Monthly Archives: December 2012

Merry Christmas from Kathmandu

Posted on December 25, 2012 | 16 comments

I always wished for a white Christmas. Even though it is not snowing in Kathmandu, I am having a cold Christmas here in Kathmandu unlike in Australia where it is hot and muggy during Christmas.

So from a far far land called Kathmandu, Merry Christmas everyone. May the Christmas spirit keep you warm and full of joy this holiday season.

Kathmandu has changed a lot in the past decade. When I was growing up here, there was hardly any sign of Christmas seen in Kathmandu but these days every shopping mall is decorated with Christmas decorations and every shop has a Santa or mannequin dressed in a red. From the only Hindu country in the world Nepal has changed to be a multi religious secular country.

xmas in kathmandu

My Facebook is full of photos of people from Nepal celebrating Christmas eve and Christmas, It is nice to see globalisation (in every aspect) happening in Nepal as well.

utc xmas lights

I also got this picture from my boss; it is of my desk at work full of gifts for Christmas. It was really nice of her. I am eagerly waiting to go back and open them 🙂

Xmas

Talking about Christmas I couldn’t help but notice that Bangkok is adorned in fairy lights and Christmas decorations.

According to Wikipedia, 94.6% of Thais are Buddhists followed by 4.6%  Muslims which leave less than 1 percentage of Thai to be Christian. But if you are in Thailand, especially Bangkok, you will be forgiven if you think Thailand is a 100% Christian country. It looks like Thais love Christmas.  As soon as early November rolls around, every year, up go the Christmas trees, the Christmas lights and the Christmas decorations all over Bangkok. We saw Christmas decoration in every shopping mall, every department store, every shop and even many schools and offices decorated for Christmas. It’s actually quite wonderful if you’re a Christian living in Bangkok, as it’s hard to be depressed and miss your family when there’s Christmas cheer everywhere in Bangkok.

Here are some decoration from Siam Paragon, Central World Plaza, Amarin Plaza and other malls and walkway around Bangkok.

Christmas in Bangkok DSC09557 DSC09560 DSC09562 DSC09564 DSC09565 DSC09570 DSC09571 DSC09573 DSC09615-tile DSC09620 DSC09638 DSC09649 DSC09653 DSC09658 DSC09659 DSC09663 IMG_1089

16 Comments

Posted in Australia, Holidays, Nepal 2012 / 2013, Thailand

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Update from Kathmandu Part 1

Posted on December 23, 2012 | 14 comments

It has been only 6 days since I have been in Nepal and I have already lost count of the days and the date, I guess this is what holiday means in a real sense. The last few days have been busy trying to prepare for my nephew’s pasni which is next week.

Look at him so cute with my sunnies 🙂

choraFor women, preparation means buying clothes and accessories to wear at the party. From the second day I landed in Kathmandu that is all I have been doing.

On day 2, I went shopping with my MIL and hubby to buy sari and kurta to wear here. I have to admit, it is really expensive to buy anything these days. If something is nice, it is priced so high that I have to think twice before buying it. We went to many shops and spent almost half the day before I was finally able to buy few Saris to wear for party. Here are some of the saris I loved. Let me know if you liked them too. 🙂

sari

Visiting my grandparents in law

One evening, I went to visit my grandparents in law with my MIL, FIL and hubby. My hubby is lucky to have both of his grandparents still around. It is always nice to meet older people. Grand dad is 94 years old and grand mum is 89.

grand parents

After talking with them for a while, we came to the topic of babies; one of AS’s cousins just gave birth to a baby girl recently and she is the fourth baby girl in the family. So his grandparents also want us to have a baby as soon as possible and a boy too at that.

I have to admit, his grand dad is really active and alert for his age with sharp hearing and active mind. His grand mom can’t hear clearly but she is also active and alert.

We will be meeting them more often while we are here.

Meeting my Grandma

I have only one grand parent remaining and she is my mum’s mother. I really wish I could see her more often and talk to her on the phone but she is 80 years old so it is hard to keep in touch with her when I am in Australia. Every time I visit her, she showers me with love. I went to visit her with my hubby , my mum and my SIL. Here is a picture of us with my grandma and my mom.

ma

It is so nice to see grandma so proud of me. She always praises me that I did well in life and she is so happy to see our success.

I feel so sad to be so far away from all my family. She always cherishes our visits and is so happy to see us every time.

My parental grandma has passed already and I really miss her.

Meeting my little niece

One of my cousin sisters just had a baby girl so I went to visit her. The baby is only 1.5 months old and she is so cute.

chori

The time after having a baby is so different in Nepal compared to Australia. My SIL went through very different routine after she had my nephew but my cousin is going through very different routine.

She has to eat rice with ghee, chaku (molasses ) four times a day so she has put on at least 20 kgs. Also they have someone coming to give oil massage to her and the baby in sun everyday so both have become very dark. New moms are also not allowed to anywhere outside for at least three months after having a baby so my cousin is going to miss my nephew’s pasni too. Whereas in Australia I have seen new moms coming shopping with babys as small as a few days old.

The custom in Nepal is so different from that in the west.

My routine in Nepal

I am at my new home (AS’s home) right now so I kind of have a routine. Every morning I wake up around 6:30 (my MIL wake up around that time so) and freshen up. Then I go to the kitchen where MIL will be either doing her morning exercise or getting ready to cook breakfast for everyone. I bow to her in greeting and then I help her in the kitchen until breakfast is ready and have breakfast.

In Nepal, a buhari (DIL) should bow to her MIL or FIL every morning as a sign of respect so every morning when I see my MIL of FIL for the first time I bow to them and get their blessings.

Then it will be time to cook dal bhaat tarkari (lunch) so I cut the meat/ vegetables when the help goes to school otherwise just stay in the kitchen and help MIL. My MIL cooks most of the things but I help her. She is teaching me lots of techniques and I am glad to learn them. I will share a few recipes when I can.

Today I baked chocolate cupcakes for the family and I am glad everyone liked it. It came out a bit different than in Sydney due to load shedding as the power went off towards the end of the baking time. I need to check the timetable for the power cuts before planning any meals. I can’t use the microwave or the oven when there is no electricity.

chocolate cupcakes (7)

Normally during the afternoons, we go to visit someone or go shopping and be back home by 6pm as it gets dark by that time. So far things are going good.

Next week is my nephew’s pasni so I hope to have lots of fun.

Will keep you posted.

Also nothing happened 0n 21.12.2012 as predicated so have a great Christmas everyone.

14 Comments

Posted in Nepal 2012 / 2013, Travel

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Namaste from Kathmandu

Posted on December 19, 2012 | 20 comments

Finally I am in Kathmandu now. We had a fun time in Bangkok about which I will write in detail when I get time :). It was really hot and humid in Bangkok. From the extreme hot weather there I am now in Kathmandu where the weather is really cold.

The flight to Kathmandu was very emotional for me; I was really happy but anxious at the same time. It was a short 3 hours flight so it went really quick. Almost half the plane was full of Nepali people returning home so I could hear people speaking in Nepali from all direction. It took a while for me to adjust mentally as it is not common in Sydney to hear so many people speaking Nepali at the same time.

Almost 2 hours after take-off we entered Nepal and I could see the beautiful Himalayas. It was so nice to feel the beauty of the place. The snow-capped mountains and hills looked magnificent.

DSC09668

But as we got closer to Kathmandu, I could also see a layer of smoke just above valley blurring my view to the beautiful panoramic mountains. It is so sad to realise that Kathmandu is really polluted these days.

DSC09678

As we got closer I could see some villages with small houses and large fields and then suddenly, there were houses everywhere. I knew we were in Kathmandu then as the view was only of houses after houses. Finally we landed in Tribhuvan international airport.

The airport hasn’t changed a bit from our last visit. There was a queue to clear the immigration and then we took the luggage and were out. I was not expecting my parents to pick us up as I mentioned in my last post but as soon as I came out, I saw my dad waving at us. I was really happy to see him. It was a good surprise from him.

At the airport, the place looked really chaotic. I am not sure why they don’t manage the place properly. There were so many cars and taxis parked everywhere. There were drivers haggling people offering rides and then there were lots and lots of people I am not sure doing what.

My in laws were still on the way when my dad called them so we waited for a few minutes. It was nice to see all my in laws including my BILs coming to pick us up from the airport. We hopped into the car and made our way home.

From airport to home (AS’s home) was not a bad ride but I got to witness Kathmandu’s chaotic traffic and the pollution. I reminded myself that I will be fine and just need to take care that I drink good water and food so I can enjoy my holiday without getting sick.

My dad also came to AS’s home with us and stayed for lunch so it felt good to see him. After that he left and we spent some time with the rest of the family. They all liked their gifts and were happy to see us in Nepal.

My MIL had already prepared lunch for us as well so I had my first meal in Nepal which was rice, goat curry, cauliflower curry and the yummy lapsi ko achar. It was nice to eat home-made food after many days of Thai food in Thailand.

Dal bhat

Lapsi ko achar

After lunch I went to my house with AS. My FIL dropped us there which was really nice of him. I took all the gifts I had brought for my family with us. Mum was already back from work and dad was home as well.  My brother, SIL and little nephew travelled to Nepal from Australia a week before us. It was so nice to see all my family. My nephew is looking so good and cute. I saw him after 10 days.

We spent some time with them and it was time for me to go back to my new home. My FIL picked us up again and we were back to my new home.

It was our first night here so all the family members were waiting for us. We all sat together in one room having a good conversation. It was nice to see AS spending quality time with his family and they welcomed me into their home with open arms.

We went to bed around 11pm but my body was still in Australian time so was really tired.

Finally I am in Nepal with our family. Will keep you posted from Kathmandu.

Take care everyone and hope all the Christmas shopping are done  🙂

20 Comments

Posted in Nepal, Nepal 2012 / 2013, Travel

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From Sydney to Bangkok

Posted on December 18, 2012 | 22 comments

The trip is going good so far. The flight to Sydney was 8 hours and 30 minutes and I rested well during the flight.

We got a window seat and the one next to it for our journey. When we checked in online the day before, we realised that the flight was quite full and we had someone next to us. We always wish to have a seat next to us empty so we can move freely but it had not happened for a while. So when the captain announced for the door to be closed, me and AS both were looking at each other delighted as there was no one next to us which meant that we got 3 seats to ourselves.

Sydney to Bangkok (3)

As soon as we took off, we were served lunch. Most people complain about air plane food but I am OK with it. I know it is not great but they are not bad either. We choose to eat Thai chicken curry with rice.

Sydney to Bangkok (4)

While having lunch, I watched the movie Bourne Legacy, which I had been thinking to watch for the while. Without Matt Demon, Bourne seems a bit weird but it was not bad.

When I finished the first movie, we still had almost 6 hours before landing. Even though we flew in the morning I was feeling very tired so I decided to sleep. Sometimes being small is an advantage as I could easily sleep on AS’s lap with my leg stretched over 2 seats. I couldn’t believe that I slept for almost 2 hours without waking up in between as it was really comfortable.

AS couldn’t sleep in the plane so he was still watching some movie when I woke up. After that I watched one more movie called Hope Spring. It was a bit slow but very educational for married people. I am glad it is too early for me and AS to be in that situation but I really hope we will be in better place in our relationship when we will be at that age married for more than 30 years. Do watch it when you get some time.

After the second movie it was only few hours before we were to land. We were served a light meal and it was noodles with prawn and some dessert. I really didn’t want to do anything else so I watched Just for Laughs for a while. I really love that show. Look at some of the great gags they have when you have time and I am sure it will make you laugh too.

Just behind our seats, there were 3 people travelling separately becoming fast friends. I know it is bad to eavesdrop but they were talking loudly so I could hear everything. One of the guy was 25, a woman 34 who is travelling international for the first time and an older man. It was nice to hear their conversation about each other and their travel plans :). They exchanged mobile numbers as well so they can hang out in Bangkok.

The flight was on time so we landed at 3pm Bangkok time. As soon as we came out of the gate, I could feel the Bangkok humidity. I was wearing my leggings and I was feeling really hot. I almost forgot how hot it was when we came here last time. Seriously even at that time, it was so hot that I had to run for the shade.

A bus took all of us to the terminal from the plane. From there we cleared immigration and took our bags were off to a taxi stand.

While waiting for our bags, I saw this sign at the Suvarnabhumi Airport which was very confusing for me. Would anyone voluntarily go via the red channel? Would you? 🙂

Sydney to Bangkok (1)

It took almost an hour due to traffic for us to reach our hotel. We were booked at Chateau de Bangkok. We stayed at the same hotel last time and we loved it so we booked it again.

Once in the hotel, we checked in and were happy to rest for a few minutes before changing and going out to discover Bangkok all over again.

The room was nice and clean as I remembered from last time.

Sydney to Bangkok (2)

I will post more from Bangkok and Kathmandu soon.

22 Comments

Posted in Australia, Thailand, Travel

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Ready for holiday

Posted on December 13, 2012 | 9 comments

I meant to write this post yesterday but I have been really busy this week. So finally I got some time to write this morning.

Right now I am at Sydney International Airport waiting for our flight to Bangkok. We checked in, passed immigration so nothing else to do but wait. AS is busy on his mobile playing Sudoko while I am browsing the net and writing this post.

This week has been really busy as my brother with SIL and little nephew left for Nepal. Then the whole week at work I had meetings and trainings that kept me very busy.

Anyway I am just glad that we are going on a holiday. Luggage wise I didn’t have much problem. I think it is better when I fly out from Sydney but coming back is always a problem with so much stuffs that I bring with me. We have more than 30 kgs in our luggage which is only gifts for my family and AS’s family. I always think I haven’t bought much but when we started packing, OMG there is so much. I really hope everyone will love our gifts as we spent lots of time on them.

First stop will be Thailand where we will spend 4 days going around and shopping in Bangkok. We will also meet AS’s cousin with his wife and little girl (she is under 2 and this is the first time we will be meeting her) so that is really exciting. After that we will be in Nepal for the rest of the holiday.

Really looking forward to spending a good time with our family. All the fear I have expressed in this blog before has gone away and I am really looking forward to having a great time.

I will have a cold but not a white Christmas this year so that is completely different than Christmas in Australia as I have mentioned in my post here, no BBQ, no beach.

I will be updating my blog  and reading other blogs less frequently until I come back to Sydney so till then take care everyone. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

If you wish to send me a Christmas Gift, please read here to know what I want :).

9 Comments

Posted in Australia, Nepal, Travel

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