Next to the bus station, and children going to school
Chilling in our "living room" and the view from the window
A 3year old boy performing a nepali dance in the morning, at a childcare center of the village. He was really a good dancer!
In a primary school, to start the day, all the children gather in the garden, sing the national anthem and pray
After spending more than a month in Kathmandu itself, we moved to a small and poor village in the Kathmandu valley called Pharping. We really did not know what to expect. When we finally got there, we entered a totally different world.
Pharping is a wonderful village in the middle of the mountain, with an amazing view on the Himalaya, a refreshing air and a sky full of stars.
Atmsophere there is peaceful, the weather is great (at least by the tim we were there ) and people are amazingly kind!
While Sam was working for the community hospital there, I volunteered in a farm which was an unbelievable experience!
Welcoming session at the hospital. They gave us those orange scarf, symbol of welcome and respect.
Nepali wheelchair.....
In the village, laundry drying
In the rice terraces, on our way from Pharping center to our home
Purim is here!! Let's party in Habad of Kathmandou
For the story, when Anna came down in the lobby wearing her saari for the occasion, 4 ladies from the hotel came to help her to put the saari in the proper way, so nice!
Samuel loves Nepali oznei amann!
Swayambhunath is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the west of Kathmandu Valley. It is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple.
From there, if you are lucky and the sky is clear, you can have a pretty good view of the Himalayas and on all the Kathmandu valley.
The Swayambhunath complex consists of a stupa which is this big white and gold dome. The stupa has Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted on. Between them, there is something painted which looks like the nose - but is the Nepali symbol of 'unity', in the main nepali language. To access the site there is a long stairway of 365 steps!
The entrance og the temple
One of the thousand of monkeys all over the temple
The monks are spinning the prayers wheels which are all around the stupa. The have to walk around it in clockwise
Another trip brought us to Nuwarkot, an ancien village 3hours ride from Kathmandu. Kings of Nepal used to live in this town because its a strategic place: the village is on top of a mountain and had a great view from all over its surroundings.
We could visit the palace where kings lived.... Nothing compared to castles that we know from Europe! It's quite small and nothing was left inside the palace but the king's bed....
On the road, beautiful views and a lot of trucks, all painted in differents colors with differents message written on it " good luck", "see you soon", ....
Bhaktapur is an old medieval village, 30km away from Katmandou.
This village is famous for its production of pottery and many temples.
People create the pottery and let them dry in a big place in the center of the village, really nice to see it! Our friends had the chance to try to make one of the jar, not so easy!
Kapan is a village located on a hill surrounding Kathmandu and there is a big Buddhist monatsery there. The monastery is a very nice and quiet place, out of Ktm pollution. They also have seminaries and accomodate lodging for guests.
We went there for a day, we had a course about the history of Buddha which was very interesting. The nunn who taught us was an English woman who converted to buddhism 30 years ago. We also "attented" a course given by the spiritual chief of the monatsery,called "lama" to all the monks and nunns. It was quite impressing to see all these students, all dressed the same way, bold, waiting for the Lama. When he came in, some "trumpetits" were anuncing his arrival, (like when the guards were anuncing the arrival of the king in the middle age) and people were bowing down in front of him. 
So far, we didn't really had a chance to try every Nepali dishes but here are some pictures of what you can get in the country.
The main dishe is called Dal- Bhat, it's some rice with a lentil soup, and it's generally completed by curry vegetables or chicken. Nepalese eat the dal-bhat every day, up to 3 times a day!
Another famous meal is the tibetain Momo, it's a kind of ravioli stuffed with vegetables or chicken and then steamed or fried.
Nepal is also famous for its tea, people love tea here! In the easten part of the country, they have big plantations of Ilam tea, a kind of nepali Darjeeling tea. They have also every kind of tea but the most popular are Ilam, Masala tea (mix of different spice), milk tea that you drink with milk (sounds obvious!), Lemon tea, white tea and others regualr ones. They serve also Honey ho lemon tea which is Lemon juice with honey and I love this one!
After going through the small airport in Kathmandu, we discovered the city: a lot of people, cars, animals, noise and.. a lot of pollution!
Nepal has 26 millions inhabitants and is located between India and China. The country is one of the poorest on earth. Most of the people are hinduist or buddhist so there are many temples all over the country.
Regarding the rumor about electricity, yes it's true! depending of the kindness of the government, we have between 8 to 12 hours of electricity per day. There is a timesheet to inform you when electricity will be on but it is not always respected...sooo not convenient! This being said, besides for laptops and cellphones, life is not so complicated without electricity. Most of the places have a back up generator that allows you to have light in your room so it's not completly dark. However, the streets are totally dark! Don't forget your flash light if you plan to go out at night! In shops also, if there is no electricity, shops will be dark or they light a small light when there is a client, restaurants and bars use candles....it is as simple as this!
If you are wondering about fridges and heaters: they just don't exist! fridges are considered luxury items here. As for the heaters, indoor fire is preferred (using anything that bursn) as you can imagine.. this is perfect for your lungs. Otherwise, we are just freezing :)
About driving..... People drive on the left side, no street lights, sometimes a policeman tries to regulate traffic. A ton of motorcylces with a least 2 people ridding on it (can be up to 5 people: the father, the mother and 3 children between them!) On your way, you can also find dogs, roosters and cows! Sidewalks are not always available so you just walk between all things I've just mentionned. Most of the people wear masks to prevent them from pollution so don't be surprised if you see them on pictures.
Here are some pictures taken in the city.
Here is the polluted river which separates Kathmandou from Patan. Patan is considered as the suburb of Kathmandu but there is no differences between these 2 cities.
Some pictures of shops in streets of kathmandu
