Before I arrived, I promised myself that posting every day would be hard because of the sheer overabundance of stimulation one has when working in such a country but here goes. Upon arriving in this faraway place, you are confronted by the fact you are in a 3rd world country. The smells the cracked roads the dishevelled buildings. But what becomes apparent is this place has a deep soul like no other I have visited.
Sitting here at my desk in the ancient city of Bhaktapur. I peer out the window to the sounds of tooting bikes and laughing children. Off in the distance, there are temples a thousand years old and behind that the base of the Himalayas.
Before moving to Bhaktapur I was staying in the tourist centre of Thamel. The streets are lined with sellers selling everything from sex to drugs to fine carpets and everything in between. The pace of life is rapid faster than anything I have seen in the Western world. The streets are manic, with what seems like millions of bikes and cars spewing out smoke. There aren’t any road rules oh and did I mention there are cows asleep in the middle of the roads?
But for all this manic speed and oozing of the hoards of its human population. I am just taken aback by how the people have bent over backwards to make my travels easier more enjoyable and safe. Their warmth just radiates through their smiles and personalities. Even in the bleakness of the forlorn grey cracking buildings the colours of the woman’s silks permeate and pop out from the sterility of the crumbling city.
Hindu Women’s festival Nepal
The population care about one another and has a deep respect for foreigners, everybody seems interested in this tall white Australian, I feel welcomed and almost like I am part of a bigger family.
