Happy New Year!

Another year has flown by, with many changes for us. A new job, a new city in a new continent... Let me take a moment to look back at some of the stuff done this past year...

2014 brought quite a lot of changes: after two and a half years in Morocco with SFCG and our trip in Western Africa, it took us a month to find work. Meanwhile, we settled into the newly renovated apartment of Thomas in Schaerbeek, 5 minutes from the headquarters of my new NGO, and I also invested in five parking lots, thanks to some support from my father. 

My job with World Solidarity (WSM) as Asia Coordinator started in March, to facilitate and monitor the work of ten partners regarding social protection in South Asia (India, Nepal and Bangladesh). First came a field mission to attend the first partner meeting of the 2014-2016 programme, which took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where I met all Asia partners, my predecessor, Jef Van Hecken and other colleagues. After a quick congress in Kathmandu, then back to Belgium for two months, with a short trip for hiking to Barcelona, before settling in May 2014 in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is fascinating work, tackling issues like domestic workers in India, garment industry in Bangladesh, migrant workers to the Gulf States, setting up social security systems in Nepal etc. 

But work isn’t all, and we enjoy Kathmandu, though it doesn’t feel that much like home yet, probably since we travel a lot. Though we try, we have some good friends, mostly gay Nepali, writers and teachers, but also a cat and a beautiful house, used by many CouchSurfers. 

Travelwise, we modestly explored started exploring the region with six new countries this year, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar. The three first were mostly for work, while the three others we tried to combine work with pleasure. It really is a magnificent region, with rich cultural traditions, many celebrations and festivals but mostly the nature, with hiking, rafting and motorbiking in the mountains. At this point, I sort of feel it is more interesting than Morocco, but not as impressive or intense as Zimbabwe, which remains a bit my number one so far, though of course it is hard to compare. 

I believe my New Year resolutions for 2014 gave mixed results:

• Find a job in Asia: check
• Quit smoking: not check :(
• Learn a new language: very modest beginning
• Read a book a week: check!

Our Myanmar trip

Visiting our dear friend Silvija from Zimbabwe in Yangon, and travelling around a bit in Myanmar (Yangon, Lake Inle, Mandalay and Bagan). So glad to see her again, and discover Myanmar which had been on my to-see list for a while now... Gorgeous country!

Tacky Budhas with LED enlenlightenment

The ballet of the fishermen, rowing with their legs

A week in Singapore

Our week in Singapore, combining a conference for work with some sight seeing to the zoo and partying with our MisterBNB hosts, Nelson and Leslie...

Shining some light on the Nepal Tihar celebration

Yesterday was the third day of the Tihar festival, in which day Laxmi, Goddess of wealth is worshiped. This day is also known as ‘Gai Tihar’, meaning cow, which symbolizes the Goddess herself. Cow is taken as similar to mother in Hindu religion, as we grow up drinking her milk.

We were lucky enough to be invited by Niranjan to his family's house. On this public holiday, which has the same importance as say Christmas in the West, people decorate their houses with garlands made from marigolds or chrysanthemum.  In the afternoon, people clean their houses with the mixture of red mud and cow dung, and some footsteps are marked from the main entrance to the pooja kotha, which are believed to lure the Goddess Laxmi inside the house. Recently, they also trace these to their safe or place where they keep the money, so we joked that it would make a burglar's work quite easy during the festival. We helped place the candles, the lotus at the entrance (from which the Goddess had emerged) and trace the footsteps in the staircase.

In the evening, all the houses put out candles and electrified lights, similar to our christmas tree lights (though some come in the shape of banabas for example). These lights are put in the doors, main entrance, windows and roof, as it is the belief that the Goddess is also attracted by light and thus will bless the house and the people for the coming year.

A little bit later, a band from the region where Niranjan's dad originated started playing ‘deusi’ (which is sung mostly by boys) and ‘bhailo’ (mostly by girls). Fire crackers are also blown in the evening. Some people also play cards or gamble throwing cowrie shells as well, and can win (or lose) a lot of money.

Next, we went to our neighborhood, where the ethnic group of Newari's were celebrating new year's eve. The Pathan Durbar Square, lined with ancient buildings and statues, was all illuminated, with people carrying candles and a small concert taking place. Beautifully crafted mandalas marked the entrances to most houses and the entire town was lit up, with everybody enjoying electricity for once.



In short, one of the most lively nights we've witnessed in Kathmandu so far...

Gosainkunda and Helambu trek

Okay, this one is just temporary with some quick photos but more details will come later.


Agrandir le plan

Canyoning in Nepal....

This weekend, with the end of the rainy season and so lots of water in the rivers, we decided to go rafting. Through Adrenaline Rush, we spend one day canyoning, then camped in the area and went rafting the next day. Check out the video I made to see what it looked like, wet and high...

PS As it isn't very easy to identify us, I'm usually on the left in the video, wearing the black t-shirt and brown shorts, Thomas in the middle and wearing the light blue shirt and green shorts.

Flight cancelled - Air India

After spending five hours at the airport this morning, our Indian Airlines flight from Leh to Delhi got cancelled. Though there are worse places to spend an extra day and night, this means we won't make our connecting flight from Delhi to Lyon tomorrow. Sigh... We've been trying to sort it out between Indian Airlines (who just gave us a crappy certificate and suck big time), Turkish Airlines (who passed the ball on to the agency we booked through) and the agent Vayama-Kayak (who wanted to charge us 615USD for a flight four days later).

The joys of connecting flights...

The spiritual side of our trek - the monasteries

Of course, no visit to India would be complete without also some spiritual aspects. For me, this was mostly limited to the visit of six monasteries, with beautiful paintings, the white stupas, the praying wheels and flags...

Trekking in Ladakh

Finally ready for our big hike in the Himalaya, we picked the Ladakhi Women Travel, an organisation run by women and with female guides, to organize our hike in the Sham Valley in Ladakh.


Ver mapa más grande
We also tracked our trek with two apps, MyTrack and GPS-HD MotionX. According to this data, spread over two and a half days, we walked almost 30km in 12h15 at an average 3,6km. The hardest part though was the altitude (our walk stayed between 3,2km and 3,9km height). We kept going up and down, ascending in total 1,7km and descending 2,1km, with 30% gradients. According to my app, I burned 2,700 Calories.

Motorbiking to Lake Pangong

Not sure if we could already handle higher altitudes trekking, Annick and Thomas agreed to a suggestion of mine: we rented two motorbikes, got the permit and drove up to Lake Pangong for two days. This saline lake is at 4350m altitude, covering over 600km² and one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, with a deep blue color. Accidentally, it is also disputed territory between India and China.

Biking up is quite the challenge: the road crosses the villages of Shey and Gya and traverses the Changla pass  (the third highest motorable pass in the world at 5360m), where army sentries and a small teahouse greet visitors. The steep and dusty road down leads through Tangste and other smaller villages, until crossing a river called Pagal Naala or "The Crazy Stream". We anyway had to cross quite a number of small streams with our bikes, causing a bit of stress and wet feet. But after about seven hours of driving, we managed to catch the sunset at the lake and sleep in a tent by the shore.

Such a beautiful place that we were sad to only be able to spend 12h there. It would have been great to be able to hike around the area, but apparently (probably because it is disputed territory), this isn’t possible. Waking up at 5am to catch the sunrise, do some yoga and take some pictures, and then it was time to hit the road again.
Of course, a bit of motorbike problem is part of the adventure, and on the way back, we first had to deal with a flat tire and then with some unidentified mechanical issue, which prevented our bike from starting (despite valiant efforts from our and a group of Czech motor bikers to try and repair it). Luckily, we were already past the highest point, so I just led myself ride down for 25km, with the occasional push from Thomas on the second bike. Once back on the main highway, we dropped off the bike at a repair shop, phoned the agency to tell them where their bike was and drove back riding double.

Rafting on the Zangkhar

The symptoms of Altitude Sickness slowly abating, Thomas and me decided to risk going rafting. We went on the river Zangkar, a 3+ category as far as rafting goes, meaning it isn't slowly descending like putting, but neither is it too exciting or wild. We never capsized, which, considering the chilly water, was a very good thing. 

Before the departure

Guide, us two and two others (mother and son, maybe Chinese-American? 

Pretty muddy river, the Zanghkar

And after... Can you tell how the Indus meets the Zanghkar by the different colours?

Amazing landscapes and good fun, all in all. 

Allez à Leh

Leh was our basis in Ladakh, the place from which we organized our hikes and activities. It is a very nice and laid back place, though we had to change accommodation three times. Hotel Nalanda was nice and comfortable, but pricey and didn't have all dates available, Guesthouse Zikzik was a scam and we left very unhappy, and last, but not least, Kurja Guesthouse, which was very pleasant.

Flight from Delhi to Leh

Now that I've finished my three week field visits in India, with two weeks in Tamil Nadu (south) and one week in Mumbai and Delhi, working every single day and often evenings as well, high time for some holiday to recover. So I'm meeting up with Thomas and Annick in Leh, up north, to go mountain trekking.

It was without a doubt the most beautiful flight I have ever taken. Even if it meant I had to get up at 3.30 in the morning to catch the 5am flight from Delhi, we got to see the sunrise over the snow peaked mountains, with clouds as white blankets.

Words nor my pictures (and some I found on the web) do it justice...

Now checked into my hotel in Leh, Lahdak, awaiting Thomas and Annick who'll arrive tomorrow. And yes, as it is at an altitude of 3.500m, the first symptoms of altitude sickness are kicking in, headaches and a bit nauseous...

How to celebrate the Belgian National Day in India

Okay, so I guess tonight I spend the most surreal Belgian National Day ever…
As you might know, I’m currently visiting our partners in India and see the projects they are implementing for my organisation, WSM. Tonight in the town of Tiruchirappali, we were supposed to meet ten construction workers and discuss their access to social security. Instead, the local parish wanted to welcome us in style, and me in particular as guest of honour.
Now, this isn't the first time for an impromptu ceremonial welcome, with necklaces made of jasmine flowers and shawls draped around you for welcome, but here, around 400 people gathered to watch dance performances, listen to thank you words and speeches and requested I sing the national Belgian anthem (which I of course hardly know the first four lines to). In between, I was paraded everywhere to pose for pictures and winded up with the local version of a Christmas tree (yes, really) on my head…



But at least we managed to speak about the pension scheme and have some people enroll, so I suppose all in a good day’s work….

Thanjavur temple

My work hardly left me any time to do sightseeing, but I did managed to get to sneak away for one hour, to visit the Brihadisvara temple in Thanjavur, one of the largest in India (66m high).

Big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock, weighs 20 tons, at the entrance measuring about 6m long and 2m high.                     

Made in the 11th century, the entire temple is estimated to weigh 130.000 tonnes. The top is made out of a single piece of granite, which weighs 80 ton, and the closest source for granite is 60km away! It is believed to have been taken to the top by creating an inclined slope to the height of 66m to the top of the gopuram, most likely pulled by elephants. Oh, and did I mention it only took 5 years to build it?

The outer wall of the upper storey is carved with 81 dance karanas – postures of Bharathanatyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu. And luck had it there was a performance of this dance just taking place when I was there.

How pink is Nepal? Seen in the streets of Kathmandu...

These are some graffiti we noticed in the streets of Kathmandu. These three are situated around a park which is a known cruising areas for gays. Now, Nepal isn't the most progressive, but it is far from being the worst country with regards to LGBT rights. Same sex relationships aren't criminal and there's talk of including same-sex marriages and third gender in the next Constitution (if it ever goes through). If you ever come to Nepal, notice how on the arrival and departure forms, it even allows you to check 'other', besides male and female.

Some of this is due to activism and one of the LGBT organisations that receives a lot of attention is the Blue Diamond Society. They do a lot of awareness raising and their founder was even elected as a member of the previous Parliament!

This is not to say everything is pink ;)... Discussing with friends and activists, many cases of bullying and rejection of LGBT still occur. Take the graffiti for instance. Most agree that in India, these would have caused an uproar and would get sullied very quickly. They are unsure whether the fact that they don't cause many waves here is because of 'tolerance' (as much as I dislike that word... I mean, who wants to be tolerated?) or because of 'ignorance'. But no need to look very far, even our Belgian consul referred to some of the more extravagant lady-boys who walk around Thamel on Friday night as 'freaks'...

Getting out of Kathmandu - Pokhara and Tansen

Last weekend, we finally got out of Kathmandu and its traffic and dust. Together with three friends, we drove to Pokhara, lakeside and Tansen, in the mountains.


View Larger Map
It was quite a long drive. Don't believe the 12h from Google Maps, it took us 5h to Pokhara, where we slept. After a morning of boating on the lake and finding a waterfall, we drove another 5 hours to Tansen, where we spend the night in a gorgeous farm, Sirjana, where we slept in a traditional Newari house and ate the locally grown food (and cheese).


The next day was the real sportive part: the walk down to Rani Mahal, the Queen's palace. It is sometimes also called the Taj Mahal of Nepal, not because it is so splendid but because building it in such a remote place must have been a huge challenge. It isn't being used anymore but they're renovating it.  It takes about 3 hours to walk down and another 4 hours to walk back up (the getting back part was the most exhausting one of course).


After an early dinner and some drinks, we adjourned to our hotel for a couple of rounds of Werewolf. And the next day, it was already time for the 7 hour drive back to Kathmandu, where our soft mattress was awaiting us...

Nepali classes

Yesterday, we started with our very first Nepali language classes. A teacher from the Namaste Institute for Cross Cultural Experience, Geeta, is teaching us, in a tiny class room in Thamel. With Thomas, we are taking the intensive approach: two hours every day, for at least two weeks. After that, I'll go on mission to India, but I hope to take it up once again after my return in September.

Currently, we've been focusing on basic vocabulary (greetings, where I'm from etc). It struck me that the first two words we learned (kalem for pen and kitaab for book are the same words in arabic. Today we delved into some grammar (they have about 5 different forms to address somebody, according to the level of politeness to respect) and the writing.

Here the very first word we learned: मां, or mother. They have about 45 letters, 36 of which are consonants. It doesn't look easy, but we'll try to at least get some basics...

Bhoto Jatra, or the vest festival

This Sunday was one of the most important festivals in Lalitpur, Bhoto Jatra, or where a chariot with a vest is put in display over the city.
Rato Machhendranath or Matsyendranath is a god of rain worshiped by both Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal. Hindus regard him as the reincarnation of the Lord Shiva, while the Buddhists regard him as the Tantric reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara. Legend says that, when Guru Gorakhnath visited Patan, he captured all the rain showering serpents of Patan and started to meditate after he was disappointed by the locals as they did not grant him any alms on his request. As a result, Patan faced drought for a long time. The then king of Patan, on the advice of his advisers, invited Machchhindranath, Guru of Gorakhnath, to Patan. When Gorakhnath learned that his teacher was in Patan, he released all the rain showering serpents and went to see him. As soon as the rain showering serpents were set free, Patan again got plenty of rainfall every year. After that day, the locals of Patan worshiped Machchhindranath as the god of rain.
After the chariot reacher Jawalakhel, this festival concludes with Bhoto Jatra, which literally means "vest festival". During the ceremony, a government official holds up a sacred jewel-studded black vest from the four sides of the chariot so that all the people gathered around can have a look at it.

Hence, now, just as monsoon is starting (yes, plenty of rain starting to fall), we went to watch the chariot, at the same time as the president and many officials came to pay their respect. Now, when I say chariot, you might think of like a roman style, low chariot. No, this thing was about 15m high (as you can tell from the picture). What is more, in the construction of the chariot no nails are used to connect the joints of the huge chariot but are only tied with ropes and veds. The only part that uses iron to hold are the four wheels. Pretty impressive...

I also got the great privilege of touching a living goddess while there. While leaving the scene, a young child was being carried away, with an entourage and sun screens. They hurried and brushed past me, and, without knowing exactly what was happening, I reached out and touched her arm. Now, she's (one of) the Kumari, or living goddess. It is part of the tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy or devi in Hindu religious traditions. The word Kumari, derived from Sanskrit Kaumarya meaning "virgin", means young unmarried girls in Nepali and some Indian languages and is a name of the goddess Durga as a child.

In Nepal, a Kumari is a pre-pubescent girl selected from the Shakya or Bajracharya clan of the Nepalese Newari community. While there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having several, the best known is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, and she lives in the Kumari Ghar, a palace in the center of the city. The selection process for her is especially rigorous.

Eligible girls are Buddhists from the Newar Shakya caste (the clan to which the Buddha belonged) of silver and goldsmiths. She must be in excellent health, never have shed blood or been afflicted by any diseases, be without blemish and must not have yet lost any teeth. Girls who pass these basic eligibility requirements are examined for the battis lakshanas, or 'thirty-two perfections' of a goddess. Some of these are poetically listed as such:

• A neck like a conch shell
• A body like a banyan tree
• Eyelashes like a cow
• Thighs like a deer
• Chest like a lion
• Voice soft and clear as a duck's

In addition to this, her hair and eyes should be very black, she should have dainty hands and feet, small and well-recessed sexual organs and a set of twenty teeth.

Once the priests have chosen a candidate, she must undergo yet more rigorous tests. Her greatest test comes during the Hindu festival of Dashain. On the kalratri, or 'black night', 108 buffaloes and goats are sacrificed to the goddess Kali. The young candidate is taken into the temple and released into the courtyard, where the severed heads of the animals are illuminated by candlelight and masked men are dancing about. If the candidate truly possesses the qualities of Taleju, she should show no fear during this experience. If she does, another candidate is brought in to attempt the same thing.

After passing all other tests, the final test is that she must be able to pick out the personal belongings of the previous Kumari from an assortment of things laid out before her. If she is able to do so, there is no remaining doubt that she is the chosen one.

Tales of the Dragon

This evening we attended a story telling night, called Tales of the Mountain Dragon. It was part of a 3 day session series of exclusive storytelling infused with a rich mix of esoteric narratives, mountain sounds and music. It had a very spiritual feel to it, starting off with a prayer and a moment of meditation. It took place at twilight, on the terrace on top of a cafe, with a beautiful stupa (white dome) behind it, decorated with many prayer flags.

The storyteller, Koitso Salil Mukhia, who is also the Founder of the Acoustic Traditional and National Festival of Indigenous Storytellers, has been professionally narrating sacred tribal lore and conducting various healing workshops using stories and sounds to various audiences across India and Nepal for over a decade. As an initiate into shamanism, his sessions include a wide array of ancient sounds, storytelling themes and rituals which have been widely acknowledged and featured. Part of the objective is to avoid the loss of this folklore, as there are less and lees of these shamans.

He told two stories, about a hunter going twice to Shrangri-La (or Mei-la), the only one coming back alive, which talked about guides to inner spiritual voyages. The second one was about a monk taking in a student and teaching him how to play the flute, at which he excels. However, the student decides to leave and becomes a carpenter, finding his music in the wood.

We also bought two prints they made, to support the organisation (and to decorate our house, which still has very bare walls).

                                                                                                    

Settling in

So, in the house, and discovering little joys... and challenges.

I had my first tomato salad, with the tomatoes growing in our garden. We had about 6kg of them,  which meant I have tomatoes now coming out of my ears.

Cooking on our brand new stove. Though not induction, it's still pretty sweet.

Our didi, called Devi, who helps out in the house, and insisted I take a selfie with her (not in my habit)...

And this is how we are furnishing the house. Mostly second hand, through online ads, and lots of bicycling around the city to look at stuff. And when we do find something we like, get a riksja to help us transport it, which has made for quite a number of stressful hours during the hectic trafic in Kathmandu.
See Thomas helping out during a stretch that was very uphill...

Full moon rising. For my birthday tomorrow, and also a sort of house warming, we've planned a classic: a game of werewolf. We've invited the couple of friends we've made and are looking forward to spending a Friday the 13th, with a full moon, playing my favorite game....

The new house... our home

I didn't want to jinx it, like what happened with our last house, so I waited until the lease was signed, but here it is, our new house, sorry, home! 

We must admit that we're very happy, after two weeks of visiting over 40 houses and flats, to finally have our chez nous. Unfurnished, it is smaller though a bit pricier than the previous one, but still has a large living room (with fireplace), three bedrooms and a study/office for me.
The street is rather quiet but the neighborhood is very nice and lively. Owners seem relaxed and trusted us with the keys since Monday, so we've been scouting for everything to make the place inhabitable (appliances and stuff) since then.

 One of the reasons why we really liked it, was because of the modest, but well taken care of garden, with veggies.

A little fountain, with the Boudha statue.

Exquisite, though not very solid front door.

And we even have some unexpected but most welcome house residents we discovered: Mama Cat and two kittens, which we baptized Mamandu, Mandu 1 and Mandu 2. Not very used to people, it'll take time to be adopted...
 

 The staircase, leading to the first floor.

The master bedroom, large and spacious, and currently very empty...

Basic and not very much to our taste but we'll manage bathroom (there is three of them in the house).

The guest room, awaiting furniture and... guests!

Terrace one,  on the first floor, with the colored prayer flags leading down to the fence.

Staircase to the second floor:

Which leads to the second terrace, just aching to host cocktail parties.

The obligatory watertanks, cause we only get water every fourth day.

Now we're busy equipping ourselves with everything, fridge, batteries for back up electricity, internet, all the basics. The house also came with two staff from the previous tenants, Debi: a Didi (house maid) and Bishnu, the gardener, who will come in twice or thrice a week to help out. Rent-wise, at around 600€ a month, it is a big house for western standards but an okay price for Nepal, neither super expat-expensive, nor a bargain. 

Tonight will be our first night here, I really hope we'll be happy here. Funny to think that these walls, which now still seem so alien and bare, will see so much of our lives here...