THE A-Z OF NEPAL Part 2
28 06 2007A few years ago I spent some time doing voluntary work (building a school) in rural Nepal.
It was far and away the best experience of my life. The warmth and the friendliness of the people despite everything they have to put up with is something I will never forget.
When I got home I wrote a 6000 word A-Z of Nepal for the volunteers the next year so they would have a bit more of an idea when they arrived.
This was all 4 years ago so some of the information is out of date. Nevertheless, I am going to serialise it here.
Here is the second part, D to G (G is for government is my favourite entry!)
A to C is here
The A-Z of Nepal
D
D is most definitely for Daalbaat – Nepalis never ever get tired of lentils (daal) and rice (baat). Its not just the meal they eat twice a day, every day – its also their best friend too. Eaten with only the right hand (see J forJuttho) it is served in huge portions twice a day at around 8.30am and again at around 7.30pm. While obesity is an extreme rarity in Nepal, a small Daalbaat belly is a common enough sight in males over 30 years old.
D is also for Dung – an incredibly useful substance. If there is a lack of fertiliser, cement, or plaster then this can double as an effective substitute. Dung production is happily not subject to the many disruptions that other forms of production are liable to be interrupted by, such as strikes. There is a never-ending supply.
D is finally for Durbar Square – every major town or city in Nepal will have a Durbar square somewhere. They are the centres of noise and bustle in the towns and like as not there will be an open-air market somewhere in the vicinity.
Durbar Square - Kathmandu
E
E is for Everest – Everest is only its name in the Western world. In Nepali it is called Sagarmatha. If you don’t fancy the base camp trek the best views are to be found at Nagarkot, which is about an hour bus ride from Kathmandu. If you feel really flush you can splash out on a $100 air trip around the mountain. During your time in Nepal you will read in the papers about a succession of lunatics attempting to climb it in more and more ludicrously difficult ways. Keep your eyes peeled for an Everest attempt by someone walking backwards or something. I have a friend who paid $150 for a plane trip around it and because he got drunk the previous evening he slept through the whole thing.
E is for Expats – many to be found in Nepal. If they are young then it’s a 99% chance they have a rafting or trekking company. If they are older then it’s a 99% chance that they used to have a rafting or trekking company and now own a restaurant or two in the tourist areas.
F
F is for Family – if you are attempting to be polite (or if you are on good terms with someone) you do not use Mr. Miss Mrs. Or Ms. It is best to refer to people by what their relation to you would be. For example, a man 2 years younger than you would be referred to as Bhai = younger brother. A woman 2 years older than you would be Didi = big sister. The full list is as follows.. Ba = Father, Amaa = Mother, Dhai = elder brother, Bhai = younger brother, Didi = elder sister, and Bahini = younger sister.
F is for Freak Street – situated just off Durbar Square Kathmandu, Freak Street was the hippie hangout in Nepal for many years. Since the invention of Thamel (see T for Thamel) much of the life in this street has moved elsewhere in the city.
F is also for Fuss - see X for X-factor
G
G is for Goats – No Nepali village or town is complete without a few goats running around. They can be sold for around $40 or eaten. Bone and skin are eaten as well as the meat.
G is for Government – (see also A for Army, M for Maoists and R for Royalty) Government in Nepal is a little like recycling – everyone claims that they are doing it but very few people actually seem to be.
G is for Guides – there are two kinds of guide, one is the city guide who is like as not a chancer and wants a few hundred rupees for touring you around wherever you are standing already. The other is a trekking guide who will drive you to the point of exhaustion and be extremely nice to you while he is doing it.
Very interesting article. I hope you had a wonderful days in the country. In order to promote the country’s tourism festival, i am blogging there. Sometime small effort seems to go a long way! Hope you have corruption for C, L for lousy politician, N for Neglected Nepalese but rich politicians who are after money! Have a nice day you all.
i loved nepal so much. i will definitely go there again when i get the chance.
the people were incredible, there were so many bad things happening and they are still the nicest people i have met anywhere
They eat the bones? How do they do that?
suck the marrow
I was born in the region (Kashmir) but haven’t got around to visiting Nepal. Looks fantastic. Goats are not unusual around our way either. You can often find yourself travelling with them and trying to avoid their back and front ends on the back of a cramped suzuki minivan.