Bhutan, Nepal & the Mystical Himalayas
October 5-27, 2011
NEPAL - October 13-27, 2011
Page Six - Modi Khola River Valley
While in this area, several in our group discovered leeches on their arms or legs, though that did not happen to me. Note leech on
Mick's left forearm.
Kylee and Pat drinking homemade millet wine in front of a Himalayan home and museum. It's not something I would seek out.
From the Gurung Lodge where we were staying, we hiked in the surrounding area to small villages and a couple of schools. This
included climbing up and down a lot of uneven, sometimes steep, rock steps.
Inside the Himalayan home. Cooking is done over an open fire. The smoke from the fire keeps mosquitoes away, but the build-up of
smoke in the homes is not good for the health of the people.
Couple that showed us the Himalayan home and museum
Grandmother and cute child in a small village we visited where we learned about health care in Nepal from someone who travels
there from Pokhara periodically to offer care.
Health care facilities, hygiene, nutrition, and sanitation are of poor quality,
particularly in the rural areas. Despite that, it is still beyond the means of most Nepalese. Provision of health care services are constrained
by inadequate government funding. The poor and excluded have limited access to basic health care due to its high costs and low availability.
The demand for health services is further lowered by the lack of health education.
Village leader wearing a dhaka topi, the traditional hat of Nepali men. It is a stiff brimless hat made of a cotton fabric called dhaka.
This man told us of his experiences as a soldier for the Indian army and could have kept talking for quite a while giving us his
"old war stories."
This is his granddaughter. We were all charmed by her, and I
took numerous photos of her.
Our tour guide in Nepal, Suresh, showing this little girl his smart phone. Kids are the same everywhere in many respects.
Kids at a local school in this area. Just small narrow tables to do work and long narrow benches to sit on next to each other. Attendance
is a problem, and the kids often have to walk long distances to get to a school.
Legally, there are two types of school in the country: community and institutional. Community schools receive regular government grants
whereas institutional schools are funded by the school's own or other non-governmental sources. Institutional schools are organized
either as a non-profit trust or as a company. However, in practical terms, schools are mainly of two types: public (community) and
private (institutional). A third type of school is the kind run by the local people enthusiastic toward having a school in their locality.
They do not receive regular government grants and most of them do not have any other sustainable financial source.
Supported and managed by the local people, they can be thus identified as the real community schools.
Except one, all universities/academies are publicly managed and are supported by public source funds.
Another classroom
Terraced fields and small village in the mountains. If the clouds weren't hiding it, you would be able to see Fish Tail Mountain behind
the highest peak in this picture.
Village homes. The villages were populated with a lot of women and children, as many of the men were working in the Middle East
and sending money home.
View of Annapurna South, Annapurna I, Hiunchuli, and Machapuchare from a hillside on our way to visit another school
Looking in the opposite direction from the previous photo down into the Modi Kholla River Valley. Another Lodge, Annapurna Lodge,
is located below.
Arriving at another village
Nice view from a village home where clothes are hung out to dry
Kids hanging out in the village
Child wearing traditional hat, the topi, a bit oversized for him.
View of the river that leads to the Annapurna Sanctuary behind the clouds and mountains
Small school in this mountain area.
Clowning for the camera while saying "namaste"
Gunilla handing balloons to the kids inside this small school. She and her husband John had brought lots of balloons to hand to the kids
they met. Unlike Bhutan, that is just beginning to have access to the outside world, the kids in Nepal in areas like this are more likely
to have seen tourists. While we brought classroom supplies for the school, we never gave money to the kids
so as not to encourage begging.
Playing and singing "hokey pokey" with the kids
An elderly woman in one of the villages
Inside a village home - corn hanging from the ceiling
Homeowner with her cat. She really wanted us to take a picture of her with her cat.
Link to Page Seven of Nepal - Pokhara area
Link to Page One of Nepal
Pat's Home Page