Namaste,
We arrived in Kathmandu and this certainly was an initial culture shock for our kids! The city is crazy, but the kids soon found their groove sightseeing, market shopping, bartering and learning some Nepalese phrases. We visited The Monkey Temple, took a rickshaw ride through the city and visited ‘The Garden of Dreams’ before heading to Pokhara on a 7 hour bus ride. Some roads in Nepal are certainly something that needs to be seen to be believed, with no road signs or traffic lights and many trucks and buses sharing an unsealed bumpy road on the side of the mountain.
Graeme Kent, a local to Ballarat, from his not for profit company Aussie Action Abroad has dedicated much of his life and retirement to fund raising for the Nepalese communities, and working tirelessly on many many projects spanning 25 years. It was such a pleasure to meet Graeme’s contacts in Nepal!
We learnt about and witnessed firsthand some of the projects Graeme and his team have worked tirelessly on and completed over the years in Nepal. Many of the Ballarat community have also visited Nepal and contributed as well by helping build schools, assisting families through education and providing supplies, and employing locals in jobs in tourism for guiding and trekking. Graeme’s contribution to Nepal has been so heartwarming and it was so wonderful for me to finally see with my own eyes, how successful his efforts have been and the difference Graeme has made to many Nepalese people. Thank you Graeme.
My family and I visited an Autism Centre in Pokhara that Graeme has helped fund and set up. For more information on Graeme's work, please click here.
“Nepal is one of those rare places that is still relatively untouched by tourism, and its people are genuine and friendly.”
The wedding was in Pokhara, which is a lovely tourist town located by the picturesque lake. In true Nepalese tradition the wedding spanned over 3 days and was so special for us to be part of a Nepalese wedding. We all enjoyed dressing in the traditional Nepalese style wedding attire and had lots of fun celebrating with the happy couple! Congratulations Shraya and Jack and may you have a long and happy life together!
The highlight for us was the trek we did. We left Pokhara and hiked up to the Australian Camp which was about 2000 feet above sea level. We visited villages overlooking the other famous mountain ‘Fishtail’ or the official name Machapuchare in the Annapurna mountain range. This experience was so authentic, and it was lovely to see the kids interacting and playing with local children in these remote villages.
Nepal is one of those rare places that is still relatively untouched by tourism, and its people are genuine and friendly. The Nepalese people don’t want for much and lead a fairly basic and uncomplicated lifestyle, especially up high in the mountain village communities. We loved our trip to Nepal and felt so grateful to experience this beautiful country!
Renae
