!

On returning to Pokhara we took a couple of days to chill out, including renting out a boat to take out on Lake Fewa for an hour. I was keen to pay the extra 50Rs (~70c) for a local to row us around, but the others were keen to do it ourselves, so I gave into peer pressure. I think about 10 minutes in though everyone could see what my point had been- but it was still great fun!!

Amanda left on Friday afternoon, and I psyched myself up for what was to come on Saturday- paragliding!! On Saturday morning I woke up and ran up the stairs to the roof of Amy and Alec's apartment to get my best view of the mountains yet- a perfect day for jumping off a nearby cliff!

The Annapurna Range, part of the Himalayas.

The drive up Sarangkot for paragliding was scary- I really hate driving on Nepali roads at the best of times, let alone along windy cliffs! But paragliding itself- not scary at all! Just AMAZING!

A perfect day for paragliding- everyone was out! Photo by Amy Dowler.

Getting ready to run- and jump!! Photo by Amy Dowler.

There I am with my pilot, Sebastian from Geneva! Photo by Amy Dowler.

Well, it would take alot to top paragliding! Dinner that night came pretty close, a Japanese feast at a local restaurant where we were the only customers. Mmm, I would die for some miso soup and udon right now!

On Sunday morning I took a (very bumpy) busride back to Bharatpur, exhausted but refreshed from spending time with friends, eating Western food (even if I got a little bit sick), and having regular hot showers and a Western toilet.

Happy Dashain 2068!