Barbara, Alan and Elaine have now left which feels a little scary but I am looking forward to a busy schedule once the election is over on November 19th. Anyway following on from last time in Pokhara....
We woke early for our flight up to Jomson but as it turned
out we needn’t have bothered – the early morning mist sitting in the valley was
preventing any flights from leaving but after a few hours delay we were finally
on our way. It was Saran’s first ever flight in an aeroplane so he was
understandably a little nervous, particularly since the plane we were flying in
was only a 19 seater, but he didn’t show it.
The flight itself, only 45 minutes, was really spectacular,
flying along the valley with mountains rising up either side of us. It was a
bizarre experience to be flying along the valley and looking up at some of the
scenery! It was also really nice for me having trekked along much of the
terrain when I completed the Annapurna circuit four years before.
Views from the plane flying up to Jomson - we could see right through into the pilots cabin.
We landed in Jomson, a tiny concrete airstrip with mountains towering over it in the background. The plan from that point was to trek up to Jarkhot or Muktinath, only 13Km but with 1000 metres of ascent, across rough terrain. We started out for Jomson and walked the opposite way to what I trekked on the Annapurna circuit, heading Northwards. There is a wide and barren valley with a wide, mostly dry riverbed, which heads up to Muktinath and this is what we walked along. The riverbed is made of large pebbles and rocks and does not make for particularly easy or pleasant walking but the terrain is so spectacular we were perfectly happy. After only about half an hour of walking we came across a stretch of the river we needed to cross but which had no bridge and we were just contemplating getting our boots off and paddling across when a tractor appeared behind us and we asked them if they would give us a lift across the river and they were more than happy to do. They then said told Saran they were heading to Kagbeni and said they were happy to take us. From my experience of walking this section of the trek, four years ago, I was not going to complain and laid back in the open trailer, surrounded by scaffolding pipes, not the most comfortable way to travel but it was also a bit of a time saver after having been delayed in getting there. The Nepali man who accompanying me in the trailer, whilst the others clung on for dear life in the tractor, was absolutely fascinated with my camera and by the time we reached Kagbeni I had a lot of photo’s to sort through. We were dropped off in Kagbeni whilst the two Nepalese men carried on up the Mustang valley which leads up to Tibet.
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| Top: Saran and Barbara on a bridge just coming out of Jomson - we didn't actually need to take this bridge (within 5 minutes I had taken them the wrong way!! Middle: Saran standing on the dried up riverbed at the foot of the valley leading up to Kagbeni. Bottom: The tractor we managed to hitch a lift from!! Not the most comfortable but saved us a good few hours! |
During lunch in Kagbeni I had a quick look through the guide
to the Annapurna region I had brought and read the section on altitude
sickness, fully aware of the precautions we had had to take when I was last out
here. It is important not to climb too
much in one day after we had reached 2,500 – 3000 metres and also sensible to climb a little higher after
reaching your lodgings so that you sleep at a lower altitude than you have
actually been, since when you are sleeping is the most hazardous time. Altitude
sickness can be really serious and lead to death if ignored. It is really
important that everyone is honest with each other if they start to feel bad
headaches or a number of other symptoms (it is fairly normal to feel some
‘headiness’), however people are often reluctant to say as no-one wants to be
the one to hold others back from continuing. As I read this I felt rather
uneasy about carrying on, knowing that we had already rapidly gained almost
2000 metres in taking our flight from Pokhara up to Jomson. We did set out
briefly after lunch but Barbara was struggling and I could feel the altitude I
suggested that instead of climbing to Muktinath that day we instead just do a
short acclimatisation walk up but then sleep the night in Kagbeni. Saran was
keen to push on and I felt physically fine, but I knew that he didn’t know
about the effects of altitude and that it would be foolish to climb higher, the
recommended amount of altitude gain in one day was 400 metres and we were looking
at doing over twice that having just flown up to altitude.
We decided in the end that Saran and I would wake early in the
morning and walk up and Barbara would follow up later in a jeep and meet us
there – although we would be climbing more than we really should it would only
be for a short period of time as we would be going back down to Jomson or
Marpha for the night.
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| Top: The huge cliff face on the valley opposite - if you look closely you can see the small caves people used to live in - must have been a bit of a mission to go to the shops!!! Below: Looking up the valley towards Muktinath and above that Thorung La, the high point, 5,416m of my trek with Sean and Rose 4 years ago. |
The change of plan also gave us a chance to explore Kagbeni which is a fascinating place. It is like stepping back in time walking through the streets which had a distinctly medieval feel to them with narrow, stone paved alleyways and small courtyards with hay scattered on the floor and chickens, goats and yaks roaming freely around. The contrast to this was that inside the hotels, which although very basic, with hard beds and fairly bare rooms, had Wi-Fi!! Nepal as a whole is far more connected to the internet than 4 years ago, though this is only really where tourists venture and not in the villages where we have been teaching.
In the evening we tried some of the Marpha apple brandy
which I think would be far more suited to being used for petrol in the tractor
we had arrived in, rather than for a pleasant evening drink! I had a Yak steak
for dinner though, and that was utterly delicious!
The following morning Saran and I set off up towards Jarkhot
and Muktinath. The scenery was rugged but spectacular. Four years ago when I
had trekked this part we had not thought too much of it in comparison to other
parts but this was partly down to the nasty weather we had at the time. This
time we had glorious blue sky and bright sunshine and the terrain although very
rugged was spectacular. On the other side of the valley as I walked up were
caves and ruins of buildings which I have no idea how anyone ever lived in
since they were half way up a huge cliff face.
A few hours later we reached Jarkhot and stopped there for a
cup of tea and a mars bar we had brought with us. Saran at this point told me
he was feeling a bit headachy but was ok to continue and I told him that as
long as his headache was not too bad we would be ok to continue as it was only
a short 45 minute climb up to Muktinath.
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| Top: Views on the way up to Jharkot and Muktinath. Bottom: Barbara playing with the children in Muktinath. |
The following morning we woke early and started out on a
very rickety and fully packed (Nepali style) bus down to Tatopani. The scenery
in this stretch was breath taking and when we reached Ghasa a short way down
the stunning Khali Gandaki valley, I got off, as I wanted to do some more
trekking and this was a beautiful area in which to do it. Barbara and Saran
continued on the bus and had their own adventure trying to get back to Pokhara,
whilst I started on my three day trek back to Naya Pul. The first day was
mostly downhill walking on small paths perched on steep rising sides of the
valley. There is a claim that this is the deepest valley in the world given
that the river splits Dahlaguiri (8,167m) and Annapurna I (8,091m), though
deepest or not it is a simply stunning walk down, criss-crossing
over spectacular bridges along the way, moving from one side of the valley to
the other. It took me around 5 hours to reach Tatopani a large settlement
towards the bottom of the valley. I stopped the night there as the next section of the trek
was a steep 1,560 metre climb up to Ghorepani.
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| Various pictures taken whilst walking down the Kali Ghandaki valley. Top picture with Saran and Barbara just before I got off the bus and carried on alone. |
Early in the morning I enjoyed a
quick bathe in the hot springs (Tatopani means hot water). It was later than I
hoped that I set out for Ghorepani and made later by the fact that I didn’t
have the correct permit for trekking on my own. The way up to Ghorepani, in hot
sun, was steep and hard work, though the views never failed to impress. I made
it harder on myself by having the wrong time on my camera and was under the
impression that it was 2 hours later than it really was – I was really pushing
myself and carrying a heavy pack. I stopped very briefly for some lunch but
only an omelette as I thought that would be quickest. An hour or so later I
caught up with an Irish couple who commented that I was pushing hard and I
should slow down. I explained that I needed to be in Ghorepani and didn’t want
to be caught in the dark in the last section through woodland where there has
reportedly been muggings in the past. I couldn’t believe it when they told me
the actual time and told me I had plenty of time! From then on I walked slower
but by the time I approached Ghorepani I was so shattered I was almost crawling
up the last few steps!
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| Progress is slowed by a herd of goats. I spent about 15 minutes helping the shepherds herd them along as I couldn't get past! |
That night I slept like a log but was up at 4:30am for the
early morning walk up to Poon Hill where there is a spectacular view of some of
the tallest mountains in the world. I had also been here four years previously
for sunrise but it never loses it’s magic as the sun slowly rises and the
mountains light up first red, then pink and finally bright white in the
sunshine.
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| Magnificent morning views from Poon Hill. With fantastic views of Macchupuchare, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South and Annapurna I. |
It was a nice day walking through but I think we were both
relieved to get back to Naya Pul, take a taxi back to Pokhara and after a
blissful hot shower go out for a Yak steak and beer!!
Boots looking in a bad way - I trod on a sharp rock and my foot came out the bottom - I had to walk several hours before I made a temporary repair (Right).
I spent the next day resting my aching body before returning
the next day to Tansen. It turned out to be a long journey back as protestors
to the forthcoming elections were causing problems along the main road in one
section and we had to have a police escort through with a number of other buses
– that said our battered old bus was left far behind so not sure there was a
great deal of protection, though as it happens we saw no sign of trouble. I did
find though that there was no possibility of getting a jeep up to Tansen from
the main road because of the protests and so after an 8 hour bus journey I had
an hour walk up to Tansen, heavily laden with all my kit and my resources and present
shopping I had done in Pokhara. I did at least have the company of an English
couple, Ian and Caroline, whom I had met on the bus and may well be interested
in doing some volunteering next year (a teacher and a nurse – so very useful
people!).
The next few days we spent busily making more resources and
getting prepared for our first school visits which have seemed a long time
coming. It has been frustrating to be out here to help in schools but to find
them shut down due to their extended festival holiday.
Barbara and I did visit Saran’s village of Bhalebas and
spent Tihar (known more commonly as Diwali). We had a lovely time there,
playing cricket and throwing my rugby ball around with the children from the
village (the rugby ball has been a huge hit – thank you Bredon U 10’s!). The
food also was incredible – the sheer volume that was presented to us was mind-blowing
and we were treated as part of the family and given a special Tikka ceremony,
normally just for the brothers and sisters of the family. Once again the
hospitality and generosity of the Nepali people never fails to astound. The
part of my meal which I really enjoyed were the fried insects (much to
Barbara’s horror!!), waspish sort of creatures which although sounds disgusting
were really rather tasty!! Apparently the process of obtaining them can be very
dangerous and involves holding a flaming stick under their nest at night whilst
they are sleeping and hoping they drop off before they wake up!
After Tihar we were reunited with Alan and Elaine, who had
been on their own exciting trekking adventure, and after another busy day
making resources we were ready to finally go into schools and do some
teaching!! A special mention must go here to our youngest helper Abhi, the boy
whom we live in at homestay, who has proved to be a great help in making
resources – he particularly enjoys the laminating machine!
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| Various picture of Tihar celebrations both in Tansen, with my host family who cooked us a lovely Tihar breakfast, and in Bhalebas where we enjoyed an enormous feast (including insects!) and lots of dancing and games. |
The first school we visited was Bagnas, a tiny village
school, with only 5 small classrooms. They do have a nice library, courtesy of
the ‘Room to Read’ charity, but the classrooms are bare and very basic. On the
plus side they do have whiteboards which is excellent to see since the chalk
boards which most schools use are both difficult to read and create a lot of
dust which can be harmful to both teachers and pupils.
The day we went in was really rather disorganised – half of
the children were not in attendance as there was only a day and a half until
the weekend. The playground was covered in building materials which we needed
to clear before anything was done as they posed a significant hazard and
blocked the doorways to the classrooms. The staff then had a meeting to plan
what they were going to do – this is after school started with the children
left to play in the playground ( we did keep them entertained for some time
with heads, shoulders, knees and toes and my personal favourite, the hokey
cokey!)!
About an hour late, lessons finally started. The teachers
there wanted to watch us teach and they did come and watch which was good to
see. With so few children (only one boy turned up in class 3!) we decided to
split the school in two – with Alan and Barbara (secondary specialists) taking
the older children for some grammar work and Elaine and I taking the younger
ones for some basic number work on odds and evens, using the number cards we
made and some number mats on the floor and marbles for the children to count
with.
The idea is for us to demonstrate how lessons can be
made interactive and to try and encourage teachers to use a variety of learning
styles. In our short time at each school we will not necessarily have a huge
impact on children’s progress but hopefully we are demonstrating to the
teachers how they can make the learning a more enjoyable and inclusive
experience. Hopefully the teachers can then replicate this in future lessons
and use their own creativity to improve the learning experience and move away
from the rote learning through very poor and limited textbooks.
In the afternoon Elaine and I taught the children body parts
with the aid of a puzzle and got the children standing up and moving around and
also sung more renditions of heads, shoulders, knees and toes (I can do it
pretty quickly now, or Chito chito as the Nepalese say!).
Barbara and I walked home that evening whilst Alan and
Elaine stayed in Bagnas for the night as they were supposed to be teaching
there in the morning. That evening however we were informed that the president
had called for a national holiday for the next day (coming after schools had
been back for only one day!
This meant Alan and Elaine could not teach at Bagnas but I
believe they were still surrounded by children in the village and so managed to
read them stories and play some games with them!
Barbara and I had been due to visit the Montessori school,
Hopes and Dreams school, in Tansen and thankfully the teachers kept it open for
us. I knew the school would be better equipped than others that we had seen and
from having seen the teacher who came to teacher training I knew they would
have a better understanding of interactive teaching and the importance of a
stimulating learning environment. The school though surpassed all my
expectations. The walls were brightly painted, the children were fed regularly
and there were lots of brightly coloured resources and toys (it is for much
younger children) – a fantastic learning environment. There are regular health
checks on the children and they are given interesting and stimulating tasks. I
was surprised that they graded some of the work, giving a B+ for example for a
3 year olds drawing (though I was assured this is only for the teachers’ eyes
and to track their progress)!
It was a really lovely visit and is something which, whilst
a long way off for our schools, is something to aim for and I have built a good
relationship with their head of governors who is happy for us to use their
ideas and provide us with details of some of their suppliers.
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| Visiting the Montessori school in Tansen. |
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| Pictures on the road to Okhaldunga with Barbara hanging on for dear life in the top picture - in fairness there were some rather worrying drops inches away from our wheels! |
That evening we were entertained by music and dancing and
more food than we could eat. The hospitality and kindness of Nepalese people is
second to none and we were really well looked after by Manu, a teacher from the
school. He was so kind and called us Barbara Madam and Andy Sir and would ‘heartily
request that we dance / have some more food’ so it was difficult to refuse!
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| Okhaldunga - a beautiful village where we had an amazing time. Top - our welcoming party. Middle 2 pictures: Enjoying the evening entertainment. Bottom 2 pictures: Our lovely home whilst staying there - our host family were fantastic. |
Saran, who had accompanied us to make sure we got there
safely, left the following morning
leaving Barbara and I with Bzoo, a friend of Saran’s who had agreed to
translate for us. The first lesson we went into was a Year 8 English lesson
with Manu and it was soon apparent that the children were not going to be doing
any talking in this lesson so Barbara helped demonstrate how his lesson could
be delivered in a more interactive and engaging manner. The children were very
reluctant to speak initially and clearly they were not used to participating in
classroom activities.
We also visited the nursery and did some songs with them and
taught lessons on prepositions to another class, getting them moving round the
class standing infront and behind each other, next to, over and under. We made
it really interactive and again after initial reluctance the children happily
joined in. The final lesson we taught was on colours with a year 6 class and
got them singing ‘I can sing a rainbow’ as well as asking them to point out
different colours around the classroom. The following day I took class 6 and a
mixture of year 5’s and 8 (not quite sure why they were put together!) and got
them using measuring tapes to measure their heights and arm span and to see if
they were related. Again the children, after initial reluctance, loved the
practical nature of the exercise and the chance to talk about what they were
doing and what they found out. Bzoo, our translator was great and helped the children
as well as explaining things which they couldn’t understand in English.
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| Pictures from Okhaldunga school including the sad sight of a near empty Nursery cupboard - that was the only cupboard for toys and resources and that really was all they had. Rather more happily - a picture of them enjoying the coloured bricks we gave them - they were all enthralled by them! Second from bottom: The appalling state of the year 2 classroom (the flash from the camera makes it look far lighter than it actually was) - we will see what we can do to get them out of there and into somewhere more suitable. |
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| Okhaldunga literally means hole (Okhal) in the rock (Dunga) and here it is!! |
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| Children finally up and out of their seats and enjoying a lesson on measuring. After an initial reluctance I got an enthusiastic response - this is what we want to see more of in Nepalese classrooms!! |
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| Manu - the teacher who looked after us. Young, entusiastic and an absolute gentleman. Pictured here with his son and the lovely school grounds in the background. |
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| Yet more pictures of Okhaldunga - I really did love the place. Children enjoying the rugby ball - it almost started to look like a real game and they were quite rough with each other - and with the teacher who joined in too!! Bottom pictures - I taught the children how to leapfrog and I having a go on the Madal - the local drum out here - trying to play and dance at the same time is tough but I think I got the hang of it to some extent!! (Maybe doing both equally badly at the same time!!!) |
It was a really lovely visit to Okhaldunga, a lovely school,
though very poor in terms of resources (there is no library here and very few
books, if any) and some, though certainly not all, of the buildings were awful –
the year 2 class looked like a cattle shed, dark, low ceilings and with
children sat on the floor. There is a lot to do hear but then that is why we
are here and the headteacher and staff seem very willing and clearly want to
improve.
Getting back from Okhaldunga was a greater challenge – the approaching
elections are causing major problems and a nine day transport strike was
announced. This is not the people striking, most of whom just want to get on
with life, but a particular political group who enforce the ban on vehicles on
the road. Consequently, and despite our remoteness, no-one was willing to drive
us back – the only option was to hike the 40km back to Tansen.
We started out the next morning and I really quite enjoyed
it but Barbara, by her own admission, found it very tough going. Thankfully
Manu and another teacher from the school helped with some of the bags and 6
hours later we arrived in Bhatase, the half way point, though having completed
the hardest part. We were all set to stay there and walk the rest the next
morning but Manu and his friends managed to arrange us a lift in the back of an
army truck which took us back to Tansen whilst Manu and his friend still had to
walk all the way back to Okhaldunga. We gave them some money but they were
reluctant to take it saying it had been their honour – as I said Nepalese
people are just so generous.
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| Bzoo practicing her 'Titanic' pose - she loves theTitanic song! |
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| Spectacularly clear views of the Himalayas - they are still at least 80 miles away from here - showing just how big they are!!! Bottom picture - a boy scales a traditional Nepali swing. |
Jasmine, from the Steve Sinnott foundation, a partner of
Manisha UK’s and the organisation that sources a large part of our funding came
out for a few days but her visit was largely hampered by the ongoing strike
action. Getting her here was difficult enough and it was sad that she was not
able to see as much as we would have liked. However we were able to show her
Bagnas school which we visited for another day and I took more lessons on
Measurement and Shape with the year 4/5 children. I was supported by Deepa, the
daughter of our homestay owner, and she was excellent with helping translate
and supporting the children in their activities.
Jasmine also visited Pipal Danda school to discuss a
building project and went to the school at Bhalebas.
Unfortunately with further problems expected from the
elections Barbara, Alan, Elaine and Jasmine had to leave for Kathmandu as there
is no guarantees on how easy it will be to travel in the coming days. I have
enjoyed working with the team so much over the past 6/7 weeks. We have got on
so well and worked very well as a team together. It has been sad that we have
not been able to get into schools anything like as much as we would have hoped
but we have kept busy and created some fantastic resources for the schools.
Some we will give to the schools for the future use but others we have made to
show how simple and easy some visual aids can be to make. The idea is that
teachers in the schools, supported by us, can make their own resources. It was
therefore important that we made resources which are sustainable and that the teachers
can replicate.
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| Had to include this - probably the fattest pig I have ever seen (this picture is quite slimming!!) |
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| Top: Sunset from our homestay balcony. Bottom: Sunrise from the viewing tower with Alan, Elaine and Dhanni. |
Thank you to all the team – you ave been fantastic and I will genuinely miss having you all around! I am lucky though to be surrounded by a lovely and caring family at my homestay and I have Saran who I will continue to work with as well as many other new friends I have met.
I look forward to telling you more about teaching in my next
post, once the elections are over!
Apologies but I do not have any pictures of Bagnas to show - they were taken on Barbara's camera - I will post some when I can.
Apologies but I do not have any pictures of Bagnas to show - they were taken on Barbara's camera - I will post some when I can.
Once again if you would like to donate anything it would be
most gratefully received however small – a little can go a long, long way out
here. Here is the link for donations: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?uniqueVmgCharityUrl=manishachildwelfarefoundationnepaluk
Hope everyone at home is well.
Andy
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