Friday, December 31, 2010
Some well intentioned but slightly mis-seated young Nepalis
Photos for Christmas and beyond
From Christmas to the New Year
Christmas day – woke up and rang (Nepal time 5am) my lovely daughter in Melbourne (10.30am ish) just before I had a pre breakfast sit. It was lovely to hear her voice. Sitting meditation is generally an early morning and evening activity for me - middle of the day takes off into various little chores and distractions. It is lovely at those times - quiet and beautiful. The day time gets noisier as workmen arrive to continue the construction of three extra kutis and tourist noises float over the wall of the centre.
Just before entering the dining hall I ran into the teachers – good timing as I had a few small gifts to give to them – easier at that point than disturbing their breakfast. Also gifts for Moe Thu and Nwe Mu, Sita and general staff. It was a good feeling to see their surprised smiles. So I have to admit to being a bit disappointed when I came in for lunch and saw a vey simple meal (seems the veggies had run out), as it was my lunch dana – luckily I had personally bought some choccies when last shopping in Bhairahawa - thank God (not very Buddhist maybe but taking the appropriate liberty for this day0. It somehow made me feel mean spirited. I was feeling a bit emotionally delicate already, missing family and friends and perhaps a residue of personal loss. The one allowance for Christmas decorations was the chocolate box – shaped like a Christmas tree, which I decorated with pink bouganvillea and together with the gold Ferrer Rocher wrappers I reckon it looked pretty festive! Not quite a match for the family Christmas tree and table, which I got to see when Skyping (is that an acceptable verb?) – it was lovely to see everyone, even if they were a bit fuzzy, and share vicariously the feast.
After lunch I went with Sayalay to take some photos of the Maya Devi Temple complex, where the Buddha’s place of birth is located - marked by a stone enclosed in bullet-proof glass. Surrounding the temple itself but within the compound are many stupa ruins, which date back over 2000 ago (3 - 5th century BC), and a pillar which was placed there 2300 years ago by the Emperor Ashoka to commemorate and mark the birthplace. The photos are for a presentation for UNESCO on January 4th,, which I will attend with Sayalay. The photos were to illustrate the way devout but over-enthusiastic pilgrims and laid back tourists cause damage to the ruins. So this is one of my duties while here – helping Sayalay a little by taking some photos to add to her collection and editing the text of her power point presentation. After the photo shoot I took myself off for a Christmas coke – to ignite a bit more festive spirit)
Meanwhile for Sayadaw I have been contributing to his passionate campaign to stop industrial encroachment and pollution around the Lumbini area by working on a letter to send to the Nepali PM and doing some research on the health impact of cement production. In between times I help by greeting arrivals and vetting drop in visitors - otherwise my times my own - lots of freedom to come and go as I please.
So one thing I do regularly is to take myself off for a morning walk after breakfast. Everything is filtered through a soft mist at this time of day, and noise, what little there is, is muffled (like all the locals riding on their bikes to work)– so it feels somewhat ethereal (perhaps it’s all the meditation!). I have got to know a few of the locals who work around the area and as I walk out the gate of the centre I approach the old man who sells peanuts and assorted dried nuts and snacks from his wheeled cart. His work day starts with a puja of lighting and waving incense while chanting over his wares to receive blessings for a good business day. We always ‘Namaste’ to each other as I pass. I also say Namaste and good morning to Shiva – one of the guards of the peace flame (an eternal gas flame at the entry to the Monastic area of Lumbini). He likes to practice his English and generally chat – he has a boring job mostly - just keeping an eye on tourists to make sure they don’t try any thing inappropriate around the flame. So we sit on the plastic chairs outside his office and are joined by various rickshaw drivers who use the rickshaw stand close and are waiting for a customer. This morning they were squatting around a low fire, as were some of the local workers who are paving the canal that runs down the centre of the monastic area. My walk takes me along one side of the canal, and I see the sun (surya) as it rises through the mist above the Theravada monasteries, which are on the east side of the canal, and throws its light onto the Mahayana monasteries, which are on the opposite western side.
Today is New Years;' Day - so sending out special Happy New Year loving wishes to all.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Shopping photos and the misty next morning
Visiting the "big smoke" or adventures in Bhairahawa
Yesterday afternoon was my shopping adventure to Bhairahawa – a bit of a highlight in the midst of general inactivity and quietness at the centre. So after lunch I headed off in the taxi – a small transit van – with Moe Thu and Nwe Mu and driver, Birjish. I had had the idea to buy a bit of tinsel to put on the serving table or some other small Christmas decoration but this was a bit of a radical idea apparently so to satisfy the desire for a bit of Christmas I bought 3 big boxes of chocolates for the yogis - one box is shaped like a Christmas tree – very subtle but still not sure if it will cause a ripple or two. There are some underlying currents here that can catch the unwary by surprise – a bit like a rip under a seemingly calm and inviting sea. Will have to see if I can keep my head above water – either that or give up swimming! (And I did see a few fake Christmas trees on display outside one shop - oh well.)
Anyway, had great fun out - much more entertaining than a visit to Coles Katoomba – although perhaps it’s the novelty factor. I got my new pillow – it’s so comfortable compared to the compressed cotton wadding one that is standard at the centre. Then another stop for mens’s socks, for a meditator who arrived with only one pair, and a separate shop for ladies socks for me a few doors up. Then envelopes up the road. In each of these Moe Thu insisted on loudly and abruptly throwing out some embarrassingly low counter offer when the price was mentioned, which was usually tolerated with good humour but in the pillow shop got the cold shoulder - all part of the entertainment. It hardly seemed worth hassling over 10 rupess for a 70 rupee ($1) pair of socks. I got to practice a bit of my very limited Nepali, which was reciprocated with friendly graciousness. After some purchases at the grocery store (no bargaining - fixed prices) I asked the driver to take us to one of the local sweet and tea shops – a bit of a local institution, which I had visited in the past - where I treated us all to Nepali tea, Indian sweets and samosas.
The last stop was the subaji (sp?) (vegetable) market – where Moe Thu’s bargaining got really fierce to the amusement of the stall holders, as well just the sight of we three foreigners – two Burmese who speak enough Hindi to get by, and one Westerner, who speaks virtually none. We all had tanaka (a Burmese “cosmetic” made from a paste of water and ground sandalwood that turns yellow on the skin) on our faces, which added to our novelty value. The market had a great selection of locally grown vegetables laid out on plastic sheeting on the ground and we spent a good hour there sourcing the best quality and best deals.
All up we spent about 3 and a half hours in Bhairahawa – so with the 40 minute drive either way it was getting late in the day and as we drove back we watched a giant red sun set and the full moon rise.
The next morning I had been pre warned that we would be off to the full moon get together of all the local sangha with and chanting from the various traditions (maximum 8 minutes please). At breakfast Saydaw called me over and mentioned he and Sayalay would not be attending and could I please make the announements for all the groups if a certain Dr Kuypers was not there. “What!” I replied. Then shrugged and said ok. I mulled over this while eating my breakfast – didn’t know Dr Kuypers, the sangha didn’t know me, was it suitable for a very casually dressed foreign women to be the MC for the sangha’s monthly chanting event. Oh well – I just hoped Dr Kuypers would be there. And he was - thank you Buddha, God or anyone else who may have had anything to do with it.
Moe Thu, New Myu and I walked down to the Sacred garden area through the early morning mist and into the Nepalese temple for a 7 am start. It was an interesting morning - 7 groups chanted – Japanese, Theravadans as a whole, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Tibetan and the two Chinese nuns. I have to say the Tibetan chanting got my vote for musicality – it was very beautiful – a large group of young monks and nuns with various harmonies blending together in that deeply resonant tone typical of the Tibetan traditions. And there was an interesting use of drums and gongs and bowing by some of the other sangha groups. After the chanting we were all served crispy fried sweets with salty butter tea (can’t quite get used to the taste so gulped it down quickly - only to be offered some more!).
Friday, December 17, 2010
Photos
Settling in after a week of lunch dates
I’ve been in Lumbini a week and a day now – and starting feel like I’m getting into some sort of routine although not sure if it’s ideally what I want to do. I don’t have a lot of duties to occupy my self as yet with so have to fill my day with various diversionary activities.
The first few days with 3 lunches in a row out has settled down to the normal day to day of centre life.
I went to an interesting lunch last week to the Maha Bodhi Temple to farewell the head monk there and welcome in the new one. They were both so lovely. I was one of three women – the other two being one of the nuns form the Chinese temple who arrived on her motor scooter and the other one was Nwe Mu the older (42)of the two Burmese women helpers who have been here for about a year – the younger one (35) being Mo Thu. They are both lovely – I am their Shin or Didi – sister in Burmese or Nepali. We fool around a bit and have a laugh together and I am trying to add to my very small collection of Burmese words as well as learn a few more Nepali words too –a bit confusing. My mind seems to drop only just after saying them. The Burmese language and me – despite having many years exposure to it on and off – have a difficult time.
Anyway back to the Mahabodi temple. There were many monks from all the temples around the Lumbini area who sat together outside and chatted in the sun before lunch. Then they were invited to come inside and sit at two long tables facing each other across a wide space in the centre. We three women stood around wondering what they were going to do with us. Finally three chairs were placed on the opposite side of one table facing inwards to some young Tibetan monks, who I had a little chat with. They were a bit shy and didn’t speak much English. It was very dark in this room and hard to see much less take a photo. But the Sri Lankan monks together with some Nepali workers handed out a variety of dishes to all the seated assembly, including the women. It was the first time I had been waited on by monks – they were very gracious. I also was given, as all the guests were 2 cakes of soap – Lifebuoy and Camay - and an envelope containing 100 Indian rupees A few speeches in Singhalese, Nepali and English finished the official activities, which were followed by the old monk embracing and sometimes kissing the hands of other monks – his farewell gesture - very sweet and moving. He also came up to me and asked if I had a good time and everything had been ok.
So now all the partying seems to over and it’s down to the daily routine of lunch here every 11.30am – I start half and hour after the yogis. I also get to eat after 12 if I feel inclined, and to help myself to whatever. I haven’t really taken much advantage of this but the occasional snack in the afternoon has been in order – a piece of cheese, a cup of black tea and a sweet biscuit – not too many luxury food items to be had. A trip to the local village can provide a coke, a packet of chips – mostly spicy flavoured - and perhaps, although I’ve yet to se one, a chocolate bar.
I desperation arises for something more exotic to eat there is always the guest houses a bit further out – lunch one day there might be the go if I crave for more “western” food. Or a trip to the big smoke of Bhairahawa - a town lacking in charm, and with a very Indian vibe typical of the plains of Nepal. Hope to get there before Christmas to buy a few decorations to make a yogi or two smile - oh and hopefully a new pillow - so I can give my head a break form the rock masquerading as a pillow that sits at the top of my bed.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Lumbini at last
I’ve finally arrived in Lumbini – a few adventures, a bit of gastro and some slight procrastination about whether I was doing the right thing means I have taken 3 weeks to get here. The evening before flying out of Kathmandu the sky was streaked with pink - perhaps a good omen for the time to come or at least the weather for next day’s flight. It was a clear morning, although winter felt like it had arrived and the heater was lit in the dining room at breakfast.
The day before I went a last walk around Thamel and into ‘The Garden of Dreams” a walled garden that once belonged to a member of the Nepalese aristocracy but had been badly neglected for many years. Its restoration took place a few years ago and it is now a public (for a fee) space. I didn’t have my camera with me so no photos – but is quite lovely - a formal layout with lawns and ponds and fountains and statuary and elegant buildings – one of which is a restaurant. So I indulged in a steak (a T-bone from Australia!) – had a bit of heavy protein craving since I regained my appetite. There are lots of little alcoves with benches and a raised walkway with seats dotted along the way – they seem to be a popular place for young Nepali couples. It is wedding season at present. This means the traffic can often be held up by a slow procession led by a brass band wearing a mismatched assortment of uniforms and playing with wild abandon, followed by the bride and groom in a car decorated like a Christmas tree and the relos trailing behind in various vehicles or on foot.
One of the pros of travelling alone is that I get to meet and chat to lots of people – although most I will probably never see again I get to have some interesting conversations. So while waiting for my steak I spoke to a Danish couple – the women works for some big Danish beer co. and she has been offered the GM’ship of the Nepali branch. So they were checking out the local scene - houses, schools etc. - to decide whether to take it up. The other option was Hong Kong – a bit of a difference! Of course the down side is not always having someone to share experiences with and feeling a bit lonely at times.
So my flight arrived safely in Lumbini despite having to sit in a rickety bus, the luggage on an attached rickety trailer, waiting on the tarmac watching some giant planes land and take off for a while because the pilots were running late. Yet again another great view of the mountains from the plane, then into a taxi for the 25 kms. drive to Lumbini - along a road which has become very familiar – passing small villages and farms and not a few factories, the bane of Sayadaw’s life.
Feeling a little like a fish of water I sat in my kuti surrounded by all the stuff I had brought and wondered what to do. Fortunately there was a talk that evening so went to that – not Sayadaw’s best – he sounded and looked a bit tired but as usual the Q & A session was animated and interesting. Then had a big chat with Sayadaw and Sayalay to catch up on all the news and see what they thought I was doing here. It feels like I am on a sort of helping holiday but I’m sure there’s something in store – just not too immediately.
My first “duty” was to attend the opening of the Dilgo Khyentse memorial peace stupa with invitation in hand – representing the centre with another helper – a young Burmese woman who doesn’t speak any English (Burmese for me vice versa).
It could have been quite boring for the first hour while we waited for the Grandmother of the Bhutanese king to arrive with the rest of the official entourage (also saw her in Kathmandu when at Shechen with Lesley), including the French Ambassador and Minister of Culture. I amused myself by walking around the compound taking photos and chatting to various people, including two friendly Bhutanese guards in traditional dress. The was a lot of ritual and ceremony both Buddhist – performed by Dilgo Khentse’s incarnation, a young and obviously high revered Rinpoche - and official speakers. I also got to see a lot of the local sangha, monks and nuns from the various Lumbini monasteries, including some cute young samaneris and samanaras. After all the ceremony a very flash catered Indian vegetarian meal was served in an adjoining marquee by by waiters in flash red waistcoats from silver platters full of various vego curries - and everyone tucked in – me in line with the Theravadan sangha.
While there I met a friend from the Blue Mountains who was travelling with a group led by Ven. Mahinda and Sister Sumitra from Alokha in NSW. She was one of 250 who had taken their novitiate while doing the pilgrimage sites – it was great to see her, if only briefly, as she was swept away to the next venue. I also had a chat with the Venerable who I had not seen for about 20 years. Hope to catch up with Maureen in the next few days
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Manang and beyond
The blog is a bit tricky to set up with the vagaries of Nepalese internet - having it dropping in and out - and with my novice status as a blogger - hence the photos following the text after one aborted attempt to put them together. But hopefully things will improve with both me and the connectivity at Lumbini.
But maybe you get the gist of the scenery on the trek.
I spent two nights in Manang – a busy tourist spot - and on the second night ventured out to the local movie house to see Into Thin Air – the reenactment of a disastrous climb to Mt Everest – not perhaps the ideal movie for those about to head over Thorung La – the highest pass in the world. The movie house was great – a small space with tiered cushioned wooden seats and a wood fire burning in the centre of the room. About half way through the movie the lights- a single globe - came on and while the movie continued to run black tea was handed out in metal cups together with a bag of pop corn. I walked back to my hotel in the dark under an incredible star filled sky. It was a great night.
A half day walk from Manang up the side of the glacier was also great – with amazing views down over the glacial lake and the town and up to the giants. The walk up was steep and icy – the walk down was frightening – with white and black ice underfoot and sheer drops off to the side – I clung onto Kalu a lot.
Then headed back to Humde – three hours down the hill – stopping off for tea at Braga. That night in Humde involved some nice chats with a few others flying out the next day - including a NZ doctor who had just finished a two month volunteer stinta the local clinic (Including wrestling down and treating a yak that had been attacked by a snow leopard) –throwing up on my shoes and many trips out of a warm bed to go outside and along the verandah – where the water in the rinsing bucket was full of ice. So good timing to head out by plane for a bit of a rest.
The flight was to Pokhara in a ten seater from a dirt runway down the valley– a bird’s eye view of the peaks. Pokhara was another world – full of shops and action. I was picked up by Bim a hotel owner and driven on the back of his motorbike to a room with hot hot water and a bath. So for three days rested, read, sat by the lake and visited a clinic - again on the bike with Bim to get some drugs. While in Pokhara I indulged in a massage at Seeing Hands – an organisation set up to train blind Nepali students in this profession. It was pretty good.
Then after some procrastination I indulged in another flight - back to Kathmandu - rather then endure a gruelling 8 hour bus trip. Spent two days in Boudnath at Shechen Guest Houseby the monastery and hung out with Lesley, doing a walk in Gorkana forest – the hunting grounds of past kings - a oasis of green and giant trees a short drive from Boudha - where we saw spotted deer and macaques. Then a few circumambulations around the big stupa where we lit candles and bathed in the glow of thousands of butter lamps.
Now here I am - antibiotics finished, eating well, dodgy leg healing, indulging in a few comforts – seems like time for Lumbini. And as usual photos appear in odd spots but hope you get the idea.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Manang and Back -
Here I am back in the Hotel Ganesh Himal a little bit worse for wear after a few adventures. It seems like a long time has passed since I was here last when in reality it has only been maybe two weeks. Apparently it is December the 6th today – just been told by a tourist reclining on the lounge next to mine on the hotel roof-top. The weather has been very clear and even now in smoggy Kathmandu in the late afternoon I can see the tops of the high mountains peeping over the Valley rim of hills. I can also look over to my left and see the Swayambunath stupa glowing on its hill.
I returned from a great trek to Manang with a dose of bacterial gastro, and am just finishing off 5 days of antibiotics – also managed to get bitten by some strange thing and have an allergic reaction that has made the inside of my right calf look a bit dodgy – but all seems under control. A visit to the doctor in Pokhara got me sorted or at least under way to recovery. But I’m getting a it ahead of my self. Back to the trek . . .
I took notes on the way but had no computer so will do a brief trip summary and the photos should take care of the rest. The trip started with a 5 and a half hour car ride to Besirahar - a little town off the main highway between Kathmandu and Pokhara, - with three road accidents on the way. The road is narrow and often steep with many blind corners and is full of cars, buses and trucks – the main highway to India. My guide Kalu and I walked for about 2 hours to the first night’s rest stop – Bhulebhule - a small village surrounded by paddy fields and farms. There were a couple of crossings of the Marsyengdi River over very rough bamboo “bridges” - a bit unnerving - even more so than the slightly edgy river crossings later to come over a number of suspension bridges high above the raging river as we followed it along the valley back to its source in the high mountains.
Each day took us higher into the mountains - we walked about 6 hours a day – up and down (but mostly up) and the vegetation gradually changed from paddy to open pine forest to rugged dry high desert, which apparently is green and flower filled during Spring. The track initially was part newly constructed dirt/rocky road, part rough dirt track, which became quite narrow at times with steep drops down to the river. Mule and pony trains or flocks of sheep and goats would confront us coming from the opposite direction – often perversely at these most narrow points, which meant I had to find a suitable niche to squash my body against to let them pass. There were plenty of rest stops and tea breaks and a good long time for lunch. Met lots of interesting people from all over the world. The weather was perfect – clear and sunny – although higher up the wind would spring up early afternoon.
As we climbed higher the big mountains appeared - Manaslu, the Annapurnas 2 3 and 4, Pisang, Tilicho, Ganagpurna - ranging from around 6000 to 8000 metres. The most spectacular views on the trail were from Pisang to Manang with Annapurna 2 rising straight up from the trail. And at Manang I walked above the town up the side of the glacier looking down into the glacial lake and up to so many amazing mountains.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Boudhanath - Lord of wisdom
I feel a bit more settled now in Nepal although have been waking up at Oz time regardless of the time I fall asleep. Those early hours of the morning seem to be the time when insecurities are most liable to appear and so this morning I lay awake worrying about the trek details - as well as more than couple of thoughts about what am I doing with my life - and whether it is all too much to organise. By sunrise I had got up and done a little yoga - referring to a book I bought the other day (The Tibetan Book of Yoga), which together with a bit of daylight reduced the fears. So I was ready to meet the travel agent and my prospective guide and start to make some plans. It is likely I will leave in two days on a 6 hour drive to get to the trail head and head up to Manang with Kalu Bika leading the way – or at least carrying some of my gear and preventing me from getting lost.
With this done I went out with Gerry and Cassidy, two American yogis staying at the same hotel who and also heading to Lumbini. They are long-term meditators so we’ve had some interesting conversations about practice, Dhamma teachers and friends. We went to Boudhanath - “ lord of wisdom” - a World Heritage listed cultural site. The stupa there is 43 metres high and one of the largest and most venerated Buddhist monuments in the world. It is said to represent the Adibuddha the first or primordial Buddha, free of conceptual emanations.
Today being Sunday and a holiday for many (although Saturday is the main day off In Nepal) as well as a Full Moon Day there were lots of locals and tourists circumabulating the stupa, turning prayer wheels, chanting with their rosaries and making a variety of offerings. Gerry, Cassidy and I bought a roll of prayer flags and writing our own and our family names on them we offered them to be added to the many already festooning the stupa – very auspicious on the full moon. As well as stringing up the prayer flags, a team of workers were whitewashing and painting designs on it with saffron water.
Boudha was a welcome haven of (relative) peace and a respite from the chaos of Thamel and Kathmandu traffic – as very few vehicles have access to the area around the stupa, and the devotion in the atmosphere creates a very different tone. After a walk around and up onto the stupa we headed up a laneway to visit Shechen monastery and its guest house where we relaxed in the sunny garden for lunch. I felt I could stay around there for a long time and do nothing –I did try to reserve a room there before I left but it was already booked out. Something to look forward to another time.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Arrived in kathmandu
Arrived in one piece at Bangkok at 4 am on Thursday morning and I’m now sitting in Starbucks to wait out six and a half hours before the flight to Kathmandu. It’s a quiet and comfortable place to rest - soft armchairs and iced mochas. - and avoid the innumerable duty free and tourist shops.
I had such a wonderful week in Melbourne - went to the Princess Theatre to see Hairspray, a great production of this quirky upbeat musical that has an underlying theme of racial discrimination, saw The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second movie of the Millenium trilogy, which I enjoyed as I did the first one and the books (for the intrigue and the theme of the sexual abuse of women– an issue of particular concern to me), caught up with the lovely Faith Teh, who cooked for the 7 week Ariya Nani retreat earlier this year, for iced coffee at Brunetti’s in Carlton, - and of course plenty of eating in and out and general hanging around with my dear family. Slept like a log and stayed in til latish for me - 8ish – up until the last night when a few travel nerves started to present themselves. I also got into a bit of shopping –buying some more last minute “necessities” for the trip. With the help of Pix I just managed to get my pack closed and it was exactly 20 kilos on weigh-in at the check in counter - the limit. I also had three other pieces of hand luggage, which fortunately went uncommented on.
The flight set off around 11pm and all I wanted was to sleep – not eat an airline dinner at midnight –managed to drop off after an hour or so with the help of a bad movie, a Barrier Reef neck cushion,(a farewell/Christmas present from Pix), and my last sleeping tablet. But not before a chat with the sweet 22 year old guy in the seat next to me who was heading off with a group of mates to get pissed at a full moon party and being entertained by the restless whingeing of a 2 year old in the seat behind me. Love hanging out in a confined space with 300 people – not! Breakfast came all too soon – 6amish Oz time – followed by a few episodes of old TV comedies to help pass the last bit of time before landing.
Here I am in Kathmandu -it’s foggy and smoggy at 3 in the arvo. Drove through crazy traffic, after the mad scramble of immigration queues and baggage collection at the airport, to get to the haven of the Ganesh Himal – a small hotel set in a back street near to but a bit away from the chaos of Thamel. It has a lovely garden and rooftop sitting space. The bed is comfortable and there’s a bath in my ensuite – not sure yet if there will be enough hot water to enjoy it.
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