Mero Dhangadhi

lecume-desjours:

Boudhanath

pearlkillers:

Annapurna South
{by tatedruckerphoto} 

pearlkillers:

kathmandu, nepal
{by tatedruckerphoto} 

backcountrycompass:

Nepal, Everest Time Lapse by Anaxan Open Media on Flickr.

This question was asked:

And I have put the response below. It’s kind of long because the question is quite loaded, but I really hope you guys read it. 

Hi there Anon! Absolutely. I’m proud to be Nepali. And you should be too. 

There’s always going to be ignorant people around. If someone wishes to associate Nepal with just the negative, I feel sorry for them. They’re missing out. When I think about Nepal, I think of the beauty: the culture, the mountains, the people, the temples of Kathmandu, the various Durbar (Palace) squares, the chaotic beauty of Thamel, the mountain sunrises, the view of Kathmandu from the hills around the valley, beauty of lake side Pokhara, gazing in awe at the early rays of the sun hitting Machhapuchre and thinking “Goddammit how can something be so magnificent ”…the list goes on and on. These are just a few things from my personal experience and there is so much more that I have yet to indulge in. 

I’m not telling you to ignore the poverty or the homeless youth or any of these issues. Those are very important and unfortunately are also what Nepal is made up of. Sometimes in the western world, these issues are highlighted so much that people, ignorantly, jump to conclusions about the whole population.

I remember back in my high school in Kansas, this girl came up to me and said “I was reading this article about Nepal the other day and omg you guys lived in a hut? That must be so tough!”. Now, I don’t know what living in a hut is like..I’m from the Lazimpat/Baluwatar area, which is considered to be one of the best neighborhoods in Kathmandu. Living there are a kid, I grew up in the lap of luxury..my parents made sure I had everything. So, when the girl assumed everyone in Nepal lived in a hut, I informed her that it’s not the case with every single person in the country. I also had (and have) people become utterly shocked to find out that I haven’t been to Everest. And I have to tell them that Everest is over 5000 meters and you don’t just go there for a fun weekend hike.   

Anyways, point is, ignorant folks are everywhere. You might be tempted to punch them, or push them off a bridge (like I have on many occasions…it’s apparently frowned upon in most societies, so don’t do it). Instead, you inform them. Educate them. That’s what I do, even if I’m in the middle of class and people may give me weird looks and whisper behind my back. Fuck them. Do what you gotta do :)  

gescheit:

Gangapurna-ko glaziarra, Manang herria azpian (Around Annapurna, Nepal) by Amaia eta Gotzon on Flickr.