Day 6: Nepali Village

This morning Greg and I woke up at 4:30a to head off to the airport for our 7:30a flight to Kathmandu, Nepal.  Everything went very smoothly, and by 10:00a we were in a car in Kathmandu, headed for our hotel.  Kathmandu is in a large valley surrounded by the Himalayas.  We wanted to get out of the city and stay in the mountains, so we booked a hotel in Nagarkot, Nepal.  On the trip to Nagarkot, I noticed that while much of Nepal looks like India, things are much calmer.  The driving is less reckless and there is far less honking.  Our hotel being at around 6500ft, the ride up had many twists and turns on the narrow, potholed road.  We passed other vehicles rarely, but when we did most were large tourist buses that hogged the road.  We finally made it to the hotel, the Eco-Home, which is a small ten-room hotel on top of the mountain.  It is simple, but it has electricity, internet, and “hot” water.  The view from the hotel is entirely of smaller mountains in the Himalayas, probably none above 8000ft.  I believe the larger mountains can be seen from the opposite side of the one we are currently on.

Our hotel

Our room in the hotel. We expected worse.

The restaurant on the top floor.

We ate a nice lunch as we chatted with the loquacious owner of the hotel.  The view from the hotel is amazing.  It is overlooking many of the Himalayan mountains, though not the biggest, as it faces south, away from Mt. Everest and the other bald mountains.  One of the hotel staff offered to take us on a hiking tour around the village.  We spent about three hours hiking, which was an eye opening experience.  Not only did the tour give us more amazing views of the mountains, but it showed us how the people live.  There is one main road that goes up the mountain, which has many buildings off of it, but the majority of the people simply live in the countryside.

We walked down the road for a ways before turning off onto a trail that headed down the hillside.  Off the this trail went a whole network of trails that traveled all around the mountain.  Instead of using roads, the people use these trails to get around.  These trails are quite steep, as well.  There are a few dirt roads, but not many.  As we went along the trails we saw the homes of the people, their terraced farms, and the people carrying things around.  It was amazing to see the way they live.  Everyone lives in a house built on the hillside with a dirt floor, most being one room.  They sit in their fields farming rice, corn, or some other crop.  The homes do have electricity running to them, but they still must collect water from water collection sites on the streams.

One hillside in hundreds

A woman carrying a heavy load up a steep hill.

A truck driving down one of the larger trails/roads.

This trail was actually built for trekking, not for the village.

We saw many children along the way, so before we got too far, we stopped in a shop to buy chocolates to give to the kids.  Each of the kids was either very excited to see us, or a bit shy, though they all took some chocolate.  Our guide also took us to his house, were we got to go inside and see the cramped spaces and dirt floors.  Despite being very low-tech homes, most houses were built quite well, with concrete or other strong materials.

Our guide's home. His extended family lives here in one of the largest homes on the hillside.

Greg and several of our guide's siblings/cousins

This guy said "Take my picture! Take my picture!"

Back at the hotel, I tested out “hot” water by showering.  I think it is best described at fresh mountain rainwater “hot,” which means pretty much the coldest shower I have ever taken.

Tomorrow morning we will go out on another hike to a temple and the other side of the mountain, where we will hopefully get a view of the higher Himalayas.

The view was amazing.

Panorama from the hotel terrace. Click for a larger view.