Part 2
9th November
I must be the dumbest person on the planet. In the last three days I have banged my head on a door frame, getting out of a bus, on a gate, on a toilet tank, getting into a taxi and on another bus. This country is made for smaller people than me! So apart from that, today has been a better day. I got up and had my first bucket shower this morning. I am not sure what facilities I will get on placement so it may not be my last but was fine and I felt so much better with clean hair. I went to my last Nepali lesson this morning. It was better than yesterday and I left feeling semi confident that I will at least get by.

After breakfast I said goodbye to my host family and we first visited an organisation called prisoners assistance Nepal (PA Nepal). This is a not for profit organisation set up by a lady 20 years ago supporting children whose parents are in prison. She has a number of children's homes/shelters and various other parts to the organisation and was fascinating to speak to. After this visit we did our last bit of Kathmandu sightseeing to the Boudhanath temple, huge buddist stupa. We caught a micro bus again there which was a 30 min journey, I even managed to doze off until the driver had to slam on the brakes to not hit a wondering cow. I am not sure I will get used to that.

We visited the stupa and then got a snack and a drink before setting off to leave kathamnadu and head to the farming area. I am not sorry to say good bye to Kathmandu for a while, the noise and dust/pollution is significant. I have become very practiced at telling the difference without looking between a motorbike and larger vehicle horn and also the 'get out of the way' versus 'don't step out in front of me' beeps.

This time we caught a proper bus, however, I had not realised that this particular bus was taking part in a national sardines competition, seeing how many people they could fit in! I counted 50 people at one stage, less than half of these were seated. I didn't need to hold on as I couldn't move but I was very aware that if I did fall, I would have squashed the seven nepalese people in and around my armpits! Getting off was even more fun than getting on, why do the people at the back need to get off when the bus is still crowded? About two thirds of the way throguh the journey I got a seat, I think there was a genuine fear I was going to squash someone, and the rest of the journey passed. We got off the bus and then had a 30 minute walk up the hill to the farm house. I thought it was another family but it is actually just a house that is used for people to stay in.

We arrived at around 5pm and saw the last light dip behind the mountains/hills (what is in-between the two?) it is so peaceful compared to Kathmandu, with lovely scenery. Shyam cooked dinner while I actually had some relaxing time. I helped with the vegetables and learnt how to make aloo gobbi. I am now in bed at 8pm writing this and thinking about sleep! I can't remember the last time I was in bed at this time, not drunk, not hungover and not ill! Nepal is good for me! (and not a drink since Saturday). I now know my placement is in bundipur which is good, it is a small hill top town with some tourists. I get there on Friday which is good, I now just want to get there though.

10th November
A lie in this morning, getting up at 8am. Just because I spent 12 hours in bed does not mean 12 hours sleep though as the beds mean I wake up regularly with a numb leg or arm. Anyway, after a leisurely breakfast we set off on our trek to the Changu Naryan temple and then Bhaktapur. The walk itself was ok but was quite steep at times and we had to cross a small river at the bottom of the valley which was interesting. We caught up with three Nepali woman and I offered to take their picture together. Shyam said I should practice my Nepali on them while we climbed the hill. I may be a woman, but walking and not falling over is a challenge for me at times so trying to pick my way up the path while remembering the words I sort of know in nepali didn't seem a safe option so I passed.

We got to the top and had some stunning views, not only of the valley and all the terrace farming but also of the mountain ranges peaking (excuse the pun) over the top of the hills. It looked so surreal. We walked around the temple, had a drink and then got onto the bus to take us to bhatipur. We were fortunate enough to get a seat and in the front so I didn't see the full fun and games behind me but I think they were on par with yesterday. We arrived in Bhaktapur and walked around the various sights including the third palace from when Kathmandu was split. We dropped our bags off at the host family house and then went back into the town. We did a bit of shopping (I was meant to wait until the end of this trip but I couldn't resist) and also found that today is actually a special day.

Today is full moon day and althgouh there are a number of these every year this one is the one that is celebrated annually. This meant there were more people at the temples (it is a hindu celebratory day) and also there were various decorative offerings being prepared in the streets. It is also the date of Bhaktapur night, an annual show of Nepali dance so after our shopping we went to watch some of the dances. It was really impressive and great to see and I really enjoyed seeing the different styles of dance.

We left the show to head back to the family house for dinner. This family have a guesthouse kind of place so the room is separate but we ate with the family. The grandparents of the family are going to the USA tomorrow so the whole family were over to have dinner. I apparently was the chief special guest though! I enjoyed another daal baaht meal (though a bit more spicy this time) and then talked to the family for a while.

Tomorrow we are up early, 5am, to get a car back to Kathmandu to then catch the bus to Bandipur where my placement is. I am excited about this but also nervous. I may not see the children tomorrow, I am not sure but I think, I will be in the same room for the next two weeks (or at least a week) so that is enough to keep me happy!