Drum Roll please…..

November 12, 2014November 15, 2014 / wrightsolution / 8 Comments

For anyone who didn’t see my Facebook post, the guessing game is over and our next post starting Summer 2015 has been revealed…. More later, but for those that like puzzles… Our next home next year will be in: …..

Any one know where this is?

Travel Theme: Arches

November 9, 2014November 9, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

Archways are often grand statements or a supporting part of intricate architecture. For my entry in this week’s travel theme: arches, I decided to take a look at a different kind of arch that I’ve seen around quite a lot. I’ve noticed a surprising similarity between towns in the Philippines (barangays) and some districts in the Nepal. There is often some kind of archway as you enter the town. Its a welcome to visitors and an announcement of where you are. These arches are grand in their own way I suppose. Here are a few interesting examples:

A typical town archway in the Philippines

Is it really an arch if it’s not curved? This square “archway” is at the entrance of Namobuddha stupa, outside of Kathmandu

This ornately painted archway is at the entrance way into Sankhu, a town in the eastern part of the Kathmandu valley

And finally, when I was walking on the Thames Path in London, I noticed this archway over the entrance to Woolwich Market. It reminded me of the Philippines. The sign dates Woolwich market back to the 1600s. I wonder if signed archways used to be a thing in the UK back then too?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Minimalist

November 8, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

I loved these two grasshoppers who seemed to be having a quiet meditative moment together.

For other “minimalist” entries, see this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Minimalist

Sick Day

November 3, 2014November 3, 2014 / wrightsolution / 1 Comment

My garden is coming along!

When we heard we were getting Nepal as our next post, the stories of “Delhi Belly” were rampant and I thought the upside might be a 20 lbs weight loss on the “Amoebic Dysentery diet.” Surprisingly, nothing like that has happened (so far, knock on wood) and, apart from a couple of 24 hour bugs, I haven’t really been sick. Yesterday evening my tummy didn’t feel right and the short version is that I had a bad night’s sleep. The next morning I was exhausted and still wasn’t feeling confident enough to go back to work, so I took a sick day. The plan was to go back to bed for a couple of hours and catch up on sleep and make sure that I recovered for the rest of the week.

That did not happen. Our Didis showed up, the door bell started ringing. A team of guys showed up to fix our bedroom window. Another team showed up to fix the generator fuel supply. The water truck came. More delivery trucks. The phone rang and rang. I got no peace and no sleep. I headed outside to the 75 degree November sunshine to sit in my favourite porch chair, look at my little flower garden and watch the butterflies. It didn’t last long. The horns blasted away outside, the generator kicked on, and the neighbours lit a fire to burn their stock pile of plastic. (A terrible, but common practice around here.) It was a strange mix of peaceful insect buzz inside and chaotic honking outside. But I did stop and takes some photos for a little while before the acrid fumes drove me back inside the house.

Here are some insect and flower shots that give no clue of plastic fumes or car horns. I’m very glad they still hang out with us anyway:

Bean flowers from the feral Nepali bean vine that is growing over our wall. We’ve had a crop of about 10 kilos so far!

Marigolds. The most Nepali on flowers!

The dragonflies were everywhere.

butterfly

Weekly Photo Challenge: Descent

November 1, 2014November 1, 2014 / wrightsolution / 6 Comments

Rappelling down a boulder with a rope. The only caving “convenience” on offer during the whole caving experience.

In the northern part of Luzon island in the Philippines is Sagada in the Mountain province. The town attracts a small amount of adventure tourism, including caving. I had never done anything like it before. We were inside an underground cave for approximately 2 hours and descended about 200 metres. What made this cave experience unlike any other was that it was left completely natural inside. No gravel path ways, signs, concrete steps or taped music. And no lighting….save a kerosene lamp. Just slippery limestone and marble pathways that needed bare feet to travel safely, lots of bats, even more bat shit, and the darkness! Truly a descent into the unknown. For the full story see my earlier post, Caving in Sagada.

See other entries for this weeks photo challenge here.

Travel Theme: Autumn

October 31, 2014 / wrightsolution / 3 Comments

Its been quite a few years since I’ve experienced crisp Autumn days,crunchy leaves, and walks where you can see you breath as you tread on frosty grass. Manila had no cold season at all, and here in Kathmandu its getting a little crisp at night, but the days are still very warm and sunny. It doesn’t feel like Autumn at all.

But we do have chrysanthemums, pumpkins, squash and crows. Lots and lots of crows. And as they swoop around over our heads and caw and poop and crash into one another in the treetops at twilight, it not only reminds me of Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, it also feels as close I can remember to Fall. Maybe its the spooky Halloween connection….! Happy Halloween!

Sign Language: What’s an ODF?

October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

In ODF is an Open Defecation Free zone. And before you run screaming from anything with the word “defecate” in it, or switch off entirely…please bear with me, as this is reality here. It’s an awful topic I know. And I know that many people who read my blog might prefer cute pictures of animals over the reality of sanitation problems, but sometimes I have to add a little reality into the mix.

Open defecation is a major problem in Nepal with proper toilets in rural areas severely lacking. According to UNICEF only about 46 percent of Nepalis have toilets in their homes and in the far west of the country the percent drops to half. NGOs are helping to try and create awareness of the health problems and contamination issues caused by raw sewage to water and soil, and the resulting gastrointestinal diseases.

Communities declare themselves as ODFs to try and solidify local support for proper sanitation. However, often existing toilets are so dirty that many people prefer to go “au naturel” to avoid them. Its a vicious circle. This rusting sign stands testimony to the ongoing battle to try and improve conditions. The Nepali government says its aiming to provide adequate water and sanitation conditions for all by 2017. Unfortunately, that sounds more than a little ambitious to me.

Travel Theme: Numbers

October 26, 2014October 26, 2014 / wrightsolution / Leave a comment

I struggled with this week’s travel theme on “numbers”. I didn’t have photographs or stories that I could recall. However, I do love being impressed by the sheer number of things like sheep, or horses or monkeys. So here are some crowd photos of new animals friends met along the way:

Fluffy clouds with fluffy sheep taken during the lambing season on the Ridgeway in the South of England.

A field full of horses came over to greet us!

..and as bucolic as the sheep country is, horses are so much more fascinating with their welcoming curiosity.

And finally, feeding time at the Swayambhuneth Temple, Kathmandu. Its called monkey temple for a reason, and you really don’t want to get in their way!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Cover Art

October 25, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

For this week’s Photo Challenge, we were asked to imagine images we would like to see gracing the cover of a book, an album, or a magazine. What image would we choose to inspire others to take a peek through the pages, listen to the music, or buy a ticket to the show?

I chose an image for a coffee table book “Temples of Nepal” from a photo I recently took of the Namobuddha Stupa. Now to start working on the content…!