Wednesday 26 March 2014

...I would be savouring all my lasts

        It’s official. 29 days left. And that means all the things we meant to do in Nepal “at some point” need to happen now or it’s not going to happen at all. It also means that a lot of the things we’re doing are now also going to be for the last time. Now that we’re short on time we’re filling all our weekends with the things we want to do before we leave.

Last weekend we escaped to Nagarkot for the last time. Peter and I hiked from Bhaktapur to Changunarayan and then nearly to Nagarkot, where we caught a bus for the last 6km. It’s the third time we’ve been there and it was kind of weird to tell the hotel workers that it would be our last time there because we were leaving soon and the rest of our weekends are full.

        Two weekends ago, we also had the opportunity to participate in Holi, the festival of colours, which marks the beginning of spring. It’s celebrated in India and Nepal and basically entails a country-wide water fight with coloured powders being thrown at each other. Everybody was in such good spirits for the festival and I was also impressed with how respectful everybody was towards each other. Older people who did not want to participate enjoyed watching the fun from balconies and at one point, a woman wanted to get by the heart of the water fighting without getting covered. All the teenage boys stopped the fight, parted for her, and they wished each other Happy Holi as she went by before resuming the fight. Overall, definitely one of my favourite days I’ve had in Nepal.

 














Now, in our last month before we had back to Canada I still want to:
  • Go to the Sundance Music Festival (Peter and I are going this weekend)
  • Go bungee jumping
  • Go to Chitwan National Park
  • Get more kurtas tailored
  • Stock up on coffee and tea (and other souvenirs)
  •  Finish all my projects I’m working on at IDS Nepal
  • Eat daal bhat every single day until I leave (Chelsea and I made a challenge)
  • Hike up to Shivapuri Peak
  • And just appreciate and experience as much as I can in my final month in Nepal!