Sunday, August 17, 2008

The Best Things In Life R FREE..

An article today in The Sunday Times about Miss Posh Nosh having to be frugal for a week with no car no aircon..no dining @ fine restaurants ..luxuries most Singaporeans are used to..for others its just no sweat....its just a matter of getting accustomed to change...the only constant thing is change..having fireflies next to you when you sleep IS a nice change..time to reflect...miss those magical flying glowthings...

Free lessons in humility...the best gift from this trip to Nepal..one the poorest countries in the world..but so much richness in the heart and soul of it all..the average worker takes home only approx 2500 to 5000 RS which converts to about US$50 to US$100 per month..not much when compared to the rest of the world but they get by with lots of love in their hearts..I'm in paradise..there's just a little more sunlight in the heart...a genuine gift to kids on the streets..just a mere 50 rupees..not much by standards but to them it means alot..in exchange for the most wonderful smile?..priceless..

**little brother getting a piggyback after skool@ Pokhara..

**Even the dogs R happy here @Pokhara

Pokhara. Images of a perfectly serene Phewa Tal starts to form in my mind...Phewa Tal, Nepal's 2nd largest lake...Pokhara ..a beautiful mini town with literally hundreds of shops overflowing with buddhist ritual items, nepali souvenirs, newari puppets, huge scary masks, crystals of all shapes and sizes, mantras of all kinds filled the air..Mention Pokhara and trekkers would instantly think of the famous Annapurna Circuit Trek..I was invited to stay for 3 days in a little village in Pokhara by nuns from Khachoe Ghakyil Ling nunnery.. who also became my good pals in Kathmandu and made sure I had the best of everything during my stay..They had the whole week off and took the opportunity to showcase their little tibetan exile community (what they call refugee camp) ..We started off bright and early ..Ani P came to my room @ Shambhala Guesthouse at 7am and dragged me off my bed.."Wake Up! Wake Up!"..Packed clothes for 3 days and off we went...took a taxi to the bus station and we had a nice little rickety 6 hr ride to the final destination..amazing view of the surrounding hills..stopped midway and had Daal Bhaat (typical nepali staple food of rice & lentil soup) for lunch..forgot to mention that the bus driver seemed to be gearing up for the upcoming F1 race ...tho this race track had deep ravines on the other side and every sharp turn could send us plummeting down God knows how many metres...by the end of the ride our brains jiggled too much n turned to putty..just wanted to lie down and sleep it off..Dragged our feets and our bags across an equally rickety wooden bridge with roaring rapids below...plonked everything down @ her dad's home and his rhythmic chants of Om Mani Padme Hung from outside soon lulled me into deep sleep....he never stops his recitations and I guessed that he must have passed the 1 million mark by now...am inspired to step up in my own "homework" & practise..

‘By reciting one hundred million Mani, all the myriad living organisms in your body will be blessed by Avalokiteshvara ( Guanyin ), and when you die even the smoke from the cremation of your corpse will have the power to protect whoever inhales it from rebirth in the lower realms’ …. Karandaryuha Sutra

* rented a boat for 250 Rs (S$5)..good for 1 hr of rowing..@ Pokhara Lakeside and had the most wonderful time ..am at the front of the boat..we alternated between Resham Firiri..(a popular Nepali folk song)..and row row row your boat....it just gets funnier by the minute..
Resham Firiri Resham Firiri..Udeyara jounkee dandama bhanjyang
Resham firiri...Eknale banduk, dui nale banduk, mirgalai takeko.Mirgalai mailey takeko hoina mayalai daukeyko....~this song's about 2 ill fated lovers who are physically separated by mountains ..but remains united in love

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