When We're Out & About--Part 3, "Kathmandu Sights!"

Hi!  Hope everyone reading this is having a nice day!  We're fine, and just busy as usual!  Ramon was happily working with Colorado's Centura Global Health Initiatives OB/GYN team who were here for female surgeries.  They come here about twice a year for these much needed surgeries.

We are all thankful that they are willing to come during their vacations to serve others in need.

THANKS!

It's now time, however, for the next part of the series about what we see and do in Kathmandu on our day off and this post will focus on some of the sights we see in Kathmandu.  Of course, there are lots of pictures of Kathmandu in this blog (including the cover picture of this blog), but I'll try and put up new ones today!

Kathmandu is an interesting city to say the least!  If you don't know much about it, you may enjoy reading this page from Wikitravel:  http://wikitravel.org/en/Kathmandu

You never know what you might see there.  Here's an example of something we just stumbled upon one day:

This made me say, "Ramon, we're not in Kansas anymore!"

This was actually not long after we arrived and if you missed that blog post, 

you can read it here.

(By the way, the pictures are smaller in those beginning posts because 

I didn't realize I could make them bigger!  Really!  Smile!)  

Sometimes we see new kinds of Pringles:

Now maybe many cities have these flavors, but we hadn't seen them before.

No, we haven't tried them!  We stick to Sour Cream and Onion!

(However, I do miss Salt and Vinegar chips which must not have caught on here.  Once, they did have them, but never again.  They were not Pringles and were from another country which I can't remember, but they were still good!  Oh well!  Something to look forward to at home!)

Update:  Look what we found this week!!!

They're from Germany and they're delicious!

Here's something else you see in the grocery stores that we are not planning on trying!

Maybe someone reading this likes these, so please don't mind that we will leave them for you to eat!

Something else we see there that we don't see at home is this:

Yes, this a squat pot in a department store.  It's a normal sight here.

You flush by emptying the bucket into the toilet.

The "nice" thing about this particular one is that it is "A Room With A View!"

See what I mean?

Since it's on the top floor of the store, you can enjoy the view!

 Sometimes we see decorations for festivals.

and decorations you can buy.

You see gatherings of people, sometimes for political conversations.

(Never found out what this was...anyone know?)

Everywhere you look (it seems) you see stupas and temples.

The buses and trucks often have cute little sayings on them,

or pictures of dead celebrities.

I've also got pictures of Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison on the backs of vehicles,
but of course at this moment I can't find any!

You can also find these guys on throws too!

Because not everyone can read (although each year literacy is up),
there are lots of picture messages around Kathmandu.

Once we stumbled upon the Kathmandu Half-Marathon.
Yes, that is smog they are breathing!

Now you can see why I usually come home with a headache!

There are lots of statues in Kathmandu.

Policemen are always in evidence.

and sometimes soldiers.

My favorite thing to see in Kathmandu though is a smile on the face of
my husband as he relaxes!

Well, that's enough for now!  Next time I'll show pictures of where we shop
and where we eat.

Have a nice day, take care, and God bless!

Doctor Profile

Hi!  This post is going to redirect you to our hospital's blog where my husband is the subject of the new series, "Doctor Profiles."  I'm a proud wife!  Enjoy!  Have a nice day, take care, and God bless!

http://scheermemorialhospital.blogspot.com/

When We're Out & About--Part 2, "Dhulikhel & Nagarkot"

For Part 2 of "When We're Out and About" I'm going to tell you about a recent day off, when we went to Dhulikhel instead of Kathmandu, and then also when we went to Nagarkot.  These two towns have amazing views of the Himalayas.  Since Dhulikhel is only three miles and a five minute drive, we decided to go there not long ago and relax without a long ride and with peace and quiet.  Yes, we do like to go to Kathmandu, but sometimes it's nice to do something different.  Dhulikhel is just up and over the mountains we see here right behind our campus and our apartment.  (Yes, that's the view from our living room window!)

If you climb up to the top of that mountain, you will be at an elevation of one mile, and you will get to this tower:

where, if you're lucky, you can see the mountains behind Dhulikhel.  Naturally, when we hiked up there, we didn't see the mountains.  Yes, they are there, behind the haze.

  If you missed the post about that hike, you can read it here.

When the sky is clear, this is the view we've had while in Dhulikhel:

  Sorry to say, this visit we didn't have that lovely view.

This is the view we had:

 

:)

We didn't mind though, because we knew what was back there behind the cloudy haze, and we wanted to  rest and relax, which we did.

I finally had time to get in some good reading--yeah!

Ramon enjoyed some computer time.

 During an afternoon walk, the clouds slightly (slightly!) parted and if you looked really hard, you could see a glimpse of a peak or two.  Look closely now!

Look more closely:

Well, it was like a fleeting dream, but still awesomely beautiful!

It's like the saying, "Now you see it, now you don't!"

There is a sign to tell you the names of the mountains back there.

However, I must say, that this winter has been the cloudiest and haziest winter since we've been here,
and it seems like the warmest too.  Mind you, it's definitely winter, but it's not as cold as in the past.
  I suppose that's why we have more hazy skies this year.  Usually, in the past three winters,
during the days, we had crisp blue skies, like this:

Now that's a blue sky!
This is the kind of sky you get here when it's really cold!
This picture is from the trip my mother and I took to the tourist destination city
of Pokhara when she was here.  If you missed it, and want to see more, click here.
That will take you to Part 2.  At the end of Part 2, click "Older Posts" to see Part 1.

Another place we have gone to which is an hour's drive closer to the mountains, is the scenic mountain village of Nagarkot.  This sign awaits you when you arrive at Club Himalaya.

As you can see, it says that only the lucky ones get to see the Himalayas on their first visit!

Were my mom and I lucky when we went?
Yes!  Here's the proof:

If you missed them and you want to see the pics of that trip,
you can find them here.
(Again, that link goes to the second post about Nagarkot, and the first one is after that in the "Older Posts.")
(That first one called, "Nagarkot and More" has a surprise--the "More" part!)

Were Ramon and I lucky when we went?
Yes, and No!
When we first arrived, this was our view:

THEN the clouds started parting!

Pretty awesome!  As they say, "This is what I'm talking about!"
This makes you glad you're out and about in Nepal--and we are glad!

Anyway, that's it for now.  Next time, some more pics of what we've seen lately in Kathmandu.
Take care and God bless!

When We're Out & About--Part 1

Some of you have wondered what we see when we're out and about, so that's what this post is going to show you.  On Wednesdays, we have "Town Day," which is when we go shopping in Kathmandu and today you get to go along for the ride!  (Of course, sometimes Ramon doesn't get to go because he's too busy, but sometimes he can--yeah!)

We ride in the hospital's van with a driver,

who I'm very thankful for, as nothing could persuade me to drive here!
Of course, now that I've been here for 3 1/2 years, it doesn't seem so hectic to me anymore!
(When I first went to Paraguay, I was afraid of the traffic.
Now when I'm there, it seems very mild to me!)

This is a two-way street!

...and so is this.

Here we have four rows of vehicles in two lanes--plus motorcycles here and there...


...and everywhere!

Recently as we left the hospital, we passed this young lady eating her breakfast right outside the gate.  (Our apartment is right behind the big round tree.)

We pass through Banepa, which is sometimes crowded,

and sometimes not so crowded.

One can enjoy the colorful shops along the way,

and then we head west to Kathmandu.  It's a pretty ride, filled with these scenes.

Here is a terraced hill we pass as it looks on a cloudy day.

On a sunny day, (this is the same place as above)
you can get a nice peek at the mighty and beautiful Himalayas!

Let's have a closer look!

I have to tell you that we never get tired of seeing this!

If you lived here, you'd have this view every sunny day!

 
Often we see people working outside in the warm sunshine and good sunlight...

...and if it's a holiday, as it was on this day, the children will be happily playing.

However, some "folks" just like to sit around and enjoy the views

while watching others work!

Notice this fellow has bare legs and flip flops (no socks) in our cold winter air.

This gentleman with another heavy load has trousers on, but again, no socks.

We always see people washing up outside at springs or wells,

(Sorry this one is blurry.)

and people worshiping, which you can see that this lady is about to do.

At almost any place on any road, you can see people tending their shops.

Everywhere you go you see people walking!  

Here are some adorable school children.  Yes, they have learned nicely how to walk on a highway!

This lady was walking so fast (no socks either) up hill no less, that she is blurred!

These ladies are going home with their firewood.

Eventually, 17 miles and about an hour later, we roll into Kathmandu.

Stay tuned for Part 2, which will show you what we see and do in Kathmandu!
Take care and God bless!