on the move - september 17,2006
i moved from the PRK Guesthouse yesterday afternoon and stayed in the Khumbu Hotel last night, but broke from my banana pancake tradition at breakfast this morning to eat a masala omelette with two pieces of buttered toast with jam (and a cappuccino...in honour of fred and bonnie, naturally)
on the way from the Khumbu to my NEXT accommodation, the Pema Lhamo Guesthouse, which I think will be quieter and is somewhat cheaper, i ran into Katherine's friend, Bahadur, my intended trekking guide. I had planned to call him today anyway, but now I have a date with Bahadur and his cousin, Bim (who he calls his "brother") at the New Orleans Cafe at 9:30am on Tuesday. I've asked for a day with Bahadur (and Bim, if he chooses) in Kathmandu to show me around and orient me. I still have to register my presence here with the Canadian Consulate in Lazimpath, which is north of the famous Thamel district (see also here) and is where all of the embassies are located. I don't think I would worry about it, but there have been some incidents of roads being blocked and strikes as the government and the maoists continue to figure out how to make things work, or if they can be made to work. Anyone interested in the current affairs in this part of the world can check out The Himalayan Times. I haven't read it often enough to suss out it's particular bias, if any. (note to self....).
as much as i would love to post photos, i have to say that the connection speeds are very slow and sporadic. it can take 5-10 minutes for something to happen. if i can find a place in kathmandu, or maybe delhi, i'll try to upload a bunch to Flickr and anyone interested can check them out there.
on the subject of delhi, it looks like i will be accompanying Bonnie Cappuccino on her fall progress. she arrives in Delhi en route to Ahmedabad in Gujarat i believe on November 16. she has a fairly jumbled, whirlwind tour of the child haven homes in india, then bangladesh and then tibet before returning to kathmandu. i'm just sorting out the arrangements now and will post an itinerary when it's settled, but it looks like i'll at least get to spend one week in Tibet from December 9-16.
on a related note, when i asked for a suitable book to read prior to the 10-day meditation course, the library at the Kopan Monastery loaned me The World of Tibetan Buddhism by the Dalai Lama. I read two chapters and had to put it down, finding it utterly incomprehensible (i want to say incoherent, which would be more accurate, but i feel bound by a sense of deference to the Dalai Lama not to say that). perhaps if i perserved, it might illuminate the real highlights of tibetan buddhist philosophy, but the portions that i read seemed more concerned about the relationships between the differents turnings of the wheel of Dharma and which sutras are more profound than others rather than building up from the basics of the Buddha's teachings (from the Four Noble Truths upward through the Noble Eightfold path and how these have evolved into the form of Buddhist philosophy and practice that is vastly more complex than the Theravadan school with which i am more familiar. i'm disappointed, but have accepted that i am simply meant to show up at the course with an open mind and listen. i'm consoling my disappointment with the Dalai Lama's book by devouring the slim, and immeasurably more intuitive and straightforward Meditation in Action by Chogyam Trungpa.
today, i'm walking back up to Child Haven to meet with KP-sir (the acting manager) and Kanya-miss (the office manager) to discuss my decision about child have and what smaller projects i may be able to assist them with when i am still in the area. i'm hoping to update the photo boards of the children that are mounted above the dining hall and to fix the Karam Boards so that the pockets are all covered with mesh to catch the playing discs. (Karam Board is vaguely like pool, only it's played on a square board with oversized tiddly-winks. I haven't yet figured out the rules.)
namaste
on the way from the Khumbu to my NEXT accommodation, the Pema Lhamo Guesthouse, which I think will be quieter and is somewhat cheaper, i ran into Katherine's friend, Bahadur, my intended trekking guide. I had planned to call him today anyway, but now I have a date with Bahadur and his cousin, Bim (who he calls his "brother") at the New Orleans Cafe at 9:30am on Tuesday. I've asked for a day with Bahadur (and Bim, if he chooses) in Kathmandu to show me around and orient me. I still have to register my presence here with the Canadian Consulate in Lazimpath, which is north of the famous Thamel district (see also here) and is where all of the embassies are located. I don't think I would worry about it, but there have been some incidents of roads being blocked and strikes as the government and the maoists continue to figure out how to make things work, or if they can be made to work. Anyone interested in the current affairs in this part of the world can check out The Himalayan Times. I haven't read it often enough to suss out it's particular bias, if any. (note to self....).
as much as i would love to post photos, i have to say that the connection speeds are very slow and sporadic. it can take 5-10 minutes for something to happen. if i can find a place in kathmandu, or maybe delhi, i'll try to upload a bunch to Flickr and anyone interested can check them out there.
on the subject of delhi, it looks like i will be accompanying Bonnie Cappuccino on her fall progress. she arrives in Delhi en route to Ahmedabad in Gujarat i believe on November 16. she has a fairly jumbled, whirlwind tour of the child haven homes in india, then bangladesh and then tibet before returning to kathmandu. i'm just sorting out the arrangements now and will post an itinerary when it's settled, but it looks like i'll at least get to spend one week in Tibet from December 9-16.
on a related note, when i asked for a suitable book to read prior to the 10-day meditation course, the library at the Kopan Monastery loaned me The World of Tibetan Buddhism by the Dalai Lama. I read two chapters and had to put it down, finding it utterly incomprehensible (i want to say incoherent, which would be more accurate, but i feel bound by a sense of deference to the Dalai Lama not to say that). perhaps if i perserved, it might illuminate the real highlights of tibetan buddhist philosophy, but the portions that i read seemed more concerned about the relationships between the differents turnings of the wheel of Dharma and which sutras are more profound than others rather than building up from the basics of the Buddha's teachings (from the Four Noble Truths upward through the Noble Eightfold path and how these have evolved into the form of Buddhist philosophy and practice that is vastly more complex than the Theravadan school with which i am more familiar. i'm disappointed, but have accepted that i am simply meant to show up at the course with an open mind and listen. i'm consoling my disappointment with the Dalai Lama's book by devouring the slim, and immeasurably more intuitive and straightforward Meditation in Action by Chogyam Trungpa.
today, i'm walking back up to Child Haven to meet with KP-sir (the acting manager) and Kanya-miss (the office manager) to discuss my decision about child have and what smaller projects i may be able to assist them with when i am still in the area. i'm hoping to update the photo boards of the children that are mounted above the dining hall and to fix the Karam Boards so that the pockets are all covered with mesh to catch the playing discs. (Karam Board is vaguely like pool, only it's played on a square board with oversized tiddly-winks. I haven't yet figured out the rules.)
namaste
posted by allan at
11:39 p.m.
1 Comments:
you make life seem possible.
Thank you for that.
Dingo
By
Anonymous, at 7:57 a.m.
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