Neil in Nepal: Yoga & Culture tour 2016

Another successful Yoga and Culture tour to Nepal with two fine groups! We did our daily yoga practice in some unique locations and walked through the cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara as well as some villages to experience the Hindu and Buddhist cultures. The food was good and beer or wine at 4 or 5 every day was a great time to reflect upon our day's experiences!

Yoga in garden at Begnas Resort

The Nepal people are still suffering from Government inaction following last April's earthquake and very little rebuilding has taken place especially in the remote villages near the epicentre where homes and schools were devastated. My school in Nalang has not begun rebuilding due to lack of supplies like cement (which comes from India) and expertise - the men have had to leave to find work and earn a living. A 5 month long blockade at the border with India held back all kinds of needed supplies for everyone including food, medicines, building products, and in particular fuels.

Hindu Temples at Pashupatinath

Lack of LPG gas has meant that most people need to use wood to cook their meals creating an unhealthy atmosphere of smoke and haze all through the country! It is being rationed and sold at exorbitant prices by the mafia. Even vehicle fuels like diesel and petrol is rationed resulting in long lines of cars and trucks waiting for days to even secure a half tank at inflated prices. The Nepal government is doing nothing to alleviate this problem.

Due to all the above issues, tourism is down anywhere from 50 to 75% and a noticeable absence of tourists when we arrived February 2. One way we can support this country is by travelling there and this employs staff in hotels, shops and restaurants. Fortunately, we were not inconvenienced too much.

There is still power shedding with no power for many hours in the day. One must expect to shower by candlelight some days and go to bed and read by headlamp at night. In spite of all these issues, the people remain calm, stoic, smiling, happy with what they have and appreciative of our presence.

Yoga in Pagoda room, Vajra Hotel

The weather was warm during the days to +20C and the nights in early February were quite cold. The hotels do not have any central heating so we used electric heaters when the power was on! Later in February we had warmer nights, birds were returning to nest, flowers were blooming and it really felt like spring in the foothills of the Himalayas!

Some of these photos will give one an idea of what we experienced.