A Guest Blog from A Trip to Nepal in Southeast Asia
It's always so much fun to see photos from others taken during their vacations.
Not long ago, a member of my outdoor grounds crew, Pasang Sherpa, returned from a trip to his native Nepal. Nepal is a landlocked nation located between India and the autonomous region of China known as Tibet. Sherpas live in the most mountainous areas of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. They are renowned in the international climbing and mountaineering community for their hardiness, expertise, and experience at very high altitudes. It is quite a distance from here, but Pasang tries to go back regularly to visit relatives and friends, and to enjoy the many beautiful sights and delicious foods of his homeland.
Enjoy these photos.
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- If you are not familiar with Nepal, it is the country of Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world, and the birthplace of Gautama Buddha- Lumbini. Several of my outdoor grounds crew are from Nepal and love to go back whenever they can.
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- Many of you may recognize Pasang from this blog. He is our resident tree expert here at my farm. Here he is at the airport in Nepal getting picked up by his nephew and his wife’s brother.
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- Boudhanath is a stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal. In Buddhism, a stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics that is used as a place of meditation. This stupa is one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal and the world.
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- One of the first things Pasang did when he got to Nepal was enjoy a nice dinner with his friends.
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- While it rarely snows in the lowlands of Nepal, there is snow up on the mountains. Pasang took this photo of the snowcapped Numbur, a glaciated mountain located in the Rolwaling Himal mountain range. Winter in Nepal occurs at the same time as here – December, January and February. The lower elevations are very dry and cold.
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- When Pasang was small, he went to school in Nunthala, Sholukhumbu, nestled in the serene landscapes of rural Nepal.
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- Nepal generates more than 95-percent of its electricity from hydropower. Hydropower, also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This station was just opened less than two years ago.
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- This waterfall feeds the hydropower station.
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- This is Taksindu, a ward in Solukhumbu District in the Province 1 of north-eastern Nepal. It is a small village with a population less than three-thousand.
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- In this photo is the Taksindu Monastery, a Sherpa Buddhist monastery which sits on the cusp of the divide between Solu and Khumbu, Nepal. It is a residential school for 60 monks and nuns and 20 lay people, and is the primary religious institution for the surrounding community.
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- These are just two of the young students.
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- And these are some of the young graduates of the monastery who will go on to dedicate their lives to serving other people or leave mainstream society and live life in prayer and contemplation.
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- At the top of the Taksindu Pass is this temple, Taksindu La.
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- Pasang took photos up close and from away to show the picturesque views of the Khumbu region.
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- Here is another snapshot of Taksindu La before Pasang went inside.
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- And here is Pasang with his nephew’s wife. Although he traveled alone on this trip, Pasang was able to see many relatives and family friends.
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- And this is Pasang’s mother, Kanchhe Sherpa. She is placing flower petals in dishes of water outside the monastery for the Buddha. Flowers symbolize the Six Paramitas: giving, abiding by the precepts, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom.
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- Pasang also visited the Nepali hospital where his son was born. This is the Phaplu Hospital located in Solukhumbu. It was originally built in 1975 to provide medical services to the densely populated area. Pasang says he is happy to see how it has evolved and improved over the years.
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- From Phaplu, Pasang could see Numbur. Here is another view of the Numbur mountain, which is 22,828 feet high.
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- This photo was taken during Pasang’s early morning Pikey Peak trek. This trail is in the lower Everest region known as Solu Khumbu. From the summit, which is at an altitude of 4065 meters, or 2.5 miles up, there is a magnificent view.
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- Pasang was so happy to get these photos. This one was taken at about 6am.
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- He also saw yaks and naks. Yaks are also known as tartary ox, grunting ox, or hairy cattle. It is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of South Asia, the Tibetan Plateau, Kashmir, Tajikistan, and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia. The female is called a nak.
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- And here is Pasang with his friend, Temba. Pasang spent about three weeks in his homeland, but is already looking forward to his next trip. Thanks Pasang, for sharing your photos.
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