Jen to the top

Muh-Muh breakfast To see a city wake up is something special.. how the streets start filling up with people on their way to somewhere they need to be, the noise of rolling shutters acting like an alarm clock - the dawn of a new day!  n Kathmandu, you add the cows having their breakfast on-the-go, the honking from motorbikes and cars and some dust, and all this just completes the fantastic experience. On their way to somewhere. Why this is like an epiphany to me is most likely because I am a hopeless morning sleeper and can't for the love of God open the two blue and get myself out of bed before 8am on a good day... I prefer to get up around 9am if I can decide...  But I try to arrange for things like this so I must get out there and see what is going on. Not too often, but once in a while. Bike parking Motorbikes and scooters are more common than cars, as they can cut through traffic right, left and center, LITERALLY.  I am amazed b...

Cary, Happy, Yeri and me in the car to the mountains It is a bliss to be surrounded by great people, and that is something I try to as much as I can, being it work related, friends or family. They inspire me to be good and do good and that is something a lot of people seem to forget now and again. In Kathmandu, I am very lucky to be surrounded by lots of volunteer workers, charity staff and other people here for the same reasons - trying to make a difference for the better. Two of those magical people are Yeri and Cary , and luckily they enjoy to put on the hiking boots just like me :) Lucky behind the wheel Yesterday I also had the honours to get to know Happy and Lucky who are   two lovely dogs from Africa, when their daddy Cary, Yeri and myself went hiking in the hills south of Kathmandu. These two fury lovelies live in Kathmandu with Cary, as he brought them over to here from Uganda. They are a special breed of African street dogs which has over the years quit...

Being in a different country than where your loved one is, is not always easy. It is actually quite hard, but it does get easier with time. It also gets easier when you know that your loved one is travelling 7h to make sure that you meet, and make sure to be there to meet you at the airport when you arrive. Yes, I know, I am living a love story, and what better day to tell you about it than Valentines Day. Last week, we had a date (not the kind you eat) in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE. The first date after we said our goodbyes in Kathmandu a month ago, so I can easily say that we both were quite excited to meet again in a place in the middle between us. I must admit though, that UAE to me is very much Lalaland, and not exactly my choice of holiday destination as there is only recent history, no nature except from desert and wine can only be purchased in hotels. But it is a friendly place and chilled, which is exactly what we were after. I just cant get over the fancy-pancy restaurants a...

Living in a country like Nepal can be a dusty experience, but only in the city. Saturday just gone, I spent the day up on a hillside north of Kathmandu, at a place called Shivapuri Heights Cottage. LOVELY was the word that kind of stuck throughout the day, so I will keep that to describe the day. Photo from http://shivapuricottage.com/ This is a very relaxing and beautiful place on the hillside in Shivapuri National Park, run by an Englishman called Steve and his Nepali wife Neeru. They have created an oasis with all sort of trees, plants, fruit trees and flowers surrounding the cozy cottages and a spa. Cozy guest rooms and great food, just LOVELY! New friends - new places A couple of my new friends from the Kathmandu InterNations group, Subarna, Yeri and Cary had come up with the great idea to go to Shivapuri and they invited me along. I am always keen to tag along to all these cool places and especially when it involves some walking and new scenery. I had checked out ...

This week something really cool happened, I am so excited!!!! Earlier this week, I got a confirmed donation from a London-based  building services engineering company, Karsons Consulting,  for a greenhouse that Childreach Nepal will build in a village called Manekharka so they can start tomato farming. This means that the shops in the village don't need to buy tomatoes from other villages, who bought from another supplier... the cost has tripled when it reaches the end of the supply chain! The need of tomatoes is big as a lot of  NGO's have workers in this area and the hotels in the village want to be able to offer tomatoes in their menus. Soon they can offer their own organically grown tomatoes! The agreed set up is to give the greenhouse to the school, where the students will be responsible to look after the tomatoes and by that learn tomato farming first hand. Since the tomatoes will be produced locally the community will be able to purchase the product a...