Going to the field in Nepal

January 23-27, 2007

It is part of my mandate here in Nepal to work with certain districts and assist district union and credit unions to set up business development services (BDS) for their members. I thus prepared a workshop to bring participants to have a better understanding of what BDS are and their implications. The expected output of the workshop is for each district to come up with a BDS plan and budget for the coming year.

Unfortunately, our workshop date kept getting postponed because of a general transportation strike which made it impossible for me to get to KTM and for us to get to the districts thereafter. So my pack sack was ready by the door and the babysitter was on standby for a few days until the strike lifted. Then I headed for KTM and that same day I boarded a bus with my colleague to Banepa, Kavre, just one hour outside of KTM. Banepa was nothing special with its wide a dirty street along its city center. We checked into the Rotary Club Hotel which has basic accommodation. The best part of our stay there was tasting local Newari food with its main dish called Samai Baji. It is a bit hard to explain, but it is a large plate that has many different small dishes making it a kind of set: marinated meats, flat puffed rice, marinated chick peas, roasted beans and cooked vegetables. It was just delicious and quite tasty. They also served us some local rice wine flavoured with cloves which was very nice.

It was very cold with temperatures hovering around freezing point. I tried my luck and asked the hotel if they had a heater for me room and to my surprise, they did. Most Nepali are used to wearing layers upon layers of clothing without using heating but I admit that I enjoy my cozy comforts. So I slept well, and the next morning when I was ready to wash up there was no water. Thank God I always travel with a portable kettle so I took some water from the thermos and heated it then used a towel to wash up quickly. I had coffee in my room with a few cookies and was ready to head for the early workshop scheduled for 7:30 am! Of course when we got there the participants had not arrived and we had to wait awhile, but in the end we got 18 people. Once the workshop was over, we did not have time for lunch and headed instead for the roadside to catch our bus to our next destination – Charikot in Dolakha district.

A bus ride in any developing country is always a hair rising experience for most foreigners and defies all basic safety notions. Passengers and live animals such as goats sit on the roof of the bus as we speed through narrow and windy roads. There is no such thing as passing and no-passing zones on road – the only rules are “1 - drive as you please, 2- keep your eyes open and 3 - be ready for anything at anytime”! The result on poorly kept roads is a rocky experience, bringing a few to up-chuck out the window or in plastic bags. The sounds, smells and sights of such dire conditions add to make each journey unforgettable. We drove up huge mountains through beautiful landscapes with the road often carved by the edge of deep cliffs. And yes, we always see a few vehicles crashed along the way to remind us of the inherent dangers of hitting the road. But with the grace of the Gods on our side, we reached our destination in just over 5 hours and by then I had enough of this fun-filled journey through rural Nepal.

We found a lovely village in Charikot edged on a mountain top with the beautiful Gauri Shankar Himalaya in the background. At this time of year however, the sky is often hazy so it was difficult to get a good view and take nice pictures. Our guest house did not have any local specialty when we sat down for dinner so we had the usual dhal bhat (rice with lentil soup) and it was delicious. We also had a nice hot rice wine to warm us up from the chilly air of the non-heated dining hall. In the morning I took a walk with my camera and snapped many good shots of life in such a remote area. The Nepali blend in with Tibetan culture forming a lively community. The workshop with 23 participants went well and soon after, we yet again boarded a tin can, this time the express one, bound for KTM. Going mostly downhill this time, the bus sped away at horrendous speeds blowing his horn constantly to warn any traffic or living being of our imminent passage through.

Once in KTM, I was beat from all the traveling and checked into a guest house. This time I did not have the luxury of having a heater and with cement walls, it was warmer outside than in the room. I had to sleep with 3 layers of clothing and 2 good blankets to make through the night. In the morning, I was surprised to find out that I had hot water as often we only get mildly lukewarm water from solar panels. A couple of days in KTM to do some shopping, then back on a bus for 5 hours to return to Chitwan. I had been away for 5 days and was feeling guilty to have left Remi behind with his usual daycare and babysitter. It was time to go back to the routine of our home life.