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Bucketlist Bri

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What a Week – Nepal Blog Post #2

Last Updated: October 20, 2021 · Nepal

August 2, 2015

It’s already been 10 days since moving to Kathmandu, Nepal — can you believe it?

10 out of 730, or more.  My first impressions have already begun to transform; I am seeing Nepal with a different set of eyes than just ten days ago.  For example, the spider in my room quickly learned who was the “bigger spider” and to not cross over onto my side of the wall.  It was once my prey, so to speak, and now we’re just friends.

Who would’ve thought?  Which reminds me.. who would’ve thought that I’d be living in 2072 ??  Yes, the year 2072. It wouldn’t seem like it though. We don’t have jet packs and everything’s not chrome.  It’s more like I am going back in time as Nepal is a developing nation.  There seems to be a festival or a holiday every few days, including Saturday.  So I work Sunday through Friday 10-5. Not bad, right? If you are curious about reading how their calendar differs from our Georgian calendar.. here’s the link.

Going into my first day at work I was told not to expect much.  Ever since the earthquake, ICMS has been struggling to keep up and to stay organized.  However, I am pleasantly surprised.  Work is so relaxed.  I get served breakfast which is usually some sort of omelet and toast; coffee, which I didn’t like before but now I look forward to my 2 cups a day. Then I work doing whatever comes up. For now, it’s mainly social media upkeep or updating/writing for the website.  Near 2 pm the smells from the kitchen start to distract me, it’s Nepalese cuisine time! Since I don’t speak Nepali (yet) 😉 it is hard for me to communicate with the cooking/cleaning ladies.  Just smiles and thank you’s are what I do best.

Nepalese cuisine is so yummy.  I haven’t yet tried anything I don’t like.  Well, except “yarsagumba“.  I imagine you are as unfamiliar with it as I certainly was.  I’m not sure I would have tasted it if I had read the description beforehand, which I have provided conveniently for you here: “…is a fungus that parasites and infects larvae of ghost moths and produces a fruiting body valued as a herbal remedy.” No bueno. Pas bon.

The culture here is so different, and the only way to appreciate it is to do as they do;  Bargain in street markets, wear green bangles to celebrate the month of Shrawan, wear henna, fast (by eating “pure” foods), take shoes off before entering one’s shop, home or room, dress up in sari’s and kurtha’s, and MY FAVORITE thus far – eat Dhal Bhat (with your hands!!!)

I was able to be “culturally immersed”, all thanks to my lovely friend Rozeena and her family for welcoming me into their home.  Anyways back to eating like a child, growing up being told “NO!” every time you try and eat with your hands (of course except American food, i.e burgers, fries, etc..) makes eating saucy rice, smothered potatoes and beans kind of.. uncomfortable?  Once you get the spoon technique with your four fingers though it gets easier.  “When in Rome”, right? Not to mention that hole in the floor most people in Asia call toilets.  It is so much more environmentally friendly though. The Western world wastes so much clean water that just sits in toilets.

Of course there are the other unexpected things you experience.  Like getting pooped on by a pigeon or riding on the back of scooters, which is so dangerous yet so much fun.  Late night trips to the creepy, dark-lit restaurant where you can eat ‘momos’ (dumplings) for 100 NRs. Yep, that’s a $1 dinner.  My wallet appreciated it, my tummy the next day however did not. Eeh.

The first ‘touristy’ place we went to was Boudanath Stupa, a Buddhist temple.  Below is my amateur shot of the place. The top part is under reconstruction, of course due to the catastrophic earthquake.  Nonetheless, walking into the plaza area my jaw dropped and my American “oh my gosh” came out again.  It was colorful, busy, smelly, noisy, hot, but with loads of culture and history popping out at every turn of the head.  I didn’t know where to look!  It was an amazing feeling to be there. “I am living in South Asia“, I thought.  Too cool.

I just wanted to show my family immediately to see what they would say.  That’s why I wanted to write this blog, and why I try to post as many pictures on Faceb.  Buddhism is so fascinating, and the worshipers are even more so.  One day I will dedicate a blog all to the two main religions here which is Hinduism and Buddhism.  They are alike, yet have such opposite traditions and rituals.  If I am going on a journey while in Nepal, I place my bets on a spiritual one.

If you haven’t already checked out my very first post from when I arrived in Nepal, you can read it here! 🙂

By: Bri · In: Nepal · Tagged: Adventure, kathmandu

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Welcome to Kathmandu, Nepal – Nepal Blog Post #1

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I’m Bri, an adventurous digital nomad living abroad full-time since 2015. It is my hope to inspire you to live a life of adventure, seek out meaningful experiences, and travel slowly and mindfully!

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Traveling solo in Nepal has awakened in me a confi Traveling solo in Nepal has awakened in me a confidence & sense of self (at the risk of sounding cliché), of “my essence” and inner Knowing, and where my compassion and passions mingle and thrive. I was reading some of your comments on my recent Reel about solo travel and how I put myself at great risk/in danger. But as I was telling my Tibetan friend, Sonam, tonight (yes, the new one I made last week!), I inform my decisions mostly by 1. Asking myself, “Would this make a good story?” and 2. Listening to my body and emotions. Yes, it’s risky to travel solo, to be a female in a male-dominated culture, to go out after hours with people you just met, etc. But doing that — and all the magic that followed by “allowing” — reminded me exactly of who I am at my core: Curious and open to the world, willing to get uncomfortable for the sake of finding magic and serendipity. Some of you said, “I’m too scared to do this, how do you overcome that fear of personal safety?” And to this I say, I don’t! Fear accompanies me along the journey. Living life is one big risk. It’s uncomfortable to be open, vulnerable, and unsure. But once you accept that and once you begin to let compassion and curiosity guide you rather than your fear, the real magic starts to happen in all areas of life, not just travel. I find these moments most in travel though, when I’m confronted with contrast and am left vulnerable to the world and the kindness of my fellow humans. My Reels are not meant to romanticize or gloss over very real risks/threats in life, but rather to share a real account of what’s possible (adventure, connections, love, etc) when you worry less about societal norms and what’s “safe not safe” “right not right” and allow your over-active fears to take a backseat. 
This is your reminder to trust your inner compass to guide you in writing your epic life story. ✨✨

To sum it up: 

1. Choose a life of adventure 
2. Stay curious
3. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable (otherwise said, seek discomfort)
4. Let love and light flow in and out 
5. Change is the only constant 

#solotravel #nepaltravel #solofemaletraveler #soloadventure #localtravel #trekkingnepal #adventurethatislife
The strength of women 💛 These ladies were lau The strength of women 💛 

These ladies were laughing so sweetly while filling up their water jugs at the Manga Hiti fountain in Patan. I watched them for a while and then plucked up the courage to ask if I could take their photos, which only made them giggle more. 

I've always felt that not being able to communicate in the same language makes for even more interesting encounters. Without words, we have to touch each other's humanity with eyes and gestures, and most of the time it leads to unspoken mutual understanding, acceptance, and love. We three walked away with the biggest smiles on our faces. I yelled out "Dhayabad!" (Thank you!) as they hoisted their jugs up the stairs, laughing all the way. I won't forget this shared moment between us 🙏 

Check stories for the landscape orientation for some of these photos ✨ 

#nepal #nepalnow #nepalphotography #nepaliculture #nepalisbeautiful #natgeoyourshot #patan #kathmanduvalley #lifetimeexperiences #photonepal #nepaltravel
Did you feel it? Nepal’s ancient wisdom, its swi Did you feel it? Nepal’s ancient wisdom, its swirling spirituality, its raw humanity? ✨🇳🇵❤️

#nepal #visitnepal #nepalnow #travelstories #localtravel #mindfultravel #slowtravel #natgeotravel
When you say “yes” as a solo traveler and stay When you say “yes” as a solo traveler and stay open to the randomness of life and the kindness of strangers, really wonderful memories can be made. Thank you Lama family and my new Tibetan friends for such a fun and insightful sequence of experiences 🙏 💛

#solotravel #localtravel #nepaltravel #nepaldiaries #nepali #solofemaletravel #kathmandunepal #thamel #tibetanfood #solotraveldiaries
My first week back in the chaos of Kathmandu, 💛 My first week back in the chaos of Kathmandu, 💛 

Being back after 7 long years away has jolted my body, brain, and spirit. At first, I felt overwhelmed with the recurring thought of, "I don't know what to do with myself." It was only when acceptance knocked on my door, and I finally decided to let it in, that things began to shift and flow.
 
In Nepal, particularly Kathmandu, everything around me swarms like a hive. I have nowhere else to go but inside myself. I've discovered through years of slow traveling (and solo travel) that peace awaits me there -- a sense of independence, power, and knowing that is still, comforting, and safe. And I can tap into it whenever I need to.

Chaos and peace reside in all of us, and Nepal has a cosmic, ancient way of reminding you of just that. 

📍 Patan Durbar Square, Lalitpur

#nepaltravel #patan #durbarsquare #nepalphotography #slowtravel #nepal #solotravel #lalitpur
They ask, “Why?” I was 29 when I embarked on They ask, “Why?” 

I was 29 when I embarked on the plane on the 21st, and 30 when I disembarked on the 23rd. How fitting. I spent all of my 20s abroad (except for my two final semesters in undergrad), and moved to Nepal when I was 21. 

What better way to say goodbye to my twenties than by returning to the start? I felt the desperate urge to start my 30s this way—alone on a one-way ticket with no concrete plans. I have both feared and longed to come back all these years. You see, I had made a promise to one of my closest Nepali friends that I’d see her again, but the reality is that I no longer can. 

She, along with another dear friend, passed away from cancer a couple of years back. The thought of returning to my old life here without my friends made me, well, incredibly sad. I had thought that, upon landing in Kathmandu—or taking a bite of my first momo—after so long, I’d find myself bursting into tears of both grief and gratitude. But I didn’t. Instead, I found familiarity in the chaos and chaos in the strangeness. 

Just being here—and the decisions and actions it took to get here—has reminded me of the preciousness of this one very short life. And that, by choosing to celebrate mine—at the exciting turn of a decade no less—by coming back to Nepal on a solo trip that would force me into daring discomfort when I could instead retreat to the comforts of family or my partner, is how I want to live it.

Truth is, a couple of months ago the thought of Nepal felt out of reach. It felt risky, unattainable. But the idea itself pushed open, just a crack at first, a door that had been otherwise closed. I could have more easily ignored my “what if?” daydreams—calling them off as too hard, too uncomfortable, or too far-fetched to actually pursue—and kept it shut.
But sometime in mid-July, I decided to look at flights. And I found one (truly, just one) option that could work. And it just so happened that it would fall on my birthday, or rather bridge my birthday. The idea of getting on a plane at 29 and getting off it at 30—back in Nepal—sold me. I fell in love with the story, the adventure, the unknowingness of it all. 

So, yeah. That’s why. Or as I prefer, “Why not?”
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