How do you describe a smell in words? You can’t. You can only assume that the reader already knows the smell of the items that the writer is comparing the smell with, but this should not be an automatic assumption. I love the smell of wood smokeAromatic, pungent, earthy,Redolent of the deep forests from which …
My wife Kali Chaudhary has made arrangements for us to attend the festival of Vikram Baba, which earnest Hindus believe is the best time to ask the Hindu gods for a baby. We are up at 4.00am (although I am awake at 3.00am). We wait in the cold and dark for the tuk-tuk driver which …
Today I saw a bird flying. It was a little Sand Martin. I was lying on my back by the peaceful river. There was no sound except the birds’ tweeting-singing and the occasional plop from a fish in the river. The sun was in the west, hazy, the sky was a lovely pale blue, a …
We live on the second floor of a tall building in the middle of the village of Bacchauli. We are five minutes walk from Hotel Parkside, which is the centre of operations for The Green Society Nepal. We have the most wonderful views across the village and the terai, the flat, fertile floodplain which is …
THE VIEW FROM OUR FLAT IN SAURAHA, CHITWAN, NEPAL Read More »
Today I had an early breakfast on the pleasant rooftop garden of my hotel. It is called Samaya, which means “Time” or “Serenity”. It has a wonderful view over the city of Kathmandu, reaching to the very edges of the bowl-like valley that defines the metropolis. The sun was shining, and the edges of the …
The small pond is “as flat as a mill-pond”. Its surface is flattened by the cohesive tension of water molecules at the boundary of air and water, together with the force of gravity pulling its surface down. The surface layer forms a sufficiently strong “skin” that tiny creatures cannot penetrate, so they skate or float …
A few days ago I was watching the River Rapti at Ghatgain from River View Lodge, high on the bank-side. It was early afternoon. Suddenly a movement caught my eye. A large male Sambar Deer which had been quietly grazing on our side of the river, was bounding towards the river in a hurry. A …
The credit system in Nepal contributes to poverty and poor performing economy. Almost everyone uses credit. Apart from food, when items are purchased, no-one can pay in full, they put down a deposit, usually a fraction of the price. The retailer accepts this but has to pay his suppliers also on a credit basis. If …
SUMMARY This trip came about due to my enquiry about fishing in Nepal. In Kathmandu in July 2018 I was talking to my friend, Ganesh, a Nepali guide from Gorkha, and I asked him where was a good place to fish for mahseer, the famous sporting fish of the Himalayas. He said he had not …
Today I have been frightened, scared, shocked, terrified even. I have experienced a very strong earth tremor that shook the foundations of our rented house like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I woke up feeling sleepy after a disturbed night of thunder, lightning, heavy rain and high winds. I did not feel like going to …