The last of the pictures from Nepal

The Gateway Hotel--beautiful setting, okay rooms.

Grounds of the Gateway Hotel.

People love bright colors on their houses, and pink is one of their favorites.

Another view from above.  I wish my camera could capture the vibrant greens in Nepal.

This is the area where we hiked up on our last trip--up the ancient rice steps to the water source, except this time of year the rice is still green and so very beautiful.

One last look at this beautiful country.

A beautiful walk up to the water tank, but we had to check for leaches.  In one area a couple was chasing a snake.  We are glad we didn't find it.

This woman was preparing to thresh her rice by making a flat area and mixing mud and cow dung, just what they do in Africa if they have a dirt floor in their home.  Why she needs this do do her task I am not sure.

This looks like a weaved basket--they push the rice stalks down, let them dry, and then do their threshing.

I don't recall seeing a black butterfly anywhere before.

These ladies were dancing but not blocking the road to get money as the younger people were doing, so I think Wasuita's gave them some money.

Our good driver, pushing a child on the swing.  He got a lot safer after the bus went over the edge (deaths up to 15 now--still a miracle considering how far he went down the hill.)

So much more fun than sitting in a meeting.  I realize why all the adults stood up on the swing--the seat was very uncomfortable.

This man was quite drunk, and he got to swinging very high, but he didn't fall off till he was closer to the dirt, then landed on his back, acted knocked out as a joke, and then pretended it didn't hurt very much, but I think it did.

These people were looking for treasure at the river.  We had stopped to eat on the mountain highway and saw these people trying to find something of value.

This was really a nice hotel and so reasonable--two large meals and one night's stay was $40.

The hotel entrance at parking lot.

People are always waiting to greet us, giving us the Tikka, the lei, the bouquets and the scarves.  We got white scarves with flowers, blue ones and red ones this trip.

Our beautiful flower collection.  Too bad we are traveling--we would love to bring them back to our hotel if we could.

This village had a lot of water!  We might do this project, bringing lines and taps closer to the homes.

I just love looking at water.  These rivers are below every mountain highway--you just don't want to see it up close and personal.

Wasuita's found a little one along their walk.  We all enjoy the children who are so beautiful no matter what country we are in.


We had a very successful meeting with TRUST--we met the son of the woman who is the head of this NGO.  This young man spoke very excellent English and was very concerned about the quality of workmanship and the slow way the work lumbers along.  We were thrilled to meet him.  We also decided to do the job near the Tibet border because of the great need.  We also learned that there is being built another highway that will go that direction, making the trip so much safer.  TRUST will also hire someone who lives in that village so that he can watch it all the time.  People from their organization and ours will have limited access to the site because of the weather and because of the present road.  This makes us all feel a whole lot better.  Tomorrow we will be writing up reports, and eventually heading for home.

Just pictures, Nepal

Round about in Kathmandu, with statues.

They have one too?

Normal traffic in Kathmandu proper and all the way out of town.

I was trying to sneak a picture of this little, old lady carrying her load, but then she stopped and smiled at me and let me take it.  So many people want us to pay them, as if we were going to sell it to National Geographic or something.

On our last visit we attended a turnover ceremony for this project with CHOICE.  When we came back we saw that it was working just great--always a joy!

These white plastic structures are green houses and CHOICE and many other groups are providing them to villages all over the place, and CHOICE is doing about 300 this year.

I never tire of taking pictures of cultural activities.  These ladies are so small and their burdens are so heavy.  We Americans are such wimps. 

Bishnu and Kiran checking out a tank on one of their projects.  It is getting close to being completed.

A sacred cow.

Top of the traffic jam waiting for the slide to be removed from the road to the Tibet border.

I watched this truck as he crept, barely moving, over the road to the Tibet border; he was navigating the muddy section.  Sister Wasuita and I were happy to walk back over this part of the road to stop others from coming as we turned around and went back to the city.

The new offices of CHOICE; they use two floors.

Electricity anyone?

There are a couple of really nice roads in Kathmandu, one built by the Japanese.

In Kathmandu

The little humble home was on the edge of the cliff, but the chicken coop shown here is hanging over the edge.

Living on the edge of the beautiful mountains.

The Himalayas from our hotel.

Inside the Radisson, celebrating Hindu month of October

At the entrance of the hotel

The Radisson where we are staying in Kathmandu, celebrating the October Hindu holidays.

The beautiful fields in Kathmandu Valley

We learned that this huge statue is made of metal.

We're on top of a mountain, looking at just one of three tanks for this project, pumping water from a spring up on top.

Up here on top of the mountain we met a group of Europeans on a 'walking tour'.  Not only us but this busload used the bathroom in this house--they must have a deal with the bus drivers and get paid, because there were a lot of people.  The dirt road to the right is the one we drove up on, which was very muddy in spots with some streams running across the road.

The Water Committee chairman.

Wasuita's living room apartment.

Betty Wasuita in her small kitchen, but it has granite tops.

Just below the top tank for this project, where we happily got to walk up the last several switchbacks instead of driving up a partly missing, deeply rutted road.

Living on the beautiful hills above the main mountain road out of Kathmandu.

Above and below, the mountain road leaving Kathmandu, the one where everyone passes on curves.  A bus carrying 100 passengers went over the edge on the lower section; 15 died, many injured; it was a miracle that so few died considering how far down the bus went, but did not go into the river below.

There are rivers at the bottom of all these mountain roads.

Waiting for the rock slide to be removed by a backhoe on this way-up-high mountain, dirt road on the way to the Tibet border (above & below)

It took several hours after this to clear the slide.  All over this road at any time there are constant rock slides.  There are rivers and little falls next to the road, coming across to make it even more dangerous--muddy and slippery.