We have stayed close to home the last few weeks. With all the rain and the many trips regarding our visas we haven’t been able to go visit project sites or go on excursions. This has led to some fun pictures from our walking routes. Early in the week we got to see a rainbow. It always makes me feel like there is hope regardless of what is happening. Just add a bit of light and there is beauty despite more rain.
Our driver did take me and my new friend Liz — she and her family are with the US Embassy, attend church and are new to Nepal — to a shopping area near Kathmandu Durbar Square where we did a little souvenir shopping. The “singing bowl” shop was my favorite. I was amazed at the number of bowls they had in their little shop. What is a singing bowl? – “The singing bowl is a metal bowl, struck by a mallet, often used in spiritual or religious settings to invoke meditation or relaxation through the resounding vibrations and pleasant sounds it emanates when played. They can also be used in sound therapy to induce healing and treat various illnesses.” It’s mostly a Buddhist thing and is often associated with Tibet and the Himalayas.
These pictures are outside of the park we regularly walk to. The demolished buildings had little shops that had snacks and tea and fresh juice. It was a place that people gathered and had a nice sense of community and we were shocked to find them knocked down. We don’t really know why the structures were demolished but perhaps they were not built legally or they are planning to build something new. It is not uncommon for buildings to go up without the proper permits or even owning the land.
We decided to buy a net to improve our badminton skills. Here is our first attempt at putting the net up. It worked out OK but when we returned the next day someone had taken the sticks down. We found two trees that actually worked better except when the sun got in our eyes.
The city is working on removing the masses of wires on the poles and will eventually put them underground. For now I think they are getting rid of those wires no longer in use. It is a huge project.
The Project…
Some other interesting pictures from around the neighborhood…
Typical street scene outside our residence.
After many phone calls and trips to various offices, it was time to go to the office of immigration. It took 3 1/2 hours on Wednesday but Rick finally got his non-tourist work visa!! Of course they couldn’t possibly take care of mine at the same time. It only took 2 1/2 hours on Thursday to process mine. We thought this “guard dog” at the bank counter at the immigration office was too funny. He is actually just a fat street dog which is not very common.
What did we do to celebrate? Had Baskin-Robbins ice cream of course.
What is a week without flowers?
As we walk around we see trash in the gutters, dead rats and dog poop on the road, piles of bricks and bags of who knows what along with many other not so pleasant things — but Nepal is a beautiful place and we just keep looking for rainbows.
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