My Favourite Memories From 2 months in Nepal – Part 2
After travelling in Nepal for two months, my mind was jam packed with memories and moments I will never forget. I trekked through the Himalayas, went on safari in the jungle, ate new foods, met so many kind people, experienced a meditation retreat, explored ancient temples, and so much more. From all those memories, I want to pick out my favourite moments and share them here. Part 1 was about the time I crossed a crocodile infested river in Nepal while looking for a rhino. Make sure to check that out too!
Story Two: Never too Old to Play
MARPHA, ANNAPURNA REGION
This story starts with a dog named Sanders. Well, I don’t actually know his name. But for the brief day we knew him, my friend and I called him Sanders. We met him on day 18 of trekking the Annapurna circuit at a beautiful little lake called Dumba Lake in between Jomson and Marpha.
We spent a bit of time enjoying the gorgeous lake and petting Sanders before heading onto Martha, where we planned to spend the night. When we started walking, he followed right along beside us. And, since there are more stray dogs than owned ones, we didn’t think much of it. In fact, we were very happy to have a canine companion for awhile.
It was still a couple hours to Marpha and he stuck with us the entire way, trotting along in front and constantly checking back on us.
When we arrived in Marpha with Sanders still leading the way, I knew right away that it would be a special place. The narrow stone streets, with white brick buildings on either side, had dozens of prayer flags hanging overhead. It already looked like such a unique place, and I hadn’t even seen it from above yet.
We found a hotel that spoke to us, called Hotel Tanpopo. It was one of the nicest places we stayed in along the whole trek. My friend wanted to stay in and shower, so I decided to go for a walk on my own.
But I wasn’t on my own for more than the time it took me to walk out of the hotel because, sure enough, Sanders was there waiting for me.
The area is know for its apple orchards, so I stopped in at a nearby store to pick up a few apples and apple juice. And I’ll tell you, those were the best apples I have ever eaten. Though, I’ll admit, having hiked all day with a heavy backpack on before that could have been factoring into it.
Then, in my usual fashion when I get to a new city, I started wandering around with no goal in mind. I love to get the feel of a place in this way. No need to look at a map, just going in whichever direction looks interesting.
In this manner, I made my way up. The whole village is set on a hill, so up felt like an easy choice to make, bringing me to a higher vantage point. My journey took me up some pretty narrow stairs and along the edge of mud roofs. When I got as high as I could, I found a place to sit.
Sanders was still with me and together we looked out over the village.
After admiring the beauty and uniqueness for awhile, we headed back down to the main street. As we came down the stairs, Sanders ran straight towards a group of young girls. They were a bit nervous so I quickly reassured them that he was friendly.
“Is this your dog?” they asked.
“No”, I replied, “but he’s been following me all day. All the way from Dumba lake! And he’s very nice.”
They thought this was hilarious and wanted to know more. Then they wanted to know other things about me too.
“What’s you mom’s name?”
“Susan.”
“Susan” they all said back to me in a chorus. “What’s your dad’s name?”
When they were tired of asking me about my life, they started telling me about theirs, what they were learning in school, what their families were like, and what games they liked to play. They showed me a clapping and singing game and asked me riddles. They seemed excited if I got stumped and if I knew the answer.
Then, they asked me what my dream was. This seems to be a harder question in your twenties than it is as a child. But, not wanting to unpack that with a group of children, I settled on travelling the world. This answer, paired with the fact that I had walked there all the way from the other side of Thorong La pass, convinced them that my goal was really to walk everywhere in the world. They were very supportive of my ability to achieve that.
While we were talking, the occasional parent would show up to collect their child (or a couple of the children) for dinner. Or some of them would head off on their own. One girl, whose family owned the store we were standing outside, would pop in to help a customer whenever one wandered in.
Another girl’s family owned the hotel I was staying at. So, when I finally headed back and met up with my friend for dinner, she was there too. While we ate dinner and wrote in our journals, she sat with us, finishing up her homework and writing stories in her diary. She can’t have been older than 7, and I was impressed with her focus. She wrote so many stories in the time we sat there!
The Next Day
In the morning, after exploring the beautiful monastery, we stopped by the hotel to drop off some things. On our way back out the door, the little girl saw us and announced that she would be coming with us.
“You need to ask your parents!” we told her.
But she said she always leaves home whenever she wants without asking. Having grown up in a culture where 7 year olds doing pretty much anything without their parents or an adult their parents specifically put in charge is seen as unacceptable, this made us hesitate. But, no adults seemed to be around anyway and she was very convincing, so we didn’t try to stop her.
Not long after getting outside, she started running down the street saying “come on, let me show you my grandparents house, let me show you the monastery.”
Running down the street after her, weaving our way down the street, made me feel so carefree. It was like being a kid again.
After stopping at some of her favourite spots and very briefly meeting her grandparents, we ran into one of her friends. It was another one of the girls from the night before. She was out by herself and decided to join us. This made me feel a bit better about the girl from the hotel leaving without talking to her parents first.
They asked us if we wanted to go to the school with them. Since we had no concrete plans for the day, we said yes. There was a teenage boys’ volleyball game going on and the girls seemed to know some of the players. However, they weren’t interested in the game but in the slide behind the court.
It was a stand alone metal structure with stairs and two slides in the corner of the courtyard and they were so excited to show it to us. They invented a game that consisted of climbing up one of the slides and then sliding down the other. Again and again. And again. And again.
We did this all in a line so there was a constant stream of someone climbing up one slide and someone sliding down the other. It honestly ended up being a pretty good workout. Not that we needed one, given we spend most days walking with heavy backpacks on.
Whenever we wanted to take a break, they would let us for a minute or so and then tell us to keep going! Of course, we could have refused but they were so cute it was hard to. So up and down we went.
At some point we convinced them to take a longer break and shared stories about our lives. They seemed happy, free and independent, and like they didn’t particularly want anything they didn’t have. But what I noticed most is that they seemed somehow both more mature and more like “kids being kids,” than children of the same age I have interacted with back home in Canada. Mature because of their independence and the way they spoke (even in their second language) with each other and us. It felt like they understood that they were just one person in a community of people who mattered and knew how they fit into that. Like “kids being kids” because of the way they played, so content with things so simple.
Eventually an adult showed up and told the younger girl her mother said she needed to come home and eat. So we all headed back to the hotel. We had meant to leave quite a bit earlier in the day, but were having so much fun we stayed. But we took this as our queue to get back on the trail and made our way to the next town.
Part 3 of my favourite memories from 2 months in Nepal coming soon!
In the meantime make sure to check out Story One: A Well Earned Rhino Sighting, about the time I crossed a crocodile infested river in Chitwan National Park.
And you might like these other posts from Nepal:
- Things to know before going to Nepal
- My Nepali Homestay Experience
- What to do in Pokhara: Best Itinerary After a Trek
- Top Gifts from Nepal to Bring Home a Piece of Nepali Culture
