My transport ... a motorcycle ... and (un)sexy stockings ...

The Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where I work, is part of the Faculty of Animal Science, Veterinary Science, and Fisheries. This, in turn, is part of the Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU) situated just outside the small rural village of Rampur.

I live in a home-stay about 8 kilometres away in the outskirts of Bharatpur which has a population of about 280,000 people. There are also lots of buffalo, goats and cows around where I live ... but I don’t know how many.

I am fortunate to have found a comfortable home-stay to live ... but bus transport into work is slow and infrequent ... so I was grateful when the university purchased a new motorcycle for me to use while here!

This is the motorcycle shelter where I park my bike when I am at work.

Before you ask, it is a Yamaha FZN150 with a single cylinder 153cc air-cooled 4-stroke SOHC 2-valve engine and a 5-speed gearbox, 128Nm torque and 13.1PS power.

... and, it has telescopic front suspension, monocross rear suspension, disc front brakes and rear drum brakes.

... and, weighs 132kg ... (... plus 12kg when the petrol tank is full)!

Moreover ... it is light enough to manoeuvre through the chaotic urban traffic ... and powerful enough to take me comfortably into work.

You can see my office window behind my shoulder in this photo.

In fact, although the road surface into work is quite good, 60kph is the maximum safe speed to drive at ... coz you never know what could suddenly enter the road from apparently nowhere ... another driver ... or a goat, dog or pedestrian!

My bike has a red button on the handlebars that I’m not quite sure about. It is marked PASS in large bold lettering ... but I don’t know when to use it. If you press the button, the headlamp flashes. Is this supposed to invite oncoming traffic to overtake? ... or does it inform oncoming traffic that I am about to overtake? Given the uncertainty, I think I’ll not use it at all!

I brought my safety helmet with me from Australia ... coz the helmets here do not meet international standards ... and accident insurance does not cover riders without approved helmets.

What I did buy here though, is a pair of (un)sexy long sleeves to protect my arms from the sun. I think some creative entrepreneur modified a set of calf-length ladies stockings by cutting off the toes and sewing in a hole for the thumb, in order to make a pair of sleeves instead.

What do you think? 

... and I have no idea what the SPF u/v rating is!

This is me in front of my lodgings. 

Actually, the sleeves don’t look too bad in the photo.

Perhaps I will look for a black fishnet pair next time ... !

The temple ... with Snakes and Ladders !

Nepal has many ancient temples. This weekend, I visited a Hindu temple that opened less than 2 years ago: Shashwat Dham temple. It is less than 30km from where I live. It is also called CG Temple because it was built entirely by the richest businessman in Nepal: Binod Chaudhary, chairman of the CG business group. Does this mean he will be welcome into Hindu Heaven with open arms? Perhaps he will; because he is a generous philanthropist as well as an industrialist.


The temple is dedicated to Krishna; the God of compassion, tenderness and love. He is often depicted with black, dark or blue skin. Here he is as a newborn being carried across the river.

He grew up to be a bit of a womaniser ... and had eight wives. Here, he entertains some of them.

He also danced on the hood of the multi-headed cobra ...

... and fought as a brave charioteer.

Cameras are not prohibited in the temple grounds ... but smartphones are ok ... so everyone used them to take photos instead! Here is a photo of some detail on the outside of the temple building.

An example of the religious symbiosis that exists here, is the inclusion of a statue of Buddha ...

... as well as prayer flags in the Hindu temple grounds.

A different style of artwork appears on the cafe wall. This was created by a minority indigenous group of women who live in a remote region in Nepal. It tells a story ... but I am sorry I’ve forgotten what it is!

Some outdoor parks in Australia, and elsewhere, have a large checkerboard marked out on the ground where people can play a game of chess. Well, instead of this, Shashwat Dham has a concrete area marked out to play Leela. This is an ancient Hindu game with the intention of teaching moral values. It is the precursor of Snakes and Ladders. I bet you didn’t know that!

Namaste!

Visit to a rescue home for the homeless

People can sometimes be seen begging on the street. The most common places are by temple entrances and busy pedestrian areas. These people are often physically maimed. The Lions Club of Krishnapur rescues some of them and provides treatment and accommodation at Chitwan Human Service Home.

Today is Father's Day in Nepal and the Lions Club organised a celebration at the home for the residents. I went there with the family I am staying with.


Everyone brought gifts or made a donation. The donors names were announced together with their gifts. We arrived late so we missed the first half of the speeches ... but we heard the second hour. These were in Nepali so I didn't understand much. I don't get bored when this happens. Instead, I take the opportunity of doing things that I never seem to have time to do ... such as counting back from 100, or doing my pelvic floor exercises.

The guests were each presented with a flower after the speeches.


Then the food was dished up ...


... and served out to the residents




The home is very tidy and the 50 residents are well dressed and clean. The Lions Club seems to be doing a great job here. So far, over 150 helpless street people, who were not even able to beg for food due to physical disability or mental imbalance, have been rescued.

The meeting of two rivers ...

Rivers are sacred to Hindu people ... especially where 2 rivers meet. Many ceremonies are performed beside rivers ... including cremation on pyres (see Tour of Kathmandu blog entry 17 Aug 2018).

This weekend, I rode my motorcycle to Devghat ... the village where the Kali Gandaki and Trisuli rivers meet to form the Narayani river. It is about 8km from where I live in Bharatpur. These rivers are in full flow at this time of the year since they carry away the monsoon rains. The power of the water rushing past is impressive. You can easily understand how the Hindus (and other cultures) have developed a respectful awe of rivers in full spate.

Anyway ... Devghat is an important cremation site.

There are many temples scattered throughout the village. These are interspersed with normal everyday domesticity ... as can be seen here with the golden roofed temple appearing in the background.

The temple is reached by crossing a narrow metal suspension bridge over the rushing water of the river below. There is barely room for a motorcycle to pass; but that is no obstacle to the local people.



Exploring the village was like taking a lucky dip. I never knew what I would find because I had no idea what the signs said.


There are lots of monkeys around ...

Housing design varies from: 3 arches with no colour coordination ...


... to 2 levels with some colour contrast ...


... and simple box style with one door and a window ...


This one was past its use by date



Several cremations were taking place by the riverside. Here male family members add more wood to feed the pyre.


Nothing remains afterwards ... except some ashes ... and empty plastic drink bottles.

Festivals ... part 1

There are LOTS of festivals in Nepal!

... which is why I have labelled this post Festivals ... part 1.

I am sure I will be writing several more ...

This weekend was Teej. This is celebrated primarily by women and girls. There is lots of singing, dancing and prayer rituals dedicated to the union of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva. Red colour predominates: the colour of love.

I walked down the road to a local Teej celebration. There were several thousand people packed tightly under a large awning.

I was invited to sit on stage as a guest ... and expected to make a generous donation ... as all guests do on these occasions.

The main part of the festival was a competition between local women’s groups. They took turns coming onto the stage. 5 or 6 of them sat cross legged in a semicircle and sang to the accompaniment of a drummer while another danced. 

... and the winning group was ...

Celebrations continued in the evening. The family I am staying with invited me to accompany them to a relative’s home where a big meal was shared everyone. This was followed by more dancing with everyone joining in ...

So ... I think the Nepali people know how to have fun at festival time!

And ... what about birthdays ... ?

I was invited to join a party to celebrate the 11th birthday of a close relative to the family I live with. How is this for candles?!!!

You think that is fun! Well, wait until what happens next ...

Parents and guests take turns placing a piece of cake in the birthday girl’s mouth. And she reciprocates.

Then ... they smear some more cake over her cheeks and forehead as a blessing. Enormous fun but a serious ritual.

Fortunately, there was still enough cake left for the guests to eat!

Well. Today is Father’s Day in Australia ... so I am off to find myself a treat to eat ... !