Thank You

Thank you everyone for all the comments, its amazing to see so many people contributing. the comments give me a lot to think about and a lot to smile about. i'm reading a book at the moment called 'The Book of Five Rings'. its a very short book, 50 pages. i think you can get it off the net. if you google the title and then pdf. if you read it and finish it please let me know what you think of it. 

all gone.....

Tragic times... i was putting my stuff on the shelf before i went to sleep, including my hard drive. then suddenly... crash! my hard drive falls to the floor... i didn't think much of it. just picked it up and put it back. next morning at work. i plugged it in, and the hard drive could not be recognised by the computer! on this hard drive is everything i have done in the past 2 years! and now... its all gone... i spoke to the technician about repairing it and he said it was a hardware failure and some other technical jargon i didn't understand.... i was going to get angry, but then i thought about something i heard. when tribulation happens with either two things, god testing you. or its a result of something you did to didn't do. either way its a purification process. so i began to try and see some wisdom in the moment and the tried to extrapolate some lessons...... i lost a really expensive fountain pen as well a couple of days ago... thinking about these things made me realise how irrelevant they really are. objects come and go. while we have them, we can enjoy them. but once they leave us we shouldn't feel empty without them. because they are not the things that complete us. anyway thats just a thought....please let me know of precious things you have lost and how you felt.

Eid Mubarak!

quick post. its that time of year again! the wonderful month of Dul Hijjah. the millions of people have performed their pilgrimage. i guess only those who have been can really understand how amazing the experience is. it'll be the first eid away from family and friends! so we'll see how it goes... i've asked one of the workers to bring in sweets to share with the office. so it'll be nice to share the day with everyone. also moved into my new place. its a nice change of environment. everyone is a foreigner so its cool getting to know people from different cultures. anyway... eid mubarak everyone. now time to sleep . hopefully i wake up on time!!! peace

the roots provide an excellent stairway

follow the yellow brick road

Laurits is shown the way to Kutumsang by a kid on his way home from school

24hrs on sleeper class in Dewali,Enough said....

Chilling out in Kathmandu

After a long trek it was nice to sit and drink a cold, freshly made, fruit juice.

As requested.....

People have been asking me to post more pictures of myself. so here i am half way up with a crazy t-shirt on my head to stop the sun from draining all my energy. it was advice we got of an Israeli trekker at the start of the trek.

A sense of responsability

on our journey through the mountains, we only came across 1 or 2 cheeky kids. the rest had a real sense of responsibility. carrying goods, taking orders, coking the food, translating for the parents. this is including the boys. i can't remember what i was doing at that age, but i'm sure it was something quite opposite. getting into trouble or being lazy in some way or another. but it really makes you think, how  little responsibility we undertake in the west. we can stole through our childhood, some their whole lives, without doing much.  some idiots then argue, children should be able to have fun. well they do. once they kids finish serving the food for example. they make paper aeroplanes. kick a football about. or whatever kids do. amazing....

a new meaning for public transport

whoever thought getting on a bus was as simple as getting on, waiting for your stop and then getting off. would be right in most parts of the world. but not Nepal, you get on and hope you don't die before your stop arrives. to the left is a picture of another bus from our bus, which looked exactly the same. now imagine going up or down a mountain. rocking side to side. 30cm from the edge. with other buses like that heading towards you. it just doesn't bare thinking about, let alone living through! once you get over that bit, and start admiring the view from the bus, its becomes a quite beautiful experience. you can then being to appreciate the driving skills of these people. Lewis who? also the memory of the money collector. because he collects to money when people get off not as they get on. so he has to remember so many faces over such a short space of time. and they are continuously changing.

Companionship

While trekking, between the pain and more pain. you have a lot of time to reflect. one of the things i was reflecting on was companionship. its so Important to have companionship on a journey. in whatever you do. and that doesn't just mean someone you over, someone you have known for a long time or a close friend. its has to be someone with the same aim as yourself. even if you are vastly different people. because then you can help each other towards to goal. if you don't share the same aim. then you will both be travelling in different direction and neither will achieve anything. but if travelling in the same direction. your more likely to hit the mark. on your own, its difficult to always make clear decisions. at times your judgement will be clouded. 

After The Himalayas

we just got back from trekking in the Himalaya's. arrived in Kathmandu yesterday night. my whole body is destroyed. because of our lack of time. had to do a 6 day trek in 4.5 days..... it was worth the pain, i think... the views from the mountain were amazing and the stars are night breathtaking. i will post pictures soon can't upload them from the cyber cafe. each time we think that the complexities of the trip are over and we can relax. something else comes in front of us. thats just life i guess. also a point to note, anyone who loves the thrill of roller coasters. try taking a bus up and down a mountain!!! a 30 seater bus with 100 people on. hanging off all corners. and on the roof. charging up and down a narrow path. with other buses heading towards you and rocking form side to side. as my mate Laurits said. "30cm to the side and we are dead" so credit to the drivers. they are very good at what they do. its funny looking at all the tourists. even though they span from America to as far as Israel. they all look exactly the same. with their costumes on. and all the Nepal's are dressed how we dress normally. when we become tourists we feel we have to put on a costume to 'integrate'. maybe its more important to try and learn the language than become part of a pantomime. i will speak about my reflections once i'm back in Ahmedabad. peace for now.