Guest Blog- Intrepid Mother in Nepal

Every now and again one of my clients (in this case my Mother!) goes on a trip so incredible that I think it worth sharing, even though I wasn't there!!! Much to my disappointment..
Here it is, enjoy.

Holidays are usually a time to relax and indulge oneself, I am a 60+ business woman, I have worked hard all the year, this should be my reward....

So why have I stuffed a small backpack with old clothes and basic toiletries and 2 suitcases bursting with childrens books, educational aids, games, toys and as many US$ as is legally permitted. Money raised by my local Rotary Club.

I've been invited to visit schools in Nepal and assist with teaching ideas - that was my brief.

The next 4 weeks were truly magical. As advised I left all my Western values in Australia and adopted the mottos "Have Faith" and "Expect the Unexpected!"

From the moment I arrived in Pokhara, a 7 hour bus ride from the congested, dirty capital of Kathmandu there was a feeling of welcome, these gentle people who have so little  give you the best gift of all - their love.

What a Welcome!

This is Nepal, so I "had faith" that when I hopped on the back of that motor bike with a complete stranger that I would end up somewhere where I would have a bed for the night.

Hold on...

We rode out of town along the foreshore of Fewa Lake, skirting potholes, cows and bushbikes, as we pulled up outside a cluster of small neat houses I gather from my newest "friend" that we are in the Tibetan Refugee Camp! "You stay here with my friend Karma!" The sun was setting, I was tired and hungry so it seemed like a good option.

How lucky was I to find these beautiful people, Karma, her husband, son and 82 year old mother became my family and base for a month.

Karma, Mum and me

I learnt to cook buffalo noodle soup, puffy Tibetan bread and dumplings.I visited their Buddhist temple, shopped in the market place and climbed Mt Sarangot at dawn to to see the sunrise through the valley mist and kiss the snow capped Himalayan peaks.

Sunrise was worth the pre dawn motor bike ride to get here!

Mother didn't speak a word of English but we shared so many great times, held hands and "talked" and fell about laughing when she tried to make me drink Tibetan tea (I am adventurous when it comes to food but tea with hot milk yak butter and salt - come on now!!)

A few days into my stay the headmaster from an outer village school arrived, on motorbike, to take me to his school. It was the first of 4 schools that I visited and the welcome that I received was overwelming. I was swallowed up by a sea of brown faces and laughing eyes, pressing marigolds into my hands and yelling "namaste" - welcome.

The beautiful children

Learning numbers

No Tables or Chairs, but oh so happy!

How could you resist those eyes?



The facilities at that  school and subsequent more isolated schools were basic so it was exciting to start handing out the things I had brought  and also buy copybooks, pencils and language books to help the dedicated but poorly paid teachers.  One school had only dirt floors and a blackboard so I bought cushions for the little ones to sit on.

On school nights I was the honoured guest of the headmaster and his family, honoured to climb up a very steep goat track for 45 minutes, help milk the cows, bed down the goats and share their staple meal of lentil soup and rice by the outside cooking fire. Waking in the mornings to steaming hot ginger tea and a view over the terraced rice paddies and mud houses to the valley below made that climb up the mountain worth every step and a "trek" I chose to make on many evenings.

Cooking Dinner

A very steep climb each day!

Now back in Australia I am focused on raising funds and returning to Nepal. A little to us can do so much in that beautiful country.

For more information on this trip and how you can go on a similar one at the end of the year, let me know. niedram@travelmanagers.com.au