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
Himalayan Eye Candy
In other news: Mostly recovered from my recent encounter with the local gastrointestinal mob, but am not yet trusting my gut enough to sit on a bus for 8h. Booked a flight out of Nepal for late May and plan to spend a couple of weeks with the family in Germany before heading on to […]