Hike for Village Visit
Posted by Kevin Smith | | Posted On Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Fernando and Carlyle walking in the clouds
You walk everywhere here in Nepal. The only time we've used a car is to go see sights such as the temple and Kathmandu which are at least an hour away. Most locals will use the local buses and get packed in with the chickens and way too many people. Last weekend we went on our first hike to visit a local village. There was a large group of young people going to give a bible study and Jessica was asked to do some dental education. We didn't have a clear idea where we were hiking since they only told us it would take about an hour to get there on foot. It was directly up the hill from the hospital.
Hiking uphill one hour to reach a village
The hospital is at around 4,800ft and the village was at 5600 ft. It definitely takes more breathing to keep going up here and there were a couple times where I stopped to take a couple deep breaths. The locals don't seem to notice the elevation at all. In fact we had people carrying big loads that didn't have any trouble keeping up with us.
These village ladies passed us as we walked up the hill
There were always great views to see along the way. We were walking on the road most of the time but occasionally took foot paths that followed a creek. We usually had to climb fairly steep sections when we left the road to take "shortcuts".
Jessica was happy to skip one very steep climb
Jessica greeting a water buffalo on the hike, he ran away after smelling her
This calf followed me around to lick my sweaty fist
The only way they eat corn is when it's dried out, not appetizing
Once we reached the village we attracted a crowd. The church regularly visits this village so there was a fair number of regulars that came. They sang some songs and then it was Jessica's turn to conduct some dental education. It is always tough to stay attentive when everyone has to wait for translators.
The people from the village who gathered to listen
Village teens listening surprisingly attentively
Boys reading a religious pamphlet they were just given
We had a great opportunity to take pictures of people while they were watching the presenters. It is amazing to see the people here. Helmets are optional on motorcycles. Kids ride on the roof of buses. You rarely see guardrails and there is no such thing as pedestrian right of way. To think that there are people here that only travel around their local village. TV is a new rare luxury and most have no idea what the internet is. All the luxuries of home aren't necessary to be happy though. There were plenty of smiles to capture on film.
Village boy with the usual snotty nose
Old man wearing a traditional men's Nepali hat
Happy village girl
I took some panoramas but I haven't had a chance to stitch them together. Look for updates soon.
LOVE sharing your adventures with you...what a wonderful experience!! Love you MOM
Great pics! I like the one of Jess and the water buffalo... the buffalo looks smaller than I imagined it would be. Bet Jessica has her dental ed spiel all planned out now! :)
-Allison
Hey Kevin & Jessica, looks like you are having a great time. Proud of both of you. Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tom