...I would be wary as elections draw near

Today marked the first day of a 10-day bandh (strike) that has been imposed nation-wide in the lead-up to Election Day on November 19 and tension is increasing in the country. This election will be very important for Nepal, as it is the first election since Nepal became a republic in 2008 when the monarchy was abolished. At that time there was a Constituent Assembly elected but it was dissolved in May 2012 when it failed to make progress in drafting a new constitution. There have already been several attempts at a re-election but each time the election has been postponed. However, the Government of Nepal wants the election to occur so that the country can finally begin to move forwards, and security measures are increasing as the election approaches. Two-thirds of the Nepali army has been deployed for the election and the border to India will be sealed 2 days before voting takes place.

The bandh that is occurring right now is an attempt by an alliance of 33 parties led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to sabotage the election shutting everything down. Today was a general strike where all transportation, markets, institutions and industries were closed throughout the country. However, the next 9 days have now been changed from a general strike to only a transportation strike, so only travel will be restricted.  

Although 51 people were arrested today for bandh-related activities, the Maoist parties successfully enforced a strict bandh today and we’ve heard stories of vehicles that ignored the bandh being torched. As well, several IEDs and other explosives have been found throughout Nepal. Most have been targeted at election candidates but as the election nears some are being found in public areas. Luckily, nearly all the bombs have been found before triggered and few people have been hurt so far, but some people are concerned that violence will heighten as the election draws nearer.

As of now, I am still going to work because I am only a five minute walk away, but many of my fellow volunteers here likely won’t be able to get to work in the next week due to the transportation bandh. This bandh is causing a huge impact on life in Nepal right now and it is still difficult to say what will happen in the next week. Some Australian volunteers in Kathmandu have been issued an evacuation plan in case the situation becomes violent but as of now there is now reason for concern.

Right now we don’t know how the election will play out but it will be an interesting next couple of weeks. It’s incredible to be here in such a pivotal moment in Nepal’s history.

...I would not have a boring vacation (Part 2)

            After getting back from the trek, we still had 2 full days in Pokhara (except for Peter who had to get back early for a field trip), so our adventure was still not over. The day after our trek the rest of us spent the morning shopping and then went on a half-day rafting adventure on the Upper Seti river. The two days before we went the rafting trips had been cancelled on the river because the water was too dangerous from all the rain we’d had. And it was definitely pretty wild still when we went. The whole time, I was saying how I wanted it to get super rough to be more exciting and I wanted to fall in. Well, I got my wish. On one of the big rapids, our guide Santosh called for us to get down but apparently I didn’t get down far enough and fell out of the boat and was pulled under the water for a good 10 seconds, before I bobbed up and was thrown against the rocks and heavy rapids. Finally, one of the rescue kayaks was in front of me and I was able to grab it and be dragged to shore, coughing up half the Seti River. It’s more than a week later now and my neck is still sore from the whiplash I got on that ride. Meanwhile, the raft got stuck in the hole in the rapids for nearly a minute, throwing off 2 other rafters who had been trying to throw ropes to me and Juliana and Lu were panicking. Juliana apparently thought I had gotten stuck under the raft and was dead at that point so was freaking out a bit. Looking back, it’s probably one of the funniest moments of our trip, but it definitely wasn't at the time!

            Later that evening we were invited by one of our fellow Canadian rafters to go hang out with all the staff from the rafting company at the bar. There we learned how to play one of Nepali’s most popular board games, called Carrom. It’s kind of a mix between shuffleboard and pool where you flick discs with your fingers to try and get them in the pockets. It is super hard and I definitely won’t be placing any bets on my carrom skills any time soon.

            On our last full day in Pokhara we decided to start off with a bicycle ride. We intended to go to Devi’s Falls, a nearby waterfall, but went the wrong way so instead decided to bike around the lake. As we got to the other side of the lake and away from the tourist area, it was then that of course we were given a little extra dose of fun. As I went over a speed bump, the bike jumped a bit and as it came down, one half of the handlebar completely snapped off, clean through, and I was dumped on the road. I was a tad bewildered and unsure how I was going to get back because it would’ve taken a couple hours walking. A bunch of villagers came over to see if I was ok. They were incredibly nice and one man took me to his woodshop, where he reattached the handle by carving a small wooden stick that could go inside the handle to keep it together. I couldn’t use it still but the stick held it together enough that I could get back. Then as we finally started heading back, we discovered Juliana’s tire had gone entirely flat in the meantime, which we weren’t able to fix. So we had to slowly make our way all the way back to town with two of the four bikes broken.

            Later in the day, we rented a boat and went out on the lake. After all the events that had happened, we were half expecting the boat to just sink when we got to the middle of the lake. But we had no incidents luckily, and were able to go out and escape the noise of everything for a bit. It was a really relaxing way to end our vacation. On the Sunday, we bussed back to Kathmandu, ready to get back into work again on Monday, having experienced an amazingly adventurous Nepal vacation experience.

           Now, we continue the holiday season with the 5-day Tihar festival starting this Saturday. I'll be staying near Kathmandu in Bhaktapur and Nagarkot, but I'm sure to have more exciting times.

...I would not have a boring vacation (Part 1)

Peace Pagoda

            A couple weeks ago was Dashain, the longest holiday in Nepal, so a few friends and myself decided to head off to Pokhara for our time off, a city in central Nepal near the Annapurna mountain range. It took about 6-7 hours by bus to get there from Kathmandu. Our first full day in Pokhara, Peter, Sumbal and I decided to hike up to the Peace Pagoda, one of 80 Peace Stupas around the world that were built to represent world peace following the bombing of Hiroshima in 1947. There are two ways to reach the stupa, either a 2-hour hike from the back of the hill, or ferry across Fewa Lake and climb up the stairs. We opted to try both, hiking up and going back down to Pokhara by boat.

            The next day, I began a five-day trek with my friends Juliana, Luzianne, Peter, and Lisa in the Annapurna Conservation Area. We started from Nayapul, just over an hour’s drive outside of Pokhara. We went with a guide and two porters. We asked our guide if we can push ourselves more during the trek and were able to fit a 6-day trek into 5 days. About an hour into the trek we stopped and filled up our water bottles and I set my camera on the ground to put in iodine drops (to kill any bacteria in the water that might upset our stomachs). And being my usual forgetful self, I left the camera there and when I went back 5 minutes later it was gone. Fortunately it was an old camera and not a big deal but it means all the photos from the trek here are stolen from my friends.

The Route: Nayapul-Ulleri-Ghorepani-near Tadapani-Jhinu-Nayapul

The first day was mostly stairs and by the end of the day we’d climbed more than 3000 stairs. Our guide kindly warned us not to get too close to the donkeys on the path as sometimes they are prone to shoving people off. We were passing lots of people as we went, which became a theme of the trek, and I was absolutely drenched in sweat and actually wrung out my headband halfway through. The villages we passed through during the trek were absolutely picture perfect. As we climbed higher and higher, we could see the rolling hills of forest and rice terraces and as tired as I was by the end I just didn’t feel it because of how amazing it was to be there. The lodges we stayed at turned out to be much nicer than I expected. I’d been anticipating very basic lodging and food but they ended up having showers (although freezing cold from the glacier-fed water- unless you paid for a hot shower), cozy lounge areas and a delicious variety of food.

Enjoying the rain!

            The next two days of the trek consisted of constant rainfall, mud, leeches and a serious lack of mountain views. During these days I was grateful for the group of friends I went trekking with. Although the weather was miserable and we were soaked through even our rain gear, for the most part we were still in great spirits, making jokes about the situation. Rain during this time of year is extremely abnormal and October is supposed to be one of the best times to hike in Nepal. Our guide let us know that it was the muddiest conditions he’d ever walked the path on, despite having hiked the trail too many times to count over the past 18 years. At times, the path had even turned into a stream from so much water. Personally, I think the rain almost made it more beautiful at times because we were hiking through the rainforest, passing countless waterfalls and streams. With all the water, most of us got leeches. I was lucky and only got one on my foot. Lisa somehow managed to get them on her stomach.

Poon Hill photo as I imagine it

We were also supposed to hike up to Poon Hill on the third day from Ghorepani at 4:30am to get a sunrise view from the hill. It’s supposed to be the most picturesque sunrise views of the Annapurna range. However, we wouldn’t have been able to see anything because of the weather, so got some extra sleep instead. To make up for the lack of picture, I created my own picture about what I imagine our photos would have looked like.

            On the fourth day, the rain cleared a bit but it was still too overcast to see anything. However, our day really brightened when we reached Jhinu, where there is a natural hot springs. Of course we spent the entire afternoon there. The spring was about a 20-minute hike from the lodge (which I did four times due to a mid-afternoon beer run) and we had a much-needed relaxing day. When we first got there (around 1pm) we were the only ones at the spring for over an hour. Near the end of the afternoon when the pool was pretty full, the hot springs attendant came over and pointed at each of us in our group to get out. Yes, we got kicked out of the hot springs. I’m not sure why we got kicked out, maybe we’d been there too long, but we did a walk of shame out past everyone else and hiked back up to the lodge.

Morning of the fifth day...finally sunny

            On the fifth and final day of the trek the sun finally came out! Unfortunately for us, we were past the best mountain views so never actually got any good photos of the mountains. The last day ended up being the longest and we were completely exhausted for such a short trek. We had our celebratory last meal together and all (except Peter) ate our daal bhaat lunch with our hands as the locals do. Daal bhaat is a plate with rice, daal (lentil soup), vegetable curry, saag (steamed greens), and pickle, and when you order it you can eat as much as you want and they will keep bringing you more. Although we didn’t have the most ideal situations for the trek, I think we got quite a more exciting experience and loved every minute of it.

And here's some more photos...

Enjoying the hot springs

View from the Peace Pagoda