April 11, 2000

We take the bus to Pokhara - we have stored our non-trekking luggage at G.S.'s apartment. We meet G.S.'s friend, Osmund, who is to be our assistant guide on the trek. The ride to Pokera starts in hilly country, with windy roads down steep grades, and traffic backed up because of some construction. There are many buses and trucks going in our direction. After several hours we reach the Pokhara valley. The river is down below in a wide gorge. On the outskirts of the town, houses are on 1 or 2 acre plots which back up to the river gorge. Families have small grain or vegetable farms and cows or goats. The homes squarish, made of bricks or stone - of one or two stories. We reach the business district, where the streets are torn up to install a sewer. The sewer empties into the river. After awhile we reach our hotel, the Fairmont, in the middle of the tourist district. It is a pleasant place, with private bathrooms and hot water, with a jug of filtered water available in the hallway. This is a miniature version of Thamel, with many souvenir shops and restaurants, but the street is wider and much more uneven to walk on. The traffic is just as bad. There are hawkers and beggers here also. Behind the shops and garden restaurants on one side of the street is the lake. It is pleasant to sit in a garden restaurant or roof top cafe and look at the mountains over the lake. One night we sit on a rooftop and see a tree full of white egrets, gathering for the night. The tree looks almost as if it is full of white magnolia blossoms. We go to a bar to watch a video and have a beer. We learn that our Nepali friends do not drink. Later we find that it is G.S. especially that does not drink. Osmund is just not feeling well.

April 12, 2000

Today is an eventful day. We first visit the Paljorling Tibetan Refugee Center, where we talk with an American volunteer there, Robyn McClintock, and several Tibetans (see below). After lunch, we board a bus for a one-1/2 hour ride to the trailhead, and begin our trek.

April 25, 2000

We end our trek (the trek notes are on a separate page) and return to Pokhara. In the evening, we have a dinner with the entire trekking party, and congratulate each other.

April 26, 2000

Greg and I go on separate souvenir trips, while Ben and G.S. go canoeing on the lake. In the afternoon, we go back to the Parjorling Tibetan Refugee Settlement and continue to talk with Robyn and the Tibetans there.

April 27, 2000

At 7:30am we take a small plane to Kathmandu.

Paljorling Tibetan Refugee Settlement

On April 12, 2000, and again on April 26, Greg, Ben, and I visited the Paljorling center. It is in a large walled compound (about 5 acres), and contains a grade school, high school, preschool, a monestary, and a school for monks, as well as housing for everyone. There is also a carpet weaving center and store. The center is aided by a Californian, Robin McClintock, who is there with her teenage daughter and three-year old daughter. Her visas only last a few months, but she returns to help whenever she can. Robin has started a program called Students for World Change, which brings college students to Nepal (and maybe other countries) to help out with third world education. On our second visit we meet such a student who is a bright and dedicated young man who has learned Tibetan and has a real eagerness to help. Robin's specialty and thesis is 'Conflicts in the Community.' She has started a woman's group of Nepali and Tibetan women combined. Tibetan women are strong family members, while Nepali women are more subdued, so the two groups can learn from one another. Robin tells us that girl trafficking is a serious problem in Nepal. One of the camp assistant directors is Karmas Santos. He is a bright young man who is invaluable in helping the camp be successful, and who has acquired some good computer skills.

Nepal and India have a large number of refugees from Tibet, who were pushed out of their own country by the Chinese. In Nepal, Tibetans are disenfranchised, not allowed citizenship, not allowed to vote, and not able to hold government jobs. On the other hand, Tibetans do not seem to be harrassed by the Nepal government, but mostly just ignored.

We visit the classrooms and check out the settlement's four computers. It is the hope to obtain 12 laptops and set up a learning center. The handcraft center now has a website to sell carpets and other handicraft items worldwide on the Internet. With the help of a former llama in Chico in California, the monestary also sells cassettes and CDs with Buddhist teachings and chants. The nursery school children sing "I'm a Little Teapot" for us. We visit the carpet factory where they are being woven, following secret original designs. The principal shows us his small computer with which the teachers use to prepare lesson plans. Then we visit the monestary and talk with some of the young men who are assistant leaders. Some of the monks and teachers have visited the U.S. and have performed chants and teachings in California - to help the plight of the Tibetan refugees. During our second visit to the camp (after returning from our trek), Ben, Greg, and I give computer and Internet advice. Ben suggests the installation of a satelite to download university courses. If the students stay in the center, instead of travelling abroad, there is less likely to be a brain drain, and allowing young people to stay and help out their communities. Ben suggests that the brightest be given the opportunity to develop. He also suggests that a web page be set up to recruit college students who want to go trekking to be volunteer teachers. We give advice on web pages, how to set up Internet shopping carts and credit cards, and the standardizing of the camp's software across computers.