I traveled to Nepal during the last Christmas holiday.We can see Tibetan people in Nepal because Nepal is next to Tibet. They are neighbors. They are Mongoloid, so they look like Japanese people. Tibetans have their own culture which is different to Nepalese culture. Tibetan women wear Tibetan clothes and their accessories are also different. Tibetan silver jewellery is famous and popular as a good souvenir for tourists. Their religion is Buddhism, not Hindu. Their food is also different. I prefer Tibetan dishes to Nepalese dishes. The tibetan diet is East Asian style and includes Japanese style. I tried a Tibetan set meal in a Tibetan restaurant. There are several Tibetan restaurants there. The meal included stir- fried vegetables, rice, and soup with dumplings.
We could choose a vegetarian meal or non-vegetarian meal. It was very hot, and a little bit greasy for me, but I enjoyed it.They also have their local alcohol made from millet. It is called 'tomba' and it looks very strange.
You get millet grains in your cup and you should pour hot water on them and wait 5 min. Then you can drink it with a straw. It tastes a little sweet and a little sour. It is not strong alcohol. I liked tomba very much in Nepal. It was very cold weather at that time, and tomba was a hot drink. It made me feel warm.
I traveled to Nepal during the last Christmas holiday. I went to Chitowan National Park. It is near the border between Nepal and India. It takes about 7 hours by bus from Kathmandu. Chitowan National Park is one of the most well-reserved National Parks in Asia. In Chitowan National Park, I experienced an elephant ride safari which meant that we could explore the park by riding on the elephant's back like an Indian king ! In the morning, we went to the park with the tour organizers. We climbed up on to the elephant's back using a ladder. Four people sat on one elephant together, and the 'driver' sat in front of us.
We went around the National Park and along a river. We saw wild crocodiles, rhinos, deers, and beautiful peacocks.
It was an amazing experience. But riding an elephant was not comfortable. We sat on a saddle with a banister, and we had to hold on tight to the banister during the tour. I watched a football match there. It wasn't a normal match. It was an elephant football match! Nepalese treat elephants as horses. So they ride on elephant's backs and control them to play football. Incredible!
And the next day, I read an article in the newspaper. It said, the elephant's pageant had taken place there and they chose one elephant as a winner. Funny! At that time, the National Elephant Festival was taking place there, so we could see many attractions like parades, elephant races and so on. I was lucky !
I traveled to Nepal during the last Christmas Holiday. Nepalese eat stewed peas with spices. Usually, they are served with rice and spicy pickles. For me, it was O.K. but not so delicious. It is similar to Indian curry. I met some Indian tourists in Nepal, they said that they were really missing their Indian dishes. I thought that they wouldn't have any problems with the food in Nepal, because their diets are similar, but they said, "You might complain if Chinese people run a Japanese restaurant, and their menu differs from real Japanese dishes!" Yes, we can see many Japanese restaurants run by Chinese and some of them are disappointing for us. Nepalese eat stewed peas with rice twice a day, for lunch and dinner. They don't eat any breakfast, and just have some tea in the morning instead.
During meals, they have some nice snacks. The most popular snack among tourists is the Nepalese dumpling, 'momo'. Even the Lonely Planet recommends it. Usually, they are steamed and we eat them with a spicy sauce. We can find them, of course, in restaurants and also at street vendors. I was a frequent customer of a vendor near my friend's place. Twelve small momos cost about 35 cents. I ate momos with other Nepalese people on the side of the vendor, sometimes I brought them back to my friend's home. Besides momo, the other snacks include meat pies, fried chicken, and doughnuts.
I traveled to Nepal during the last Christmas holiday.
In Nepal, there are many world heritage sites. Most of them are religious facilities. The primary religion there is Hindu followed by Buddhism. We Japanese also have temples in our country, but those in Nepal look different from ours. They are more colorful, not in Zen Style. And the Hindu Gods look more cheerful than Buddha. They dance, play music, sometimes they are making love on the tapestries! You can also see statues of Hindu Gods making love. Interesting!
Besides, they worship Linga and Yooni. Those are metaphors for penis and vagina. You can find many Linga statues in the city and people bless them with flowers. Very interesting! Hindus admire the power of sex. Linga is a symbol of prosperity for them.These Hindu temples are decorated with wood carvings and metal works. They are amazing.
Nepal is next to Tibet, so there are Tibetan Buddhism temples in Nepal too. They are also very different from the Japanese Style. They are painted colorfully, and they like using gold there. In short, the Japanese Style is calm whereas the Nepalese Style looks loud.
Despite the difference in style, I felt relief in these temples and I prayed.
Last Christmas holiday, I traveled to Nepal. I have dreamed to go there since I was a kid. I loved to watch T.V. programs about visiting exotic countries on the National Geographic Channel. Nepal was one of the most fascinating destinations for me. Last year, my friend moved to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal as an NGO employee. She invited me over and offered me free accommodation. I had enough mileage points to fly there, so I decided to go to my dream destination.When I arrived in Kathmandu, I felt like I had arrived in the last century. There were no modern buildings. The traffic was crowded with old cars which were giving off black fumes. The roads were not paved well. Besides, they've been trying to expand all the roads in their capital. It means, all Kathmandu has been under construction.
My hair, face, and clothes became very dirty immediately. Many people were using face masks to avoid the dusty air. One of the images of Nepal is the beautiful view of the Himalayan Mountain Range in clean, fresh air. But in Kathmandu, the air is very dirty and might be polluted. Although it's dusty air, Kathmandu looked bustling and vibrant.
I saw a lot of people in colorful clothes on the street where there were many small shops along with narrow paths. It looked like a labyrinth.
