Cinema

What amazes me here in Nepal is the cinema.
They show Hollywood movies just days after the world premiere, sometimes even before India and definitely before they are shown in Sweden.
Yesterday we went to see Alice through the looking glass, an adventure in 3D and it's nothing like sitting down in the hyper modern cinema with a bucket of popcorn.
It feels like you can be anywhere in the world.

The boy who would love to go to school

Yesterday I sat at my usual shop when the dogs sniffed around a big field.
In the field there were six cows eating grass and there was this little boy guarding them.

After a while he sat down and I bought him some juice and cookies since I realized that he probably didn't get any of that at home.
We started talking and it turned out he spoke English really well.
I asked if he went to school and he told me that his mother couldn't afford that since he had three sisters and three brothers.
I was curious to know how he learnt to speak such good English and he said he learnt it from reading.

After a while he told me he only owns one book, so I went home and gathered some of Leya's old school books and gave him.
I will also buy some stationary, like pencils and copies.

Even though the government schools are almost free they have to pay for books, uniforms, shoes and a small monthly fee and because of that this bright 12 year old can't go to school.
It's a real shame since the cost per year would only be like 150 USD, 1200 skr.
Not a lot for most people, but a fortune for someone who can't afford it.

James, a Buddhist in Essex, UK

One of our sweet customers in UK is James and he has been practicing meditation and reiki for many, many years and in -98, after a 10 hours open heart surgery he met a Buddhist master from a Chinese lineage.
Now they have five temples set up around Essex and a few months back he built his own heaven.
A cottage in the garden is their own sacred place for ceremonies and meditation.

Khumjung village

One thing I love about living here is when you go to one of the local shops, I'd say there are about 10 of them in our neighborhood, you can sit down and talk to other customers.
Today I spoke with a man who was in Kathmandu to visit his son, he lives in the village Khumjung far up the Himalayas.
Read more about Khumjung here.
It's always interesting to start Googling on different subjects since you end up leaning a bunch of new things and today I learnt that in the Khumjung monestary they have a yeti scalp. Or an alleged scalp of a yeti, that is.

How to get to Khumjung:
Step 1: Take the plane to Lukla airport, one of the most dangerous airports in the world.
Watch a landing here and a take-off here, and you'll understand why I said to the man that I thought he was really brave.
Step 2: Walk 8 hours up the mountains. I've made an illustration how it might look like.
As you can see the village is not that far away from Mount Everest.

But on the bright side they have lots of fresh air, always electricity and clean water.

Water

This time of year it's a huge lack of water here in Kathmandu.
Yesterday Nicholas spoke to someone who is only relying on the government supply and they turn on the water every 10:th day for four hours, so they can refill their tank.
I know it's not like living in the desert, but it's hard to understand when you come from a privileged country and used to fresh water just pouring out from the tap every time you turn it on.
We are lucky since our house has a well under the parking spot, so the landlord is busy at night refilling the tanks on the roof with a pump, whenever there is electricity.
This is a short term problem though. Thanks to the warm weather the snow and ice on the mountains will melt and it seems as the monsoon has sneak started, or how you say it in English, a month early and that helps a lot.
This is the dry river bed at the famous Pashupatinath temple where the Hindus cremate their dead loved ones.

There a something we have wondered ever since we moved to India.
Why are there no water towers? I mean, it's a natural way to elevate the water instead of using pumps and put a strain on the already fragile power systems in these countries.
Read more about water towers here.
I'm especially aware of the phenomenon since I grew up near the town Örebro, that has an extraordinary water tower that is called Svampen, the Mushroom, that is a landmark every Swede knows about.

Svampen is not a particularly pretty building, but it is functional and you can go up with the elevator to the top so see the whole town and have a meal in the restaurant.