Nepal – Family outing and heading home!

This might not quite be the last one as I have a topic I would like to cover for all the countries Tatjana and I travelled to next.

Back to Nepal.

After the trek we had a day resting and then the whole family at the Dragon Homestay and I went for another 8 mile hike. Again this was a little closer to their home. Romi and I both had bright Tops shirts and apart from the colours clashing we seemed to attract insects.

Hiking up in the hills to the East of Kathmandu Valley this time. It seems drier here, I think it has it’s own microclimate, it has a slightly different geology, the soil being redder and it is heavily populated. We passed a whole load of little bee hives, these are for their native honey bee Apis Cerana. Smaller than it’s European cousin and the colonies are smaller too. As an aside I had a chance to taste the honey from the giant honeybee Apis Dorsata at Raj’s and it was a little different, partially ‘set’ with a slight bitterness to it. I can’t say if it’s always like that, it was amazing just to try it, as it’s so difficult to collect.

The fern above is used as a sort of tattoo by children, it’s great on dark skin, it didn’t show up on mine at all.

At some point on our walk Kriti and I heard an animal sound, a sort of bark/growl. Her reaction was quite a nervous one. Although none of us knew what it was we all bunched up and walked closer together for a while afterwards. Mostly our walk was punctuated by the sound of cuckoo’s, probably Himalayan or Indian Cuckoo although it sounds like a European one and I like it!

Later we met a tiny young woman carrying about 20kg of plums and we bought some from her.

Eventually we made it to the huge statue seen from a distance before, the place was heaving with people.

Heading back over a huge suspension bridge and then down onto an equally dangerous road works to catch the bus! Only in Nepal!

After this, I only had a few days left before heading home, so I spent that time visiting Urmila (my tutor) and other friends. I decided I would visit Patan Durbar Square as I never went there before. I may have mentioned before that Kathmandu was a Kingdom at one time and Patan was also a Kingdom, now it’s part of the city of Kathmandu. It’s Palace square is similar to Kathmandu and Bhaktupur Durbar Squares and is also a World heritage site. I wandered the museum and the buildings and the town around it. It seems to have older buildings still standing and in use. It doesn’t seem as popular with tourists either (although that may be partly to  do with being the off season). Apparently it also has its own living Goddess although I didn’t seek out her palace this time.

As I wandered around the back streets, I realised the clean-up is only in the tourist areas but it’s a start I suppose.

On my last evening, I wanted to cook for the family.

Juliette and I went shopping locally, popping to the chicken seller to buy a whole chicken (fresh that day), it not a common thing, normally it’s chopped up in front of you! No leg joints or breasts, just chunks bones and all! I wanted the giblets removed but, when I got back I still found some and I also had to remove the neck. These are all things I have taken for granted up to now.

I intended to cook a Roast Chicken and roast potatoes! The main problem was no herbs, or rather different herbs! I did find a pot of Pizza herbs (basil and rosemary) I wanted it to be full of flavour because I didn’t want them to think it bland without their usual spices.

I was quite stressed not least because Juliette didn’t know how to turn on the oven and even Google failed me there. By the time Kriti got home to tell me I knew we would be eating very late. They hardly ever use their oven so it was spotless and was just hoping it heated evenly.

Most of my long standing friends know I’m not very keen on cooking, I have improved over the years. I don’t find it relaxing like some people do and I was quite anxious as I set about this feast because nothing is quite the same as in the UK.

No one seemed to mind a late dinner and  I managed to cook Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken, with roasted potatoes and vegetables. One of the squashes didn’t cook but there was enough of everything else for six of us (as Kriti’s brother was also present). The chicken was picked clean and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  Phew! I even had a beer to wash it down with! The squash was not wasted as it ended up in Dahl bhat (the main dish of Nepal) the next day.

I’ve eaten very different things throughout my trip to Asia and I’ve learned that a lot of plants I know as ornamental are edible. The one that has cropped up a lot is Bracken, used as a green vegetable. I think it’s the young shoots (maybe of a specific variety) and that they are wilted and then cooked. It’s been one of my favourites in Nepal too.

Raj on our walks has talked about the plants and their uses.  I felt very pleased when I was able to show him an edible plant that he didn’t know about…Nasturtium. That was the only one though!

Well that’s the journey of seven countries, in just over four months, some of them not where we originally intended to go. I’m so happy I made it to Nepal again and I leave knowing I can come back. The temperature and humidity was already creeping up to 30 degrees the day I left.

I’ve gained a bit of weight and a few new clothes. My bag was two kilos heavier than when I left. I’m looking forward to a cuppa, changing my clothes about, as I’ve been wearing the same T-shirts/slacks over and over and staying still for a bit! The latter won’t last long as I’ve already arranged more trips this year! Hahaha And I’m looking forward to seeing my family, including my cat!

I have one more post that I will need to confer  with Tatajana for first, something that has been a common thread throughout our trip…………to follow.