Himalaya

20th of September

I didn’t see much of the mountains when I arrived by plane to Khatmandu, and the sight from the valley was limited. First when leaving for Chitwan could I for the first time see and feel the scene of the mountains. The landscape which unfolded before me was astonishing but yet so modest. We followed a big river down for a while, that gently expressed every curve of the mountain and never seemed to force its way through. From all over the mountainside sprung small waterfalls which, as the river they were joining, didn’t seem to be in any hurry.

Along the way did farmers what they could to grow on these slopes, often steeper then 45 degrees. The stairs they’d created went on for kilometers, persistent to use what they had. The small villages where spread out with just a couple of houses in each, most of them along the road. Some where placed inconvenient on the other side of the river and either suspension bridges or cableways had to be built to access these. All this made for a very picturesque view.

I’m now at the Buddhist monastery, located just as it should on a mountaintop over a village, only available by endless amounts of stairs. From the top you can see as long as the humidity allows even thou that aren’t particularly far. During the day it gets very hot, unless it’s raining, so the naturally clean stream that runs through the monastery is most welcome for chilling showers.

On the ground I sometimes find the rests of figs and starfruit which apparently grows in the forest around the monastery. The local shy monkeys are often seen close to our houses, or at least you hear when the dogs go off chasing in amongst the trees. These woods are old and tall, with an undergrowth that makes it a struggle to enter.

This place is really isolated, as well as exotic. Thou mostly isolated, and I’m not used to it.