Almost 45 years ago I travelled overland across Asia to Nepal. A friend of mine was teaching in Kathmandu and invited me to join him on a couple of treks into the Himalayas. It was an opportunity not to be missed. I resigned from my teaching job, withdrew my pension contributions and gave up my bedsit and set off. I had hardly travelled but undaunted, I set off on one of the biggest adventures of my life. My camera was a kodak instamatic and I had the films developed into slides. I have now transferred the slides onto an SD card so I could download them onto the computer. The quality is quite poor but gosh how the memories have come flooding back.
This was the school in Budhanilkantha in the Kathmandu Valley where my friend Tony worked. It had only been open for a couple of years when I visited. It is a boarding school based on UK public schools except this one provided (and I think still does) free education for one third of its pupils. Potential students had to sit an entrance exam and this was the reason for the treks into all areas of Nepal. In the early 70s there was no way of reaching schools in the foothills of the Himalayas other than walking to them and that's what we did. Some of these villages were a two week walk away.
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I accompanied Tony and another teacher, Ram on two treks to reach some of these schools. We crossed rivers and valleys
and followed the pathways around the terraced fields.
We stayed in local houses or camped.
The porters carried all our belongings including food, as there was no guarantee we would be able to buy enough on the way. It was always possible to find a chai shop, though, where we could stop for a welcome sit down and cup of tea.
Sharing with Our World Tuesday
What a wonderful trip! Do you ever wonder where some of those students ended up? Sorry to hear Tony died, but the adventure you had lives on. Thank you so much for sharing it. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great adventure you had, and the beautiful mountains you trekked in. How sad Tony died young, it was good he had some adventures first. Thanks for sharing this here.
ReplyDeleteSome of the photos turned out pretty well. And so began a lifetime of walking. I love the way young people can be so fearless and not consider things going very wrong. I think I may have been too cautious in my life but no matter.
ReplyDeleteWow, what an experience! Thanks for sharing your photos and story.
ReplyDeleteWhat an experience!.. Please write more about your trip..
ReplyDeleteWhat an adventure and so nice for you to see the photos on a screen. Mostly photos were printed very small. Nice memories. I have a daughter who went to Nepal on her own when she was only 18 years old. I must admit I didn't feel so at ease when she had gone. Years later she told me about a scary walk in the mountains she didn't dare to tell me earlier...
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteI think your photos are in remarkably good shape, far better than mine from that long ago. What a great introduction to travel and obviously you became hooked on long-distance walks. I enjoyed seeing you as a you as a young teacher and explorer! Tony died far too young.
ReplyDeleteawwwwwwwwww the memories!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou came by your wanderlust early! What an adventure that was. Pre - children and marriage I assume. Was it hard to adjust back to life in England on your return?
ReplyDeleteWonderful shots! I would love to see the Himalayas someday.
ReplyDeleteNow that is an adventure. Wow. And I love Kodak Instamatics.
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ReplyDeleteOops, comment gone, but I'm back.
ReplyDeleteAs I was saying before I lost you:
What a wonderful story, and now you have all your memories back! You certainly were an intrepid novice traveller...wow! The Himalayas make our Canadian Rockies look spindly!
I have a friend who went to India to teach after he graduated from university, but he didn't have a classroom. He and his students sat in the shade of a huge tree full of birds!
When I wrote and said I wanted to visit, he wrote back and I've never stopped laughing about his answer: "Don't come to Inja, Diz, it ain't the way Kipling wrote it."
True, my knowledge of India was pretty much all Rudyard Kipling.
Thanks for sharing your photos and your tales of intrepidity.
It's sad that you lost your wonderful friend, but I know you'll never forget him.
Kay
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Aww … was sorry to hear about Tony’s passing at the end of this wonderful look back. This is a nice memorial to him, in a way, and a sign that you were and still are very much an adventurer at heart. Thanks as always for sharing your world and your travels.
ReplyDeleteThat's a wow trip - I'd absolutely love to see the Himalayas one day. Although I wonder if they'll spoil my local mountains for me (I regularly drive over a 11,500-foot-high pass when I go skiing)...
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful memories of a fabulous adventure in your youth. the old slides have come out well.
ReplyDeleteThat was a very adventurous thing to do. Especially packing in your job. As you say, great memories come flooding back. We almost went to Nepal some years ago but chickened out and went to Goa instead!
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful - what an adventure. What a time of your life. I really should do something with my parents' old slides - not as exciting as your trip, but loads of memories. How awful, and cruel, that Tony died; he must have been very young.
ReplyDeleteHow adventurous!
ReplyDeleteWhat a memorable trip! It really an adventure of a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteEven after so many years the pictures look so good !What an adventure that had been ! I noticed that when young you act first and think later ! At least it was my case !
ReplyDeletethat was quite a trip. And so many good memories! Thanks for sharing.
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