After a few more days on the farm in Shukranagar, we returned to Boudha for the New Year. We harvested honey for a couple more days and did some more work out in the fields, but the work each day took only 1-2 hours and the rest of the time we had very little to do but sit and read or ponder our existence. The most we could do was walk about 10 minutes into the village and get tea and samosas while the people gathered round to stare at us. Some made conversation, which was nice. The days were long, though, and with so little to do we found ourselves watching movies with the son and daughter on their computer. After 15 days it felt a little like freeloading: not working very much but taking up space and eating food. The food consisted of Dal Bhat twice a day every day (rice with a thin lentil soup and some curried vegetables). It was always delicious, but 2 weeks of no variety wore on our morale a little bit a think. We would sit around and talk about nachos, sushi, and the salad bar at Whole Foods.
So now we are back in Boudha. A friend that we have made here from Utah has graciously given us a place to live for free. We insisted on paying a little rent, but he refused, so to show our appreciation we have offered him the jar of pure, unadulterated honey we brought with us from the farm. Being back in Kathmandu is nice. The other day we went on a hike into the hills looking for Kopan Monastery, and a few days later we went on another walk and actually found it. The grounds of the monastery were beautifully landscaped and there were monks playing soccer in the courtyard. There's another monastery and a hill nearby that we intend to walk to another day. The other day we went with a friend into Patan, which has a square of ancient temples and some small hidden temples down alleyways and side streets.
It is nice having variety in our diet. We've gone to my favorite restaurant, Double Dorjee, quite a lot since being back. They have really delicious Wantan soup, which is as close as I'll get to my mom's Peli Meni's while I'm away. We only have two weeks left, which is crazy to think about. We've been travelling for just over 15 weeks now and I think we're both ready to get back to some of the comforts of home.
I hope you are all safe, happy, healthy, and warm.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I am writing an article about wwoof in India, I an a french student in journalism. Manorama School of Communication in India ( Kottayam)
ReplyDeleteI would like to use your experience in my article. It is only for the paper of our school.
If you are agree, could you give me more details about you ? Age, studies, expenses of your travel, why you have choose wwoof ?
thank you
Amelie Benoist