Yogi Nomad yoga teacher training

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Superstitions

Well if there isn't a time to get superstitious and pray to some sort of god, then i better get started. Firstly, Indra the god of thunder and rain is quite busy with his monsoon. The monsoon is a bit of downer because with it, it brings extreme heat (hotter than the Amazon rain forest) and crazy, drenching rains which usually only happen in the evening, today was the exception. The monsoon also makes trekking difficult, with slippery trails and clouded in valleys. Those beautiful vistas i have seen so many photos of are all hidden from me right now. I now understand why people don't travel during this time.

Secondly, a 6.9 earthquake! The biggest in 78 years according to the local paper. The fault line that brought this region the stunning Himalayas is still jamming itself higher and higher. Earthquakes are not to shocking to me coming from Vancouver and living on the San Adreas fault line. This was a good rattler though. The fear with earthquakes here is that nothing is built to code. Earthquake proof buildings don't exist. I was luckily only under a sheet metal roof enjoying the company of a fellow couch surfer who is here hanging out writing a book. Other people i met who where in Kathmandu told me that they where inside the hotel and when the earth started moving all the employees ran outside. There is no 'duck and cover' here, it's RUN! Collapsing buildings and mudslides are what resulted in 60+ deaths across India, Nepal, and Tibet so far. There is no earthquake preparedness which is complained about heavily in the newspapers.

Thirdly, a scooter crash! Thanks to the monsoon rains and the one day i decide to rent a scooter and go out the Bengas Tal, a less touristy, beautiful lake. I picked up the scooter which looked like a hunk of junk, which thank god it was because after i crashed it, it barely looked any different. Almost dying a few times at the hands of other Nepali drivers on the road, and random dogs haphazardly running into the street. The slick street was no match for me with a deaf man who didn't hear my horn and didn't move. Luckily i wasn't going to fast but my bald tires, and locked breaks where a combination for disaster, if the road was dry i would have been able to stop in time. Off i slid, luckily not badly at all. As soon as i hit the ground i had about 25 people picking up the scooter, helping me up, women brushing off my pants, checking my hands. Meanwhile the deaf man was still walking in the middle of the road and was oblivious and i was warned to avoid him. Police were there in 30 seconds to help me and take me to the local hospital which wasn't necessary. My right arm and thumb feel a little wonky but i am sure i will shake it off. A nice scratch along my leg but nothing really that bad. Good luck or bad luck? Who's to say. Good luck for it not being worse. Bad luck for bailing. My track record for scooters is actually pretty bad so i think i will stick to walking, biking, and buses.

Pokhara to the Peace Pagoda, an adventure and a half

Today started with monsoon clouds enveloping the Pokhara valley. I knew they would burn off so i decided to start my day early. I started my stroll down the main strip and stopped to purchase a really low quality North face rain jacket for $20usd (which has since been a blessing), and a fresh pomegranate juice. I tried to follow the directions in the Lonely Planet book on how to do the scenic hike to the Peace Pagoda and managed to meet two very interesting girls. One from China, the other from Bhutan. The girl from Bhutan is actually the duchess of Bhutan and wise and calm beyond her 19 years. Either that or she's secretly recruiting for the sex slave trade. She has accomplished a civil engineering degree she started when she was only 16 in Kathmandu. As we weaved along the Dam, through rice patties, and people homes, we started our ascent through the jungle. I don't know why i thought Nepal was going to be a cooler climate, it definitely wasn't cool today. It is supposedly the end of the monsoon, when people say its the end that doesn't mean is a gradual cool off, it means it's still happening. From the bucket loads of Indian novels i have read over the years, supposedly one day the monsoon will end and it won't come back and you can tell by the relief in the air. There is no spring or fall like in Canada, just monsoon or no monsoon. Dripping in sweat from the heat, we climbed up the hill, until we realized leeches were attaching themselves to our feet. They even made their way through my running shoes cloth through teeny tiny holes into my shoes. After removing my socks and going through my shoes i couldn't find them though, i still don't know where they went. My chinese friend was loosing it because she worse open toe sandals and the leeches had easy access to her feet. At that point we where almost running up the hill. I was able to ask many interesting questions of my new friend from Bhutan. She loves Nepal because she is able to enjoy a real life here. In Bhutan she has security guards a little access to the public because of the 'celebrity' status that comes with being in a monarchy. She invited me to join her in Bhutan and she would be able to take me across the border without a visa because of her monarch powers. I would be her guest, and than she would bring me back to Kathmandu (a 36 hour bus ride each way). I would LOVE to go to Bhutan but 72 hours of bus in one week is really not attractive enough to me. Plus we would have to cross India and i don't have a visa for that either. After many freak outs from the leeches, mosquitoes, falling on the wet washed out ground, and hiking uphill for 3 hours (Lonely planet says it takes 2 hours?!) we made it to the top where the views are stunning. We relaxed and realized that we just had an adventure of a lifetime together. We also had one pissed off bull almost charge us which i haven't had happen before. Dirty, sweaty, and seemingly not covered in leeches! Hurrah! Then comes the decent that says it takes 20 minutes in the Lonely Planet book for the quick route. It took 45 minutes and we took steeper shortcuts. This walk isn't for the unfit, and not reachable by vehicle. I was surprised that motorcycles didn't offer their services because it seems like this would be a good business, even though the 'shorter' road is rough. In the 45 minute walk down i managed to give myself the worst sunburn i have had in years. Usually i cover up, but when i left it was cloudy and so unassuming. On returning i visited the Olive Cafe which was recommended to me by my friends Jen and Jon who where here recently. I indulged in the ice coffee which was so refreshing (or i was just dehydrated), i even ate the ice cubes as well. Now it's time to relax and meet up with some couch surfing friends. What a day!

Nepal vs. Buddha

As my eyes begin to cross from barely sleeping over the 21 hour journey to get to Kathmandu, i am forcing myself to stay awake to get onto this 12 hour time change as soon as possible. It's hard to begin when you come to a place like Kathmandu. It's a city with it's typical Asian smells, touting selling and guides, and packs of street dogs but there is something so obviously different about Nepal. Buddhism prevails with it's imagery, monasteries, and followers. Buddha was born in a town named Lumbini in Nepal near the Indian border, he didn't stay here but the energy of mindfulness has been left behind. One thing i don't understand are the rituals though. Buddha never believed in blind faith per say, yet there are so many rituals here. Today i should have good luck forever and never have bad teeth (that's a hindu blessing actually). Lighting candles, giving food to monkeys will bring you "more". Buddha would say that is foolish but this is what 'religion' becomes unfortunately over time. Buddha never wanted to be idealized, turned into a religion, gurufied or cast in gold thousands of times and be bent down too. So Nepal and it's beliefs aren't perfect, but what country is?

Ever since i did Vippassanna (mediation) i am not attracted to big cities, i see things and people a little to clearly.. so i am leaving Kathmandu after one whole day and taking the 7 hour bus ride to Pokhara, a lake town, closer to nature, but also the starting point for a few stunning treks in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. It also seems like a place where i can get to know some locals.

Nepal

Prayer Flags in the Annapurnas, originally uploaded by More Altitude.

In one month i leave for Kathmandu, Nepal. A place i have been before only for a few days when the booking agent in Varnasi, India said 3 days was enough for a visit. Three days is not enough for a visit to Nepal, it's enough to walk around, rent a bike, eat, and see how different it is from India. It was a breath of fresh air in terms of attention. But that was 12 years ago when i was 20 years old and now i am embracing Nepal for a minimum of 2 month and doing a 6 week Yoga teacher training and Thai massage in the outskirts of Kathmandu with Yogi Nomad. It's like a dream come true and made possible by many wonderful people who i don't know, and some who i know well.
To be able to study in the birth place of Hatha Yoga seems only natural to me. It feels like the right spot for me in my life right now. I am now researching some treks since i will 16 days to explore Nepal on my own and take as many photographs as i can.

I read this quote the other day that is ringing true to me right now: When you truly feel equal love for all beings, when your heart has expanded so much that it embraces the whole of creation, you will certainly not feel like giving up this or that. You will simply drop off from secular life as a ripe fruit drops from the branch of a tree. You will feel that whole world is your home.