One of the best parts of traveling is learning about other cultures. After spending a month in Bali and seeing the daily Hindu rituals performed there, I was excited to experience the Tihar Festival (a Nepali Hindu festival). One of my local friends thought it would be fun for me to see the difference between […]
How to Celebrate Nepali New Year & Bisket Jatra
The first time I visited Nepal I noticed there was a holiday or festival almost every week, but I could never find much information on how to celebrate. Last year, I was here for Nepali New Year, but I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I imagined it to be like New Year’s […]
Ehee Newari Ritual: Why Nepali Girls Can Be Seen Marrying Fruit
One of my favorite things about living in Nepal is that I get to experience the culture in a way that I never did as a tourist. I feel like every day I get a deeper understanding and more insight into life here. This year, my boyfriend’s niece was set to be married. The thing […]
Discovering my Fiancés Roots in Chilingkha, Nepal
This year, my fiancé and I decided to discover his roots in Nepal. We previously visited Tansen, Palpa where his father was from and where he was born and raised. But he’d always been curious about his mother’s side. She’s from an area called Chilingkha, and he’d never visited before. Originally, we had planned to […]
A Hundred Warm Welcomes at Kaina Bazaar
A few weeks ago, I set off on an unusual journey. I would be joining what looked like a motorcycle gang headed into the Mid-Western Region of Nepal. Despite my time in the country, I’d never traveled further than Butwal, a city far from the Mid-Western Regions border. The mid-west seemed like a far off […]
Watching Cremations at Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal
When you ask your friends their vacation plans, you’ll rarely hear one tell you that they are spending the day watching open air cremations. In Kathmandu, Nepal cremations have become a bit of a tourist attraction, and while that may sound appalling, it’s actually extremely spiritual. Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal is a UNESCO World Heritage […]