Happy Nepali New Year, everybody! Around here, the first day of the new year is not greeted by littered streets and hungover masses. Instead, people flock to the holy places to bring offerings. I joined my guest family on their visit to the chariot, where they wanted to offer rice, fruits and a chicken. The […]
Pole #2
They have a thing here for poles. Number one in the morning was followed by a second one in the late afternoon. The crowd was massive and again hundreds of participants were pulling at the ropes to get the former tree skywards. I got the impression that efficiency is secondary and everybody is happy as […]
Yoshin Pole
It’s New Year’s eve today (in the local calendar) and as part of the celebrations, a huge pole was erected on Bhaktapur’s pottery square. The small square was jam-packed with locals and a couple of visitors. More than a hundred people were working on erecting the pole with ropes and supporting tree trunk constructions. Even […]
Newar Culture
The Newar people have a reputation for celebrating a lot. Thus it shouldn’t come as a major surprise that the New Year festivities last eight days. That and many other things I learned during a cultural introduction seminar held by the organisation I’m volunteering with. We had started the day with a prolonged walk through […]
Bhaktapur Bricks
During my stay in Bhaktapur, I’d like to volunteer with a local organisation that needs support with their online systems. The main project coordinator wasn’t around today, but one of the staff members gave me a first briefing. It didn’t take too much time, so I had ample opportunity to roam around the old part […]
Pokhara to Bhaktapur