Christmas in Bandipur

My first Christmas away from mum and dad, I have to say was an emotional one. Up until the day before Christmas life in Bandipur was happening as normal, and why shouldn't it, as they don't celebrate it here. Then on the Christmas Eve the hotel put up a Christmas tree and decorations and then it hit me I would be away from my family for Christmas.

Actually, Christmas Eve was lovely, Angela and I first had dinner with one of our computer class students Sanjip. Then on our return to the hotel, we found ourselves eating frois grois on walnut bread, Swiss cheese and dark chocolate finished off with a selection of French wines, red, white and dessert too! Another totally bazaar experience. The food and drink was brought in by some French guests from the hotel who live and work in Nepal and were on their Christmas break. It was a very multi-cultural affair, there were 3 French, 1 Canadian, 1 American, 2 Dutch, 3 English and 1 Australian. In the picture above you can see some of us toasting to the camera.

The 2 dutchman that were with us are on this amazing bike journey, they have cycled from Holland and are on their way to Malaysia. They said they've had the best experiences ever, and every country they passed through the people were so warm and welcoming and one of the friendliest was Iran. They were concerned about the current political climate their, but once travelling through it, they were always greeted, offered food and just invited with warm, friendly faces.

I think one of the most important things is that we should not judge a country and it's people too quickly and not believe everything the media tells us. Some times we should just experience it for ourselves, and we may be surprised of the outcome.

Angela had a great idea for our computer class, that was to find a Christmas tree. It wasn't easy, but up one of the hills near Bandipur were some fir trees, they had few branches and massive needles, but it did the job. And then just before Christmas we got the kids to make decorations for it, which was great fun and you can see a picture of the tree in some of the pictures above.

As for Christmas day, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. We still had computer classes that day, we felt it unfair not too and because it was a special day, we wanted to experience it with our kids. Also, Angela and I bought all the guys Christmas presents too. For the boys we got either a hat or a pair of gloves, and for the girls, a purse with some bangles, a shampoo sachet and a lip seal. And for all the kids some toothpaste, a tooth brush, some soap and a couple of sweets. And to top it off they were wrapped in a prayer flag, tied together with string and finished with a clip on koala. The koala, a gift from Angela she had brought from Oz, luckily she had enough for all kids.

The kids loved their presents. We also decided to watch the Incredibles movie on the computer with the kids, as an treat for us as well as them. Christmas Day dinner was BBQ chicken, creamy mash potato and veg, with a mince pie to finish it off. And what made it even better was that 2 other volunteers from another location, James and Liam were up for Christmas and James had been sent for Christmas a big bar of Dairy Milk which was offered out to us after the mince pies and went down very nicely.
The best part of Christmas day was when I got to speak to my family, I was very happy and sad at the same time, but it meant a lot to speak with them so that was my best present.

New Year was another crazy night, one to remember. It was more of a family affair. The owner of the Travel company Himalayan Encounters Tony, was here with His Nepali girlfriend, ex-wife and partner, his brother, his son from England, and many of their friends from Nepal. One family their who emigrated from Scotland a few years ago to live in Kathmandu, were a lovely people. The husband Jamie was a GP in Scotland for many years and is now working in a clinic in Kathmandu and helps with projects all over Nepal. Their son was their, a young teenager and he could play the bagpipes. And how could he not play them on New Year and so he did. It was great, he played flower of Scotland and of course Auld Lang Syne. Though once midnight came we all went straight to bed, as here in Nepal bedtime is usually between 8-9pm. So we were all knackered and not used to late nights. But it was definitely a New Year to remember.