18 April: Kathmandu to Pokhara, Nepal

18 April

We had to get up at 5.30am to have breakfast by 6.15am and off by around 6.45am to catch a bus to Pokhara at 7am. I woke up before the wakeup call but felt tired but fine. I got my stuff organised and took it downstairs. Gordon and Pat were sitting in the lobby so we all decided to have breakfast. There was a simple breakfast on in the dining room.

Krishna arrived and put our bags in the cars. I didn’t feel right letting him do it, as it is our things. We were supposed to have most of our things go with Krishna and just an overnight bag for Pokhara. We got into the taxi’s and drove to the bus station. It was fascinating to see 20 to 30 buses all lined up. Ours was somewhat down the line. We had to get out of the taxi, brave the traffic and cross the road. There was a dividing fence but I threw my things over and jumped the fence. I am sure some of the women smiled at the crazy western woman. We then piled our stuff into the back compartment of the bus. I ended up putting all my things there, a decision that proved wise later.

We headed out through Kathamandu, it was a long drive in the traffic and I marvelled at how many homes there are, Peter assures me it is around 2.7 million in this city but to me it seems more like 8 million. It is a densely packed city and it is hard to know how accurate census data is. We drove on bumpy roads, past many high rise homes and little shops that dot the streets. There are many needs to supply in this city. It seems incredible that needs get met as the population is growing. Many are leaving country areas to find work in the city. It impacts the traditional family dynamic as family members either go overseas (25% of GDP) or they get work in Kathmandu or other cities. So as you see typically in third world country having a demographic shift into cities joining the fight for jobs and survival. Many have come from agrarian backgrounds. I have just recently found out that in Upper Mustang the villagers have been experiencing severe drought and normal pastures are becoming deserts.  They need the pasture to graze the Yaks but with the change in climate this is forcing villagers who so deeply identify with the land and their customers, they are driven off the land into the cities.  According to some statistics I was shown that currently 5% of the population are in the cities with 95% in the country.  In my experience so far, we haven’t seen the usual lifestyle in Nepal. I noted the tangle of overhead wires appearing in disarray but seeming to work, the primitive building techniques without safety options, constructed bamboo scaffolding and the hustle and bustle of a city. So many cars and many riding motorbikes.  You can imagine if they all decide cars are the way to go. I found out from a taxi driver that they are sold small cars from India but they have a 50% tax on them which boosts the price to $10,000.  I couldn’t believe that, we would spend $800 on the same car second hand in Australia.  So the Nepalese are not getting the best deal there. 

We travelled through the Kathmandu valley, the smog was just hanging over the city, it obscures the mountains and the natural beauty there. Such a rush towards capitalism yet the externalities (pollution, social decay) are ignored. I saw many people sitting around in groups, there are strong communities and I suspect close families but I wonder for how long given the natural separation that occurs in capitalist societies. In my own country Australia, so many children leave their cities and never live near their parents. The break up and separation of families is evident.

We travelled away from Kathmandu city on a single lane concrete highway under construction. It was really bumpy and in places very dangerous, as the road is being constructed and expanded. You see so many trucks on the roads and no bikes I observed. It reminded me of travelling away from Srinagar in Kashmir weaving through the mountains. The trip was very bouncy and slow to start with. I was surprised to note that they stopped at the right time for toilet stops. They gave us 20 minutes (first stop), 30 minutes (toilet) and then a 30 minute lunch stop. The toilets were squat toilets and clean. There was food available at every stop. You could stand and look at the magnificent river winding its way carving the mountain valleys.

In the country the scenery was lovely and there were pockets of villages or small towns. You see people walking along the road, sometimes with goats, children walking, carrying items or doing construction work. I saw people in rice fields undertaking back breaking work. You could see the use of primitive equipment used for breaking rocks with picks or using excavation equipment that would be used in a modern country on roads. Side by side was technology and tradition. In the cities you see people carrying heavy loads using material to secure the load by a strap wrapped around the forehead. So they lean over and balance the load. So much manual labour. You can only wonder at the injuries and wearing out the body with such hard physical work.

In the countryside you started to see a few chickens, cows and goats. But there was no evidence of animal farming. I saw some warehouses. Occasionally modern buildings but typically the housing was multi-storey, some in excellent condition with bright colours and ornate designs and diamond shapes depicting the culture of Nepal and other buildings were dilapidated or just bricks and tin roofs. I marvel at the inequality in this life. I don’t know how we can be blind to how some live and do nothing. I saw a man lying on the ground and no-one stops. We are all like this. We assume they do it to themselves, perhaps they do but where is the community spirit?  When do we support each other?

I see similarities across the sub-continent in terms of lifestyle and music. Indian influence is apparent and I could see similarities in lifestyle in Thailand, Kashmir, Vietnam and Nepal. It would be interesting to go to China (another border) and check out the traditions. Of course Tibet borders this country and a significant percentage of Tibetans live in Nepal.

As we travelled through the countryside the view was obscured by both smoke and/or smog. It was hard to see the majesty of the mountains. Yet you could get a feel. The boulders in the river were huge and spectacular. I could imagine them tumbling down. I could see it was a larger mountain range then the Andes (4,000 metres approximately), apparently the higher mountains here are over 8,000 metres. It is hard to imagine. Yet it is beautiful.

The trip was uneventful and peaceful. I had chats with Peter about my peace education work. Until we find peace within we cannot unlock the potential of humanity. When people are so distracted by having to make money so much potential is lost. I like the idea of a universal basic wage or global basic wage. Whereby people’s basics needs are taken care of freeing them up to do what they love. When you look at craft based industries or philosophy inherent in mandalas (spiritual artefacts) you are not lost on the incredible talent of art and expression. Yet this is not valued in a business oriented society where what makes money is the first question, not the last. So I wonder at the talents and dreams of people left unexpressed like the flower that never opens.  In the dark you can’t feel the sunshine.

We stopped for lunch and had the most wonderful dish with vegetables, masala, noodles/rice, and raw vegetables. I was hungry and it so filled the spot. I bought some water. We shared our meal with Mike a young medical student having a gap year and travelling to Pokhara to work with disabled kids. He was travelling alone and living it up before he starts his long medical degree. He was a lovely guy and told us about living in England and the poor weather putting people off travelling in their own country. He spoke of his family involved in medical professions and currently studying. He said his path was laid out. I chatted to him a bit about alternative medicine and the idea of treating the whole person rather than fighting disease. I explained it is often called dis-ease as people’s illnesses often come from depression and unhappiness. I told him about hospital clowning and the importance of the inner chemistry set and the ability of people to heal themselves. He didn’t disagree even though he is a proponent of modern medicine. I felt he was open minded. My point is that 2,000 years of Chinese homoeopathy of the does prove it works and I like the ideas of treating problems with herbs rather than invasive chemicals. Often one thing is treated and then another side effect occurs, so we don’t have a holistic approach to the body, it is not non-scientific, it is common sense to treat the whole organism as all parts communicate, they are not islands and the mind has a powerful effect on whether a person lives or dies. He was a sweet guy and I enjoyed talking with him. Suddenly the driver’s assistant came looking for us urging us back on the bus. Lunch was a great reviver on a long trip.

We arrived at Pokhara around 4.30pm, a long day but a good day. I noticed there was Mitsubishi and Toyota car companies there and wondered about the city being supported by the car industry and of course, tourism. It is a beautiful city, you could see immediately it is clean, the roads are in good condition. Peter tells me there have been improvements since he was there last. We got off the bus and the usual bustling crowd of tourists and taxi’s were jostling to find and provide transport. You could see some tourists (women) were feeling overwhelmed and unsure, out of their comfort zone. I note the Nepalese are very polite, much more so then the highly populated Indian cities, where it is dog eat dog. I leaned against the taxi whilst Gordon rushed to get his iPad (left on the bus). I watched everyone communicating and trying to get organised with tourists and taxi’s. My driver was a young guy with a punchy attitude. He looked a little Bollywood with his glasses and hair style, seems to be the in thing with young guys. He drove fairly quickly, yelled across me to say hi to a friend. I laughed at him and praised his city.

It looked a lot like Srinagar, yet without the houseboats. You could see thick tree covered mountains and a wonderful lake and river system running past. Huge trees were along the banks and the streets were not so busy, and in good condition. You could see it was a tourist place as it was beautiful to look at, it looked wealthy and clean. Tourist from Europe would love it. Indeed, I was to discover they do.

We got to the hotel and I ended up taking a large room, more like a small flat, I was really happy. We put all our stuff in and then had drinks on the verandah. I could see the mountains, still obscured by smog or smoke not sure which. The buildings were more spread out and it seemed expensive where we were. Peter tells us we were on the edge of the tourist sector. You turn left to go into that area along the river or go in the opposite direction. Around 5km away is the real Pokhara and I am keen to see that. I am not into tourist areas but happy to go with the flow to explore this side of life as well. People with lots of money buying lots of cheap clothes and crafts etc. There is also a new age industry that seems to flock to places like this to try and connect to spirituality e.g Reiki, massage and Yoga etc. I did feel the energy here and it is a high energy, so I am not surprised healers or would be healers are attracted.

We decided to go for a walk and see the shops. I bought a singing bowl as I feel to play with harmonics. I also stopped in a mandala shop and find myself drawn to the harmony depicted in the pictures. So I took a few photos, can’t really afford to buy the pictures, they are not expensive around 1500 rupees or $15, they are hand painted. But I felt I didn’t need it, I can paint myself and perhaps that is a better process of stillness. I can envisage activations can occur through the pictures and some of the written material confirmed this. These are deep spiritual traditions of thousands of years that I can barely understand, I am instinctively drawn, but have no idea what the deeper meaning is. I just know that they knew how to access higher dimensions. In so many so-called primitive cultures there was deep awareness, philosophy and tradition unlocked the understanding of the spiritual life. In the West we can awkwardly point towards it but it is really a shadow of what is real, I can understand the yearning of many for deeper truths. Even back in Kathmandu some Australian’s were doing sound healing and I could feel the desire of those in the west seeking to heal from a world deeply out of alignment with truth and harmony, that is why cancer is on the increase (in my view) and people are suffering mental illness, they are not connected to what is deeply meaningful and nurturing in life. 

We walked a long and Pat bought some fossils. They are interesting in that they are housed in volcanic rock (black), I could see spiral patterns in the fossils, the blueprint of life. I would like to get one but am cautious with money. Do I need it? I did buy some nice pants and top, as these clothes are more my style. I only spent $13 or 1,300 rupees. It was very cheap.

We stopped for coffee and drinks overlooking the mountains and spectacular lake. Gordon had checked out the price of boats at around 360 rupees, seems so cheap. So we will go boating tomorrow.

As we walked along this man stared at me deeply. I stared at him in recognition but didn’t know what to say. He initiated the conversation and remembered me from Fremantle in Perth. Can you believe I am walking down a Nepalese street at the perfect moment to meet a man I knew in Perth. He is Tibetan and I used to sit with him at Fremantle Markets and talk with him about peace. He had a Tibetan shop and there were peace artefacts there which drew me in. In fact the bag I have for clowning here I bought in his shop. He was so surprised to see me. I didn’t get to say goodbye. I did tell him I would come to see him when clowning, so when I did he wasn’t there. I left and never got to say goodbye. He was with his wife but deeply unhappy. We talked a lot about peace and changing thoughts, I told him about Byron Katie (see www.thework.com) to transform negative to positive thoughts. We were friends of sorts. He gave me his number and I gave him mine. It seems we were destined to meet. I laughed and walked on amazed at such a meeting.

Our group decided to go to dinner the four of us. So Peter took us to a nice restaurant with Nepalese music and dancing. Gordon and I had a discussion about beauty. I noted when I closed my eyes I could see the beauty of the singer who sat behind the dancers and next to the male tablar players and harmonica player. She seemed somewhat to the side, a little over weight and somewhat unhappy. I noted that, as a clown, I see to look. The female dancers were beautiful physical as were the men. They were great dancers, no doubt, but I am sure they are the ones that get the attention. Gordon gave them tips in their box to try and encourage the other tourists to tip them. He didn’t start a stampede. I also put money in the tip box and smiled at this singer. Then Gordon and I spoke later and he decided to go up and tell her she is beautiful and a great singer. I decided to go up with him so she didn’t feel hit upon. She took the compliment from both of us and you could see her light up as she told her male counterpart. She felt happy and beautiful. We spoke of the culture of beauty and the advantages of it and how often ugly people or plain people are overlooked. I personally look for the beauty in the eyes, in the smile and in who the person is, I do not care much about aesthetics. We are all affected by attractiveness but really it is not everything, it is who a person is that I find beautiful and we barely know people to really discover that jewel.

We had a wonderful dinner, everyone was yawning and it was time to go back to the hotel. I am happily reporting on the day and will finish up now. It has been a long day but very eventful and I am doing much contemplation. I am considering how people manifest their lives based on their beliefs, there is no superior/inferior there are only beliefs and focus. The questions for all people are – what are your desires? what do you focus on mostly? and what do you create as a result? Everything we think about affects our lives, it does indeed create our lives. So overtime I am discarding this idea of winners and losers, I am thinking more about consciousness, awareness and spiritual awakening and that has no borders, the only limits come from beliefs.

So with that beautiful thought and my constant focus on peace, I totally believe the future is fantastic. I recall the Sydney guy I met back in Kathmandu Guest House telling me he has no television or technology yet he believed he wanted things to change quickly and he saw a ‘big stick’ as the answer. I was surprised given he was with a spiritual group of healers. What I saw was that he was limiting himself and feeling resistance in some way. It is not important what the rest of the world is doing, what matters is – are we happy? Can we accept the world as it is and not force change? (many of whom don’t like the current system of control). Can we just give love to those who disagree with us? Can we be the change we wish to see in the world? (as Gandhi guided) or continue in the same old paradigm.

I am happy with what is and my world is changing as I change. I am at peace with others and their choices, but I am available to offer another way if people are interested, if not, then all is good and as it should be.