Blogsherpa | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Holiest of Holy Temples, Muktinath, Nepal

Published July 16, 2012 | By Barbara Weibel

More than worrying about whether I would be able to carry my heavy backpack while trekking the Lower Mustang area in the Himalaya Mountains of Nepal, I was concerned about altitude sickness. I had learned the hard way during a two month visit to Ecuador late last year that I do not react well to elevations over 10,000 feet. Though I was fine in Jomsom, Kagbeni, and Marpha, all of which are at lower elevations, the town of Muktinath lies nearly 12,500 feet high, and the temple of the same name is 300 feet higher than the town. Just to be safe, I popped a high-altitude sickness pill the night before and opted for a 4WD jeep rather than making the four-hour trek each way.

As directed, I arrived at 8:30 a.m. and was told the jeep would be delayed until 9:30. Two hours later, I was still waiting; the jeep needs a minimum of 12 passengers to make the run and since I had opted to travel in the low season no other customers had arrived. Fearing that I would miss my opportunity to visit Muktinath altogether, I pressed the issue and the manager finally pointed to a rough, rocky trail leading to the upper reached of Kagbeni. “You go top, get jeep.” Fortunately I had done some day-trekking around the area and knew the road to Muktinath was in the general direction where he pointed, so I scrambled up to the top of town and stuck my thumb out. Sure enough, a dust-caked jeep soon jounced around a corner and rumbled to a stop in front of me. “Muktinath?” I asked. The driver hopped out and unchained the back door of the jeep; I squeezed in with a family on Indians on a pilgrimage to visit the temple.

For the next hour our hotshot driver threaded a needle between soaring cliffs on one side of the rough graveled track and precipitous drop-offs that plunged thousands of feet to the valley floor, at times taking curves at a frightening speed that had us all banging on the roof for him to slow down. When the jeep finally rolled into town we breathed a collective sigh of relief and shakily climbed out.

Village of Muktinath, at more than 12,000 feet of elevation in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal

My rubbery legs carried me through the tiny village, not much more than a handful of brightly-painted wooden structures, to the trail that ascended to the temple itself. Halfway up I turned and looked down upon Muktinath, regally backed by a purple and blue Continue reading →

Posted in Asia travel |

Tagged blogsherpa, Buddhism, cultural travel, culture, Himalayas, Hinduism, lower mustang, muktinath, Nepal, Pokhara, temples, Travel |

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Measuring Wealth in the Himalayas

Published July 12, 2012 | By Barbara Weibel

I stood on the stairway leading to the Buddhist Monastery in the Himalayan town of Marpha, holding onto the railing for dear life as as gale force gusts shredded the gauzy Tibetan prayer flags cascading down from the hilltop. Like every other day in Nepal‘s Lower Mustang Valley, ferocious winds had begun roaring down from the mountaintops in mid-morning and would continue until early evening. Struggling to keep from being blown over, I perused the tiny village that spread beneath me.

Incessant winds rip down from the mountains every afternoon in Lower Mustang, shredding prayer flags on the hilltop monastery

Marpha is notable for it’s many-storied old stone houses, built by hand without benefit of mud or mortar, and for the delicious apples grown in the lush valley that snakes between the Nilgiri and Dahlugiri Himalayan ranges. While I found those facts intriguing, what most caught my attention were the stacks of split firewood that lined the edges of the flat roofs of every home in town. Continue reading →

Posted in Asia travel |

Tagged blogsherpa, cultural travel, culture, Himalayas, lower mustang, marpha, mountains, Nepal, Pokhara, Travel |

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Never Too Old to Trek

Published July 8, 2012 | By Barbara Weibel

There was no hint of shade. Glittering piles of grey-white sand, the result of wind and rain-eroded micaceous rock from the surrounding mountains, carpeted the valley floor and the high-noon sun mercilessly reflected off the desolate platinum landscape. My pack was growing heavier by the moment and I felt my feet swelling inside my hiking boots, pressing corns against the rough leather. I winced with each step and tried to focus on where I planted my feet so as not to twist an ankle on the loose rocks that littered the trail.

Sere landscape on the Marpha to Jomsom trek, the driest area in all of Nepal

I have come to the Jomsom area to prove something. After injuring my knee in Mexico in 2010 my body started giving me fits. My left hip, knee and lower back ached constantly and I had to cancel my plans to trek the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal later that same year. Though I fought it with every fiber of my being, gradually I accepted that my trekking days were over.

Earlier this year I had to return to the U.S. for three and a half months. It almost killed me. With no access to the affordable organic, fresh, seasonal food that is abundant overseas, I began eating unhealthily and gained 15 pounds. My Yoga and meditation practice faltered and I felt unhappy and stuck. Finally, I concluded the business that was keeping me Stateside and rejoiced. I was free again to hit the road. I headed for Pokhara, Nepal to pursue my Yoga, meditation, and Buddhism practices with renewed vigor. Within a month I dropped all the weight I had gained and my knee and hip were behaving nicely. I began to wonder if perhaps my trekking days were not done. Continue reading →

Posted in Asia travel |

Tagged blogsherpa, cultural travel, culture, eklibhatti, jharkot, jomsom, kagneni, lower mustang, marpha, muktinath, Nepal, Pokhara, Travel |

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An Oasis of Serenity in Kathmandu – The Garden Of Dreams

Published July 4, 2012 | By Barbara Weibel

Outside, motorcycle horns screamed and taxis dodged pedestrians streaming through the narrow streets of Thamel, the backpacker district of Kathmandu. The ever-present dull gray smog was matched at street level by crumbling concrete buildings with black mold dripping down their faces. I stepped over a pile of mud and paving stones discarded during the city’s ubiquitous construction and wriggled my nose as the scent of rotting garbage wafted up from the street. Around the next corner was the doorway I sought, where a small, unremarkable sign announced: Garden of Dreams.

When not in use for concerts or events, the open air amphitheater is a popular spots for picnics, meeting friends, and young lovers.

Inside, no hint of the exterior cacophony pierced the thick garden walls. People lounged on lush spring grass carpeting the steps of the semi-circular Greek-style amphitheater and spoke in hushed tones. The ordered garden, hidden courtyards, and burbling fountains in this oasis of peace and tranquility provided the perfect opportunity to wind down and escape the constant craziness of Kathmandu.

Serenity reigns supreme at the Garden of Dreams

Burbling fountains grace smaller courtyards off the central amphitheater

This neo-classical historic garden was originally installed during the 1920′s by the late Field Marshal Kaiser Shumsher Rana (1892-1964). Originally dubbed the Garden of Six Seasons, it was considered to be one of the most sophisticated private gardens of the time. Its use of European inspired elements such as decorative outdoor furniture, verandas, pergolas, balustrades and Continue reading →

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Tagged blogsherpa, cultural travel, culture, garden of dreams, Kathmandu, Nepal, Thamel, Travel |

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The Dark Side of Three Sisters Trekking and their NGO, Empowering Women of Nepal

Published June 24, 2012 | By Barbara Weibel

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Paying to Volunteer - Scam or Legitimate Social Program?

Sarita was only 13 years old when her parents sold her to the owner of a hotel in Kagbeni, high in the Himalayan Mountains in the Lower Mustang area of Nepal. For the next year, she slaved in the kitchen, preparing meals for the 10-20 men who stayed at the guest house. She was paid 8,000 Nepali rupees for the year, about $91 USD. Sarita hated the work, but without any means to pay for food and lodging, she was trapped. Then one day she met Nicky Chhetri, who along with her two siblings, Dicky and Lucky, had opened Three Sisters Trekking Company in Pokhara, Nepal. Nicky was scouring the mountains for underprivileged girls who would agree to be trained as trekking guides. If Sarita could find her own way to Pokhara, Nicky promised, she would be given food, lodging, education, and specialized training that would allow her to become one of the first female trekking guides in what had, up till then, been an exclusively male profession.

Three Sisters Trekking Company and Hotel

The Chhetri Sisters had seized upon the idea of female guides because many trekkers, especially women, reported feeling unsafe on the trails when accompanied only by male guides and porters. They battled Nepal’s male-dominated society, never giving up on their idea regardless how many times they were told that only men could be licensed as trekking guides. Finally, they gained permission and set up their own school in the top floor of an older building on the north end of Pokhara, using the remainder of the building to house the girls. Continue reading →

Posted in Asia travel |

Tagged abuse, blogsherpa, corruption, cultural travel, culture, Empowering Women of Nepal, Nepal, NGO, Pokhara, Three Sisters trekking, Travel, volunteer, volunteering, voluntourism |

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My Love-Hate Relationship With Kathmandu – This Year I Was Almost Trampled to Death

Published June 19, 2012 | By Barbara Weibel

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Kathmandu Valley

At least one person dies each year at the Bisket Jatra Festival (Nepali New Year) in Bhaktapur, Nepal. This year, I was nearly one of them.

Last year, I had planned to attend Bisket Jatra for two reasons: it is the most elaborate celebration of Nepali New Year in the entire country; more importantly it was the only one of the seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu Valley that I had not yet visited. But the gods conspired against me. By the time I had been embarrassed at Boudhanath Temple and forcibly ejected from Pashupatinath Temple, I cut my losses and fled to Pokhara, leaving Bhaktapur for another time. This year, nothing was going to stop me.

Thousands of people cram into every square inch of the square

Bisket Jatra is celebrated over nine days in mid-April in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, center of the Newaris who were early inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley. For two weeks prior to the holiday, crews decorate an enormous wooden chariot in the center of Taumadhi Square in preparation for carrying the sacred image of the God Bhairav. Considered to be a dangerous deity, Bhairav is symbolically tied to his seat with scores of lengths of reed, which are painstakingly woven around the prow of the chariot where he is seated. Continue reading →

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