Textile Shopping: Helping Rural Rajastani Women

The textiles of Rajastan State catch my attention every time I walk by a shop displaying them... which is about every 20 feet. And while we usually have to fend off the shop owners from kidnapping us into their shop, this woman got my attention right away.

Bobby runs Bellisima with her brother - an organization set up in the villages of Rajastan to help women in need. There are over 250 women who work sewing textiles. The textiles are sold in this shop in Jaisalmer and the money sent back to the women.



Bobby and I with some beautiful wall hangings

Girls in Rajastani villages are often married off by age 15, and while child brides are technically illegal in India, there are so many things that fly under the radar in the name of religion and tradition. Often, these girls are married to older men and in India tradition, they leave their home/village and move into the home of the husband's family. Depending on how large his family is and how many of his brothers' children live in the home, these chaotic homes can have like, 30 people living in them. If their husband dies, the woman is then kicked out of the home with her children and finds herself young, uneducated, poor and left on the street. They are not allowed to re-marry.

These are the women that sew these tapestries.

They are paid by the inch and the quality of work. In the photo above of Bobby and I, she is holding a piece done by a Muslim woman, where the entire wall hanging is done stitch by stitch. It would have taken one woman 9 months to complete. Mine is done by a Hindu woman and would have taken 1 month. Still an incredible amount of time to invest in one product. The one I am holding sells for approx $10 while the Muslim one is approx. $50.

They use their earnings to provide housing for themselves and the children, food and education for their children. Bellisima holds them accountable on educating their children.



Some women working on textiles (taken from website)

 They have a little website with more photos: http://bellissimafort.blogspot.in/2011_11_01_archive.html

We spent about 45 minutes in that shop with Bobby talking and looking at wall hangings. I may have done a little Christmas shopping there too! I love finding gems like this shop and supporting the work!





50 000 Camels, one town.

When we heard that we were close to a little town called Pushkar during their Camel Fair, we figured we HAD to go - what the heck was a camel fair?

This is what we found out:

Every year for about a week, a tent city is build in the desert outside of Pushkar where 50 000 camels and horses are brought from all over the state to do business, compete and perform. There are camel races, camel dance contests and camel competitions for height/size/capabilities etc. We found out an adult camel costs the equivalent of $400! ...and we figure that in camel families, it would be a big deal to give/receive a camel as part of a bride dowry. Picture it... "Marry my daughter, give her a good life, I give your family my 10 best camels." HA. 

So this town is buzzing right now: 200 000 people, both Indian and foreigner come every year - this means busy streets, guesthouse prices are 5x more and shop owners won't settle for regular prices. Other than that, this town is super chilled out, on a holy lake and full of hippie garb. It is strictly vegetarian - town rules. Not even eggs are allowed. There is even a sign that says "No Smooching, No Hugging". Ooooh Pushkar!

The tent city

Camels!... chillin'.

Soooo many!

The camel dancing competition

Screwing in the Bollywood lightbulbs, on his camel. 

Three more days til we ride these guys across a desert!

Taj Mahal and the Land of the Kings

Well, after 3 weeks in Varanasi, we're on the road again for the next month! It's been an adventure so far... for a while we didn't think anything was going to go as planned in India.

 

Our plan was to go to a National Park/tiger reserve. We took a 9hr train, got picked up in this teeny little town at 10:30, and drove 2hrs to the park. We found out the next day that this year the government changed regulations so that only a third of the amount of tourists were allowed in the park. So, that means that now the big hotels buy all the permits in blocks and little guys like us on a budget don't have a chance in the world of getting the permit. So... that left us doing this at our guesthouse for two days:

 

our little cottage guesthouse

We didn't mind TOO much, as the fresh air and greenery was very refreshing from the big city. I just had to watch out for the massive monkeys with ginourmous tails. I have developed a legit fear of them since one jumped at my face through a window (the bars stopped him) in Varanasi!!

Then we took an overnight train and spent 14hrs cramped like this... gotta love sleeper class. This is one level up from our initial general seating tickets when we first arrived in India!

Andrew faking a smile - he wasn't comfortable at all.

We made it to the infamous Taj Mahal. Big bonus: it was incidently World Heritage Day and admission was free! Saved ourselves $46 in fees this day, whoo hoo!
The Taj was pretty cool. The most incredible part was the insane arcitecture. It was built in the 1600s and the WHOLE THING IS SOLID MARBLE. It is almost all etched with intricate carvings, studded with precious gems. Amazing.

Even more cool, was the Agra Fort. It is over 1000 years old! The walls are 30m high and used to be surrounded by a river, and where the river ended, a crocidile infested moat. I can't even describe how massive it was. The history is insane: centuries of people groups fighting to hold the fort, dozens of different rulings. There were thrones from sultans from different rulings, and the man who built the Taj for his deseased wife was actually inprisoned in the fort by his son for the last 8yrs of his life. His inprisonment was overlooking the Taj.
Here we are in one of the gardens:

Today and tomorrow we are in Jaipur. It was so hard to get here - we had to take a train where the tickets cost 3x more than our regular ones because the only seats open were in a higher class. But it was amazing, we're talking provided bedding, AC, pillow, curtains and they came to sweep the garbage off the floor. I wished it was more than 5hrs, lol.
Jaipur is in the state of Rajasthan, in West India. It borders Pakistan. It translates to "Land of Kings", so you can imagine the royal history here. We will be here for the next week, and as tourist have been joking, our time will consist of "palace-fort-temple-palace-fort-temple".

At the top of a tower overlooking Jaipur

Outside the City Palace

Tomorrow we are going to a[nother] fort, one of which we can probably ride an elephant to get to the top! Also seeing a temple and another fort... haha.
Jaipur has amaaaazing shopping! And it's not in overwhelming, dirty, 20million-people-in-1sq-km! There are streets and shops and easy bartering... mmm. My pack got mighty heavier after today... and I'm happy to say that I now have an anklette on each ankle. Back story: in Varanasi, I bought one silver anklette and wore it proudly... til Melissa's national friend asked her in Hindi why I'm only wearing one - one means that you are a prositute. Shoooot. So I happily reclaimed status back today, and and double jingly now :)

And, what's funny about Jaipur, is this: I've aquired enough "Indian-garb" to blend in: traditional clothing and my signs of marriage (red marking on my forehead, bangles on wrists, toe rings and anklette(s). BUT I had more people comment to me today that "You are Indian?"... "You live in India?"... "You married in India?"... "You look Indian madam!"...than I had in Varanasi! These people are used to white people looking western and so now I stand out because I look Indian. I can't win!

EXCITING NEWS:
We made the decision: one can only take so much temple-fort-palace touring, so we splurged and bought flights to Goa, South India to live on the beach for a week in a hut! We contemplated: 30+ hrs on the train each way, or 3hr flights. It was a multi-day debate, but the flights won out! Dec 3 we fly south... CAN NOT WAIT!

Til then... temple-fort-palace, temple-fort-palace...

Rice Fields & Hospitals

About an hour out of Varanasi, there is Christian run hospital and compound that is committed to serving the lowest, poorest caste of India, the Dalit people. These are India’s Untouchables, people considered lower than animals, and treated so too. They would never be able to afford to see a doctor or have any medical treatment. Their education is so limited on healthy living, so you can imagine the illnesses and health issues that arise in their communities.

The Kachhwa hospital is located on a large compound that houses all the workers, both national and international, has centers for sewing and electrical classes and has numerous sports courts – all surrounded by big beautiful green trees and a pond stocked with fish and swans. It is an amazing place!

They have minor and major operating rooms, a general ward and eye and dental services. They do everything from ultrasounds to surgery to snake bite treatment; it is known as “the snake bite hospital”, as they usually receive at least one snake bite victim a day from surrounding villages.

By Western standards, their equipment would seem primitive and outdated, but they make it work. I know my sister and nursing friends will get a kick out of the hospital photos – the operating rooms, the ward, the sterilization equipment and ventilator, as well as the general sanitization of the facility! Enjoy, ladies!

The goals of the compound are amazing. They for holistic community development, not just healthcare related. Here are a couple of them…
6000 Dalit families from 35 villages in Majhawa Block have increased awareness/knowledge about the determinants and methods to prevent diseases, the desire to seek better health, lower illness rates, improved environment/personal hygiene, access to affordable health care.
Steps:
school health training for school teachers
conduct health awareness rallies at schools
conduct village cleaning campaign
conduct hygiene promotion teaching
hand pump and toilet installation

3000 children between 5 – 15yrs from Dalit families have acquired education and 1250 illiterate adults will be functional literates.
Steps:
selecting/training teachers
enrolling students (children & adults)
conducting literacy classes
conducting parents meetings
conducting regular classes/tests/exams

After our tour of the hospital, Uncle Doug and I hopped on the motorcycle to tour the rural areas surrounding the village (call it following our rural upbringings!) After spending the last few weeks in urban, dirty, chaotic Varanasi, the countryside was incredible. Serene rice fields scattered with workers, women thrashing rice in roadside yards, tiny households, some with land, some mere shacks on the side of the road. The road was littered with villagers: women in saris, boys and girls biking home from school, men carrying bundles of rice. Everything seemed to be connected to farming; everyone was working towards the same goal. The air was clear and the land was beautiful. It was awesome to get my first non-urban glimpse of India.

Doug and I continued into the village of Kachhwa where he couldn’t help but embrace being the out of place, white tourist and driving down a very narrow valley with the motorcycle. I am certain these folks weren’t use to seeing white people at all; how exciting we must have been to them! Haha.

Back at the compound we shared dinner with the group of doctors and volunteers – the biggest pot I have ever seen in my life, full of delicious chicken biryani and raita.

A piece of humble pie: Our visits with victims of human trafficking

Twice now, Melissa and I have visited a government safe house for girls and women who have been rescued from the sex trafficking industry. The girls have been there for anywhere from two months to four years and range from age 15 to 40ish, with the majority in their mid-late teens. There are 12 girls living there right now. They have been rescued from their pimps, and until the court case is finished and they are safe, they live in this home.

Unfortunately it’s nothing fantastic. Although government funded and ran, like many things in India, there is corruption and injustice. The girls are locked into their small, dismal living area, moldy walls, roof open to the sky, with minimal activities and staff who don’t treat them with respect. 

Our first day we went, it dawned on me on the way there, that these girls may be my age. Little did I know, I, at 26, am older than most of them.  

They are children. Young girls. Teenagers. Who love to sing, watch TV, do crafts and doodle with henna. Yet I can’t imagine what horrors their lives have consisted of. 

Kidnapping.

Abuse.

Regular rape.

Fear.

Confusion.

At the mercy of their pimp.

Hopelessness.

Their stories range.

- One girl was kidnapped and sold into the sex trade by her uncle. 

- Another was a higher caste Hindu when she disobeyed her father and had a love marriage with a Muslim. Her father had the husband arrested and disowned the daughter. I'm not exactly sure how she ended up in the safe house. Now she has a one year old and has to wait a year until her court case is over and she can leave. She still wants to be married to her husband.

- Three girls are from Nepal and since rescued in India, had been smuggled over the border. They likely had been kidnapped from their villages and desperately want to go home. These girls don’t all know how old they are, but I would bet they are all under 17. They are so beautiful - very heavily burdened on my heart. The one sweet girl has so many of the same mannerisms and smiles as a youth I know in East Van. 

- One girl who is between 25 - 30 was in a very abusive marriage and through a very terrible experience, lost her two children. She has no idea where they are and desperately wants to find them. I can’t imagine.

Yesterday we went equipped with a dozen cones of henna. Melissa printed off henna art that tells a story from the Bible. So we replicated the designs a dozen times to portray the story of Jesus healing the man that was let down through the roof by his friends. It looked like traditional henna, but part represented Jesus, part represented the mat, part were the crowd and part were footprints to represent the miracle of him being healed and walking. Mel has dozens of these designs that she hopes to do with people. And who knew - I can pull off some pretty decent henna for a white girl!

Doing the henna Bible Stories

I feel it a privilege to be able to meet and love on these girls. There is so much awareness being raised in North America on sex trafficking, and it is so amazing and completely humbling to meet girls who are practically my peers who have been rescued from the industry.

India has a long way to go still. While there are some organizations dedicated to rehabilitating these girls (school, life skills, counselling, etc), the particular home that we have been visiting does not have any post-support set up. In fact, whenever the home is getting too full, and the court cases are complete, they hold mass weddings and marry these beautiful girls off. That is their way of “giving them a future”. SInce they are generally low caste and dowries are low, it is almost guaranteed that they will not be marrying a good man. This breaks my heart; these girls have so much life ahead of them. 

Today, there was an Indian lawyer there who is donating his time and work to helping these girls. He is searching for the lost children. He is trying to get the Nepali girls home. He is helping find out information. He is a good man, advocating for these girls. India needs a thousand more men like him.

I’ve left both days a little overwhelmed and in an unbelieving state of what I’ve experienced, who I’ve sat beside and sung with. I’m still in that place. I wish I could do so much more. I wish I could speak Hindi and talk with these lovely gems. I wish I could right all the wrongs that have been committed to them. I wish...

But all I can do it pray for them. For their futures, for healing, for hope. For the thousands of women who are living their lives captive, dreaming of being free.

Join me?

Melissa and I ready to make the crazy 45min scooter ride

An Arranged Marriage

We were invited over for chai with a good national friend of Jake and Melissa’s. Melissa asked them to show us their wedding photos. They were beautiful! The bride looked like royalty - the most beautiful, deep red sari, covered in sparkly decals, with intricate henna covering her hands and what looked like pounds of gold jewelry adorning her body. An India wedding has so many traditional components that I could hardly understand any of the photos, but you could tell the day was chocked full of colourful tradition and celebration with its 1000 guests. 

It was the first time they had met.

In order to get married, her family paid a dowry to his family, judging on his wealth and education. All the dowry and wedding arrangements would have been made beforehand. The bride and groom would be brought out and sat beside each other. Maybe they would steal glances at each other. But it wouldn’t be until later that they would look at each other face to face. And it would be until after the wedding that they would start to get to know each other. 

Both are from a higher caste in the four caste system in India, which has hundreds of sub-castes. Nearly everyone in their generation has their marriage arranged, and they are only a few years older than us. Love marriages are just starting to be socially accepted; before you would essentially be shunned by your family if you left and married someone that wasn’t arranged. 

They say that when their children grow up, they will be completely fine if their children want a love marriage. They will be happy to look for a spouse for their child if that’s what their child wants. It’s still common to prefer an arranged marriage. It’s the cultural norm, just as “love marriages” are normal for us. 

Jake and Mel’s friend has a sister who is 28 and unmarried. This is a big family stress, as she is “getting old”. There are three challenges to marrying her off. One, their mother died a few years ago, and it is always the mother who spearheads the search. Two, the family spent more money than planned on the first sisters’ marriage, because she married a very wealthy man. And third, she’s very picky. Haha. 

Jake and Mel have another friend who is in the second lowest caste. She cannot read or write and people in their community and caste would never have a job more than servants or labourers. An average salary would be less than $20-25 a month. When their friend’s daughter got married the other year, the dowry was over $400 - they had to take out a loan that they are still paying off. 

A little side story... Melissa took the mother-daughter shopping for a wedding sari at a store that they regularly wouldn’t be allowed to be into, because of their caste. They were allowed in because of Melissa, but the staff refused to talk to them, only Melissa. Melissa gave them a mouthful about what she thought about that, and soon the staff were bringing out chai and coca cola for the mom and daughter! They had the time of their lives, never having been in a store like that in their lives trying on saris like that. 

We saw a wedding progression on the street the other night with dozens of dressed up people hoisting lights into the air, clapping, chanting and playing instruments. Included in the progression was a brand new car covered in flowers and streamers - a part of the dowry for the groom’s parents - obviously a well off family. So while a low caste bride’s dowry would be $400, a high caste bride’s dowry would be hundreds of thousands of dollars, including cars, washing machines, water heaters, motorbike, a house, family vacations, a cow... wow. 

I had a peer in high school who was Indian and she openly talked about her future arranged marriage. We were all outraged and couldn’t imagine that future for us. When in my early twenties, I decided that I would trust my parents enough to make a fair choice on a partner for me - they knew me, my character and what would make a solid match for me. Would I have gone through with it? - I don’t know, but I don’t think it would be toooo ridiculously outrageous if it was the cultural norm. 

But here, a groom isn’t picked on character! He is picked on caste, wealth and education. He may be an abuser, a woman hater and an addict, but that would be disregarded. And the women here are so “below” the men, that so many are married into unsafe situations and have no say in how they are treated. Indian men so often do not grow to love their wives and the wives live their life in misery. 

But that original couple that I wrote about? They’ve been married five years. They have two children. And they have grown to love each other, take care of each other, respect each other and share life together. It’s a whole different marriage journey that anything a westerner could experience. 

Arranged marriage can work. 

Week One in India!

The main reason for coming to Varanasi is because my dear cousin Melissa, her husband and 2 kids live here. Melissa and I have always been close, but never lived close (she was raised in Florida, then lived in Albania, and now India). We wanted to visit them to see their life here and experience what it is like to live in India. Ironically, my Uncle Doug (who married us) and Aunt Lisa are here visiting too. So far, it has been awesome.

I must mention our journey to get her from Nepal. We boarded a local bus in Kathmandu that was supposed to be a 7-8hr ride to the border. The only *seats* available were these whicker stools in the aisle. It was going to be a long ride... or so we thought. Because of some vehical breakdowns and a lot of festival traffic, it took us FIVE HOURS to get out of Kathmandu. It then took us FOURTEEN AND A HALF HOURS to get to the border town. On STOOLS. We made friends on the bus who called ahead to book us a hotel in the town, since we were arriving at midnight. Once arrived in the town, our new friends had arranged for 2 guys to take us on motorcycles to the hotel - so we hopped on, full packs hanging off our backs, and were delivered to our hotel. The next day, we took a rickshaw, then sprung for a taxi for the 100km drive to the town where we could get a train. Of course the only seating left was General, and we paid about $2.40 for 2 tickets on a 5.5hr train ride. We were celebrities in general. Any and every Indian in the car who spoke English wanted to come practice their English and find out about these tourists in General. It was an interesting ride - we were glad to arrive in Varanasi! 

Our new "friends" on the train to Varanasi

Our first week here has kind of been a glamorous week compared to most. Our first day here, because of some friends from Delhi visiting, we celebrated by going to one of the five star hotels in town for a kabob meal - all meat! Most people here rarely eat meat, so for these American folks, this was a treat. Most meals out cost less than two dollars. This was about $15! 

The next morning, we had our imfamous boat ride on the Ganges River, the most holy place for Hindus. They do everything from bathing to washing laundry to watering their animals to burying their loved ones in this river. Hindus come from all over the world to the Ganges on pilgrimages - they dream their whole lives about bathing in it. We saw older women there on a pilgrimage, and you could see the years of anticipation in their eyes as they stepped into the river. We saw public cremations - Hindus believe that if they are cremated by the Ganges, then their ashes spread in the river, they will be released from the cycle of reincarnation. 

Andrew and I on the Ganges

One of the many Ghats along the shore

Melissa and I!

The next day was the final and most significant day of a 10 day Hindu festival. This festival is notoriously evil and brings out pretty terrible things in the city. So we left the city and spent the day at a beautiful waterfall! It was relaxing and fun, and the first time in a long time that the people we went with had been out of the city to spend time in nature. Of course we had to explore the waterfalls and hike back about 45mins to the BIG waterfall. We climbed in behind it - this was also the day I wiped out on some slippery rocks and got some dandy bruises on my behind. Typical...

Andrew always LOVES waterfalls. 

Worth the hike to the big one!

Andrew behind the big waterfall

Uncle Doug, me, Andrew & Jake

We get around mostly by scooter and rickshaw, which is a man on a 3 wheeled bike, with a little carriage seat for his passengers to sit on. It costs about 50 cents for a 10-20 minute ride. Transportation is always a fun experience - you are always dodging potholes, cows, pigs and burning garbage... while driving on the left side of the road, passing walkers, bikes, rickshaws, and being passed by cars and motorcyles, weaving and constantly honking your horn. Semi-organized chaos! We have been rear ended and have rear ended a car, and of course no one wears helmets. It is awesome. Have you seen our rickshaw photo? Click here!

Twice a week, we have been going with Melissa to the Rail Center - an organization run by an Indian-South African couple that works with the dozens of slum kids who live at the rail station. They do school 3 days a week, and the other 2 days (the ones we have been going on) are play days for the kids, basically to communicate to them that they are loved and worthwhile of safe fun and adults time of day. It is really cool. Andrew tries his hand at cricket with the older guys (they were pretty surprised at his natural athleticism) and I play with the younger ones - Lego, colouring, etc. 

Andrew learning cricket with the boys

What kid doesn't love Lego!

Story time :)

Since we are living with local people, we only have been eating local food! Most households have a house helper that manages the kitchen, so we are legit eating food prepared by Indian women who are pro! Rice, vegetables, lentils and roti (similar to tortilla bread) - yum yum yum. Although, we hit up our first Indian McDonalds this weekend, and it sure was tasty to sink our teeth into some classic McChicken sandwiches loaded with mayo, followed by delicious soft serve! Of course there was no beef on the menu!

Every Saturday a bunch of Jake and Mel's foreigner friends go to the pool to relax with each other for a day. We also got McFlurries - Andrew had been dying for ice-cream, lol! 

Thanks for reading! More adventures to come! :)

Our Everest Trek!

The Everest Base Camp Trek is a 12-16 day hike, covering approximately 120km through the Himalayas in Nepal. The trail is well worn and travelled, and we hiked it solo, meaning no guide and no porter. There are many little villages along the way that have guesthouses and restaurants to stay at. A room, which consists of 2x4’s and plywood costs about 200 rupees ($2.40) and a meal is about 400 rupees ($5.00). Each day we hiked about 5 hours, paying close attention to how much altitude we were gaining to avoid altitude sickness. We had 2 showers over the trek, and by the top, my hair was straight due to my toque! 

It was an amazing, challenging journey that required both strong muscles and a strong mind. The views were incredible, the local Sherpa people so friendly and God showed his majesty through it all. It was an amazing trip! 

Day -4 to 0: Kathmandu, waiting for a flight

Due to poor weather in Lukla, the starting point of our trek, we were grounded in Kathmandu for 4 days. We went to the airport everyday for 6am for the off chance that we could get seats on an airplane that may or may not take off. It was so disappointing every morning we decided to head back to the hotel at 11am and try again the next day! The manager of the airline got to recognizing us every morning and within seconds of seeing us he would give us a remorseful smile... and we’d know then we’d have another morning in the airport. Hooray. 

Day 1 (Oct. 5): Kathmandu - Lukla - Bengkar (2630m)

We got to the airport and found out that flights were flying! But due to high air traffic, everything was delayed by about 4hrs. And then... they closed the Lukla airport again. They then decided to send a flight to a small village 2 days away from Lukla, and we got in line for that asap! Dozens of people were desperate to leave that day and were waving their tickets and passports in the air. I waited patiently, making eye contact with our friendly manager and lo and behold, he picked me out of the crowd and got us on that flight! It meant an extra 2 days of trekking but we were desperate to go! About halfway through our flight, they announced “We’re landing in Lukla!” YAY! Such a gift! 

The Lukla airport is one runway, that is chiseled out of the side of a mountain, and runs uphill - it’s so short, the plane requires the angle to slow down during landing, and to speed up during takeoff. That landing was an adventure in itself! We then grabbed our bags, grabbed some somosas and started hiking! We were on our way!

We hiked 4.5hrs and were whipped. It was awesome to start seeing the trail life - dozens of porters carrying everything from beer to lumber to rice to chairs and eggs. Everything has to get carried in! The porters often sing and giggle when the trail isn’t too strenuous and we learned to watch out for children grabbing your trekking poles. We also got used to sharing the trail with yaks/cows/horses who were hauling loads up the mountain. We learned to stay on the upper part of the trail so they didn’t accidently bump us off the side! The trail winds along the valley, over the river and back (all hanging bridges) and is very green and lush. A good first day!

Fingers crossed that we will actually take off!

The Lukla airstrip

Happy to be on the trail!

Day 2 (Oct. 6): Bengkar - Namche Bazaar (3440m)

We knew this was one of the toughest days on the whole trek - an 800m climb. Almost a vertical kilometer! The trail continued along the bottom of the valley, alongside a rushing river. Then it started up. You could see the trail from the bottom, and little people slowly trudging up. Trekking poles became our best friends, because you could plant them infront of you, and then slowly use the leverage to haul yourself 4 slow steps forward.  Three hours later, after our first Everest viewing, we crawled in Namche. We have never been so exhausted. 

Miraculously, within 5 minutes of being in town we met up with our original trekking buddy, my cousin Jacob. He had gotten a flight in a few days before us and we were thrilled to meet up again and do some trekking together! We found a little 4 room lodge to stay in with our hostess, Nina - our Sherpa grandmother who hardly spoke enough english to understand her own menu, but was the sweetest thing. 

Every village has Buddist symbols at its entrance 

Waiting for a meal inside a Sherpa Lodge

A typical village on the first half of the trek

A bridge built by Sir Edmond Hillary himself!

240 cans of beer...

Day 3 (Oct. 7) - Rest Day in Namche

Our sea level bodies needed a day to acclimatize to the high altitudes. We spent this day eating, getting more money out, stocking up on Snickers bars and bandaids, and enjoying the beautiful village. We even found an American owned bar that got beef shipped in for hamburgers! That night we found a place that showed the Everest Imax movie, which was filmed the year of the 1996 disaster. It was incredible to be seeing that story fold out while in the Himalayas. We also showered today ($2.50). It was lovely... except my water ran out when I was covered in soap, so that was fun. 

The view from our lodge!

Day 4 (Oct. 8): Namche - Tengboche (3860m)

Ugh. Another day from hell. The trail started off lovely, meandering around the sides of green mountains, displaying fantastic views of snowcapped peaks. It then plummeted down to a river which we crossed and started the inevitable climb back up the other side (crossing a river always means a deadly climb on the other side). This was brutal - my worst day. Snot, sweat and tears... this day had it all. It took 3hrs to get back up the other side, then climb along the top of a ridge, continuing up hill into Tengboche. When we crawled into town, I found some rocks, and laid down. My head was crushing and all I wanted to do was cry. This was my altitude sickness.

We ate some food, Jacob decided to go onwards, and I could only move in the direction of BED! After a long nap, I came to, but felt like I was lying with my head downhill, and I couldn’t move. Dizzy. Disoriented. Terrible. Eventually my head cleared enough to walk around a bit and by dinner I was okay.

There is a famous Buddhist monastery in this village. It was pretty quiet when I walked in, but as I was reading the guidelines of respect, all of a sudden I hear “Baby, baby, baby, ooohhhhhh...” -- one of the monk’s cellphone had a Bieber ringtone and he answered it right there in the monastery! You can have a shaved head and wearing a robe, and still love the Beibs. So funny. Everyone has a cell phone up there. 

That night we had dinner with a couple British guys and since they were sick of all their card games, we taught them Eukre! They caught on really quick and we had a good game!

Mt. Everest in the background!

Everest is the med-tall peak on the left-middle!

A typical 100rs ($1.20) room

Day 5 (Oct. 9): Tengboche - Pheriche (4240m)

This was a great day! It was cloudy all day, but would clear from time to time to see snow peaks poking through the clouds! We crossed the tree line, and everything was just shrubby and grassy. We quickened our pace for the last 10mins of the day because clouds were billowing in behind us up the valley, and just as we landed in town, it started snowing. Snowing in the Himalayas! We were stoked.

The Himalayan Rescue Association is based in this village - they help thousands of people every year who have altitude sickness, and save many lives. We went to a free session on altitude sickness - thought it would be wise, since they said that no one has died who has attended that session. We learned about what happens in your body as you raise in altitude, and how to recognize and understand symptoms. We found Jacob again here in this village and hung out for the rest of the evening. 

We got out oxygen levels tested - at sea level, you’ve got about 99% oxygen in your blood. Andrew was 97% and I was 92%. Danger zones are in the 70s. 

We stayed at a fantastic little lodge with Pemba, a Sherpa man who was on the American Expedition on Everest in 1996. He carried supplies up the mountain for the climbers all the way up to 300m from the summit. Amazing. 

Above the tree line

snow!

Day 6 (Oct. 10): Rest Day in Pheriche

We slept terribly, Andrew had a horrible headache all night from the altitude and his sleeping breathing was off. At high altitudes, you can’t get enough oxygen while sleeping, so your body won’t breathe for 10 seconds... then take in huge gulps of air, which sometimes wakes you up. Andrew’s sleeping breathing was like this from here on to the top. 

Jacob decided to go on to the next village, and we decided another rest day would be wise. We also started taking altitude medication, just to help with some symptoms. We did a day hike this day, about 100m higher to the top of a ridge, relaxed, hung out with some awesome views, then came back down.

On our flight to Lukla, there were two German guys, Lucas and Alex. We crisscrossed them along the trail all the way to this village. We decided to actually connect and be friends here, haha, so we spent lots of time with them and coordinated our next few days schedules. 

The morning after snow. Beauty. 

Our bedroom window in the morning - brr!

Sherpa stew - my fave!

Day 7 (Oct. 11): Pheriche - Labouche (4910m)

Another challenging day. All morning my fingers and mouth were numb and I had breathing difficulties. Weird. Kept going though, lol. Lots of climbing again... one MONSTER of a hill that took an hour and a half to get up, all lose rubble with a path chiseled out of it. Then we hiked along a desolate valley that at one point had a glacier in it, which left it bare and grey now. 

Labouche is a miserable cold town with the highest prices on the trek. Rooms were going for 1000rs. We someone stumbled upon a little hole in the wall lodge that gave us a free room (she really wanted our business - all their profits are in food sales). We met up with our German buddies and eventually more guests, and all huddled around the yak dung stove to stay warm. Peoples’ water bottles froze that night and so did the water in the bathroom.

*A note on toilets! We had everything from a flushing western toilet, to a squattie pottie that you had to pour water from a bucket into the hole to ‘flush it’... to our favourite... a shed filled with hay, and you had to aim for a baseball sized hole in the floor, then throw hay down under it. The floor got pretty slippery. There was never toilet paper, so you always bought and brought your own. I think the most we paid for one roll was about $3.00. 

Heading off in the morning!

Day 8 (Oct. 12): Labouche - Gorak Shep (5140m)
BASE CAMP DAY.

The last village on the trek! What a rough trail though - we really started feeling like we were on a different planet this day. Everything was either mountain, glacier, or monsterous hills of piled rock that either used to be a glacier, or has been pushed around by a glacier. We spent the whole day scrambling around rocks to get to Gorak Shep. 

Andrew was feeling really crummy by this point. I was having stomach problems. It was slow going.

We got to Gorak Shep, dropped our bags at the guesthouse, ate a quick lunch, and headed towards Base Camp, which was about 3hrs away. It was slow going - Andrew was hurting. More of the same, scrambling over and around rocks, up and down hills, all alongside a huge glacier. We descended onto the glacier, and over to base camp. We did it! 5364m! The tourist EBC is not the real EBC - they discourage tourists from going to the real thing for the health and mental prep of the climbers. So the tourist one overlooks real base camp, the Kumba Icefall, and you can see the tip of Everest poking up in between two other mountains. A very cool experience!!! It was freezing though, so we stayed about 20mins - long enough to take some photos, hang with our German buddies a bit, eat a Cliffbar and chat a bit with other tourists. 

I think the most fascinating part for me was the Kumba Icefall. It’s hundreds of meters high. It is a frozen river that is 500m deep, and is all jagged, deformed pieces of ice, standing all on top and around each other, with crevices that are hundred of feet deep. Everest climbers have to go up and down this icefall four times, using ropes and ladders. And the whole thing moves a meter every day, so it’s a different climb every season. Every team that wants to ascend, has to pay I think $2000 to the first team that went up that season and installed the ropes and ladders. Not my cup of tea!

The trail to Gorak Shep - a different world!

Kumba Ice Fall up the left!

Made it!!

Yak Attack! Supplies to Base Camp. 

Excerpt from my journal:

What I would give for:

- Kleenex w. lotion in it

- warm, free shower

- heated bedroom

- sea level air

- a solid poo

I’m thankful for:

- yak dung

- sunshine

- majestic mountains

- Andrew’s grace for me

- my down coat

- cough drops and altitude meds

Day 9 (Oct. 13): Kala Patthar (5550m), Gorek Shep - Pheriche

Today we were supposed to hike to the summit of Kala Patthar, for 360’ mountain views and a full on view of Everest. Andrew woke up feeling SO terrible this morning, that he hardly made it up 30mins of the hike, and had to listen to his body and head down. I continued solo for a HELLUVA climb. Ooooooh man. It was like climbing the Lions in North Vancouver, but with little oxygen. There were 3 tiers of the climb, and you could never see past the part that you were working on. I got passed by a couple that paid $300 for a horseback ride to the top - even the horses were struggling. 

Finally, after 2 hours - I reached the top. 18 200 feet! 

It was incredible. Literally, 360’ of snow capped peaks and I could see fully, the King, Mount Everest. I climbed almost up to the summit, then I realized that the rock ended, and I could plummet thousands of feet to my death. So I didn’t go the last 15ft, lol. I snapped some photos, took a video, then just sat down and soaked it all in. It was breathtakingly beautiful. 

I think summits bring out 3 distinctive emotions:

1. Desperation - the couple was desperate to get to the top, and even though their health didn’t allow it, their $300 and horse hire did.
2. Adventure - as soon as this one guy got to the top, he stripped his clothes off and started shouting at Everest as his buddies too photos of his naked back profile!
3. Love - a couple that I had been following up got engaged up there!

It was an eventful little summit experience!!

Everest poking out, dark, in the center.

18 200 feet! As far up the peak I went!

Mt. Everest. (The tallest, dark peak.)

THE highest Hill anukshuk!

Finally I started down. I love going down, haha. What took me 2hrs to get up, only took me 35mins to get down. LOVED IT.

At the bottom though, I found a very sick husband who was delirious and desperate to descend. All he could say was “I gotta get down.” So we started down, and for 2hrs, I couldn’t keep up with him. I’d come around a ridge, and he would be one or two ridges up, wave his poles at me, then continue. We had a good scare after we saw one man breathing bottled oxygen and he eventually got airlifted down. 

We descended over 5000 feet that day. It was exhausting; our knees were upset but our lungs and brains happy!

Day 10 (Oct. 14): Pheriche to Namche

Basically on the way down, we did what took us 2 days on the way up, in 1 day on the way down. So while they were easier because we were going down, they were flippin’ LONG! Today we hiked 8.5hrs, and pulled into Namche just as it got dark. It was the day that never ended! 

I had THEE best shower of life - 20mins of hot water and heaven. 

No shower for a week. Niiice.

Day 11 (Oct. 15): Namche - Phakding (pronounced just the way you think it is...)

That killer climb that took us 3hrs last time, took us 1hr on the way down. Lovely. 

Although, by today my knees were screaming and my feet were in brutal pain. 

We were so excited to get to Kathmandu and eat food other than rice, noodles and veggies. Andrew was thrilled to find meat momos (dumplings) on the menu.

NOT hamburger patties. 

Always time to play!

Day 12 (Oct. 16): Phakding - Yulning

BAD DAY BAD DAY!

Those meat momos from last night, ruined Andrew at about 3am. Food poisoning.

We hiked about 30mins today, and Andrew was sick twice and had to run for a toilet. He was soooo sick... we crawled into a guesthouse with an indoor western toilet and let the food poisoning run its’ course. 

I didn’t know much about it, so I hiked the half hour back to Phakding to do some research on the internet, but the connection was so terrible I hardly learned anything. We didn’t have quite the proper medicines, he was really dehydrated, I was really worried. Then I ran into an Aussie couple on the trail who then stayed at our guesthouse and they had a ton of info on sicknesses, a wilderness first aid book, plenty of travel experience and extra medication. They were a godsend!!! Andrew spent the whole entire day in bed sipping water and apple juice and sleeping.

Day 13 (Oct. 17): Yulning - Lukla

Andrew was feeling a lot better and determined to get out today, so he filled up with Immodium and we trudged up to Lukla, walked straight to the airport and were on a flight back to Kathmandu 20mins later!

All in all, it was incredible. A LOT more challenging than we anticipated, as you can tell. But it strengthened our endurance and perseverance. It was a different world up there - I’ve never gone 13 days in my life without seeing any sort of car. You rely on the Sherpa people to house and feed you, yet you’re completely responsible for taking care of yourself and carrying yourself and your stuff up the mountain. 

It was cold! At night it would be below zero degrees in our room. I don’t think I took my toque off for 5 days. 

But the landscape was amazing. We were trekking through the Himalayas - unbelievable. The mountains were breathtaking - we would just stop and stare and the snow peaks for minutes at a time before carrying on the trail. They were mesmerizing. 

We relied on each other for grace, and it was God’s grace that when one of us was weak, the other was strong. 

Amazing memories, a once in a lifetime experience!