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Friday 20 July 2018

A blast from the past - 9 October 2014 in Kathmandu


I started this blog as a place to write and record places visited. Since then, it's become a hotch-potch record of life.  Eventually, I'll even try and group things. For now, a random post.

This story was written a while ago and begins not on the day that The List was started, but on the 9th of October 2014 – my 49th birthday.  We were in a hotel room in Kathmandu, Nepal where we had spent the last four days exploring this mad, dusty, busy, colourful city.  The night before we had met our travel companions, eleven people of all ages and walks of life that we would be spending the next two weeks with and our guides. 

Opening the curtains and flicking on the kettle, the sun was just rising and the city awakening.  When Emi wished me a happy birthday, one of my first thoughts was "holy fuck, the next birthday would be the big five zero.  I’ve never really given much thought to my age, I certainly don’t feel “old” and I don’t act my age.  Is that a good or a bad thing? 

A yoga session was the first “activity” on the agenda and I joined some of the others in our group for a bit of breathing and stretching.  Balance has never been my forte, hence I’m crap at yoga and there was no way my stomach was ever going to be able to do the “rolling” that our instructor seemed to be effortlessly doing.  My attempt was rather more like a spare tyre bouncing around between fits of the giggles.  But never mind, may as well, limber up for the trek ahead and a bit of mindfulness never goes astray! 

After breakfast, we set off for our tour of Kathmandu.  Starting thirty minutes late was possibly a sign of the day ahead. Of the four places we were visiting, we’d already been to two, so we were looking forward to our first stop, Pashupatinath Temple, one place we hadn’t visited. 

Our tour guide for the day was a smiling man (we think he may have been sipping something slightly stronger than chai), who told endless bad jokes and only stopped mid-sentence to answer his constantly ringing mobile phone.

The Pashupatinath Temple is a large sacred Hindu temple complex on the banks of the Bagmati River.  It’s also a crematorium where the dead are burned and their ashes pushed into the water.  It may seem a strange place to visit as we would be witnessing some of the cremations taking place, but the complex is open to tourists and charges an entrance fee, so I guess they must be OK with it.

After a short walk around, we were asked to wait at a spot across the river where we could see several bodies in various stages of the “burning” process.  There had been a mix up and we were waiting for another group to join us, hence all the phone calls.  When the second group arrived, we walked around some more, our guide providing some information between awful jokes. 

Standing on the bridge with the body of an old lady being prepared by her family and the lighting of the torch that was then used to light her mouth was morbidly fascinating.  Felt slightly uncomfortable witnessing these peoples grief, rather like intruders, but couldn’t look away.  Like slowing down at a car accident scene.  

Other areas around the complex were made up of some interesting temples and structures and after what seemed like a long time in the one place, we headed back to our bus. 

From here we headed to the Great Stupa, known as Boudhanath.  Now this was one of the places we had already visited so were quiet happy to head back to the lovely Spanish restaurant “Casita de Boudhanath” that we had found on our previous visit and watch the colourful crowds with a couple of local beers. 


We had arranged to meet back at the main entrance after an hour and at the appointed time, we dutifully returned and waited. And waited and waited.  One of the drawbacks I guess of organised group tours, but waiting for over an hour in the hot afternoon sun was not really the way I had wanted to spend my birthday. 

Just as we were about to jump in a taxi and leave, we finally spotted someone from our group.  They hadn’t left us, we weren’t standing at the wrong gate - they just had their own delays at the place they’d stopped for lunch.  After another 20 minutes rounding everyone up, we were on our way.

Next stop was Patan, across the Bagmati River and not too far from Kathmandu. And like Kathmandu, Patan also has a gorgeous Durbar Square full of temples, palaces and statues. A very quick visit to the Patan Museum and the Golden Temple, but sadly we just didn’t spend enough time here to discover and look around. A place to one day return to. 

Rushed back on to the bus, our last stop was Swayambhunath, commonly called Monkey Temple. The complex consists of a large stupa at the top of a hill surrounded by various shrines and temples. Luckily we had visited a few days earlier and had time to wander and explore after climbing up the steep front steps before realising that there was an easier way up at the back.  But good practice for the many steps that lay ahead.  Sadly the cute monkeys that we had spent an hour watching diving into the monkey swimming pool, had decided that the pool was closed for the day.  It is a beautiful place and the view over the city of Kathmandu as the sun went down was well worth the repeat visit.

On the bus on the way back to the hotel, we were at least two hours behind schedule.  Everyone was tired and hungry, lunch not having been a success.  Finally headed out for a late birthday dinner.  Third Eye was a fabulous Indian restaurant where we had a corner table sitting on cushions.  Great food and a lovely dessert with a candle bought out by the friendly waiters made for an enjoyable evening. 

Feeling full and somewhat apprehensive about how the rest of the tour would go, we waddled back to the hotel and went to bed.  Happy birthday to me!  Certainly an eventful and unique day and not too many people would be able to say they had spent part of their day watching bodies being cremated.

One day, I'll get around to including some of the stunning pictures that Emilio took.
Happy 49th Birthday to me!


Tuesday 17 July 2018

The 7 Secrets of Happiness

Do a search on "happiness" and it looks like every Tom, Dick and Kardashian has the answer and has written the book to prove it. 

Earlier in the year I read "The Bhutanese Guide to Happiness" by Gyonpo Tshering and I love the idea that a country measures Gross National Happiness over Gross Domestic Product. Visiting the little kingdom of Bhutan in the Eastern Himalayas in search of the secret to lifelong happiness is of course on my list.

More recently I read "The 7 Secrets of Happiness" by Gyles Brandreth. I picked it up at the library 'cos it was short and I needed a quick read if I'm going to get my 50 books quota.  What did I learn? Probably not much, but sometimes a happy boost in the middle of winter doesn't go astray.


So what makes you happy?  According to Gyles the top ten triggers are:

1.  Laughter - stand up comic and making people laugh - tick
2.  Friends - even those that you don't see or speak to anywhere near enough
3.  Music - because a bit of reggaeton will always get the hips wiggling and put a smile on your dial
4.  Dancing - see above, although at Zumba last week my smile was more of a grimmace
5.  Sex - and it even burns calories
6.  Sunshine and birdsong - hence identifying birds is this months "learning"
7.  Children - even (especially?) if they are not yours or have fur
8.  Family - well, maybe not that weird Uncle Fester
9.  Drink and Drugs - bring on the bubbles
10. Food in general, chocolate in particular  - but of course, did this even need mentioning????

The book then meanders along talking about looking for and finding happiness before ending with the seven secrets.  So here they are:

1. Cultivate a passion - did you know that Rod Stewarts passion is model railways?  What's your passion? What's mine?
2. Be a leaf on a tree - unique yet connected. Unless it's winter and you've long ago been blown away.
3. Beak the mirror - Self awareness is good; self regard, not so much. Because lets face it, nobody is really that interested in you.
4. Don't resist change - variety, flexibility and go with the flow. But I still don't like white wine. Unless it's got bubbles.
5. Audit your happiness - If more than half of what you are doing in a day makes you unhappy, change it. So obvious, yet so hard.
6. Live in the moment - We hear this all the time. Carpe Diem, quam minimum credula postero. I'd heard the first part Carpe Diem, Seize the day, but the rest fits. Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.
7. Be happy! Sounds simple right? But I agree. Sometimes you've just got to fake it till you make it. Unless you need help and then there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help.




Thursday 12 July 2018

Theatre - culture or fun?

Go to three theatre performances.  Tick. I love going to the theatre. Actually, I love musicals and as much as I like the idea of seeing more serious plays and some of the smaller productions, I've come to the realisation, that they don't do it for me.  Bring on colour, music, singing and dancing, and I'm there! So for me, theatre is purely for fun and entertainment and the feel good factor, Shallow? Maybe.  Culture? Meh, not so much.

What have I seen this year?  Back in January, went along to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.  As with most films, found the play not quiet as good as the book by Mark Haddon, but still enjoyed it.  Actors were fab, especially the lead who played 15 year old Christopher. The staging was very clever with actors who also played part of the "set."  Saves on costs I guess.

In April, it was Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Fabulous darlings, just fabulous! Big hair, big shoes, big lashes. Colour, dancing, singing and FUN! Much more my style. 

Finally last Saturday went along to see Puffs at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda. Had never been there before, so that was a first.  It covers seven years at that famous Wizard School from the viewpoint of the Puffs, who don't get to save the world from he who must not be named and are well "average". It was silly, but a bit of fun and we had a few giggles.  Emi wasn't overly impressed.

My fave show? Has to be Aladdin.  With Hairspray and Kinky Boots right up there. When I leave the theatre, I want my cheeks to hurt and if I've pee'd my pants just a little, that's a good sign. Least favourite? Well, I've only ever not gone back in at intermission at one performance and that was CRAPS.  Sorry CATS.  Not sure why I thought I might enjoy 1984 - didn't. Would have left at half time, but there wasn't one and we were in the front row, so felt a bit guilty.  What with Big Brother watching an all.

So after peering into the wall of self-reflection, I'm not going to go and see any show that's "deep" or a "must see" and go to the theatre three times is coming off the list.  Because life is too short to watch or read something that you're not enjoying. And on that note, I think it's about time I took read 20 classics off the list as well. Don Quixote - I'm looking at you.



Friday 6 July 2018

Thelma and Louise


That's it. We have officially become crazy chicken people.  I suspected that would be the case when we welcomed Coco, but today it became crystal clear when Emi sent me this picture.

Thelma's very first egg (on the right)
Two weeks ago, our flock increased to three when we welcomed Thelma and Louise - a pair of Hy-Line Browns (checkout my chicken knowledge).  We collected the girls from Talking Hens down in Main Ridge and were a little worried how Coco would react to having room mates. 

L-R Thelma, Coco and Louise
Not impressed, lots of squawking and she managed to get herself stuck between the coop and the wall, but a bit of prodding with the broom and she was free. After her fright, Coco was quick to ensure the two new interlopers knew exactly who ruled the roost and who was top of the pecking order.  So a bit of bully behaviour (hen pecked is a perfect term), but Thelma is a plucky thing and little Louise, just kept out of the way. 

There was a bit of argy bargy when it came time for bed, but eventually the three girls settled in for the night after a bit of cackling and all three were beady eyed and fluffy feathered the next morning.

Since then, they seem to have settled down and no sign of injury or blood loss.  Queen Coco continues to be the boss, but Thelma is very friendly and likes being stroked and Louise is growing and catching up in size. 

Coco has been laying an egg nearly every day - not bad for an 18 month old hen.  And today, Thelma laid her very first egg. So proud.  Figure they must be reasonable happy.  They certainly get excited and talkative whenever we head outside - they come running over to us to see what we've brought them!  They love roaming free and have made no attempts to escape - our own mobile fertiliser factory. 

Who knew that chickens could make such cute and funny pets?  We're pretty sure that if we opened the back door they'd come right on in and hop up onto the couch.  As for Lola, she's like their big  sister chasing away any other birds that pop down to steal the food.  So although she doesn't "love them" their her chickens, in her garden so she has to protect them. 





Sunday 1 July 2018

Never Stop Learning

But what if like me you don't particularly like studying?  Well nobody said you had to be a Master of Quantum Physics (what exactly is Quantum Physics? Yeah OK, I could go and google it, but I'm afraid I might not understand the answer) and nobody said what you could learn.  Just reading and being curious about the world around us is a pretty good place to start.

“The world is a university and everyone in it is a teacher. Make sure when you wake up in the morning, you go to school.” ―T. D. Jakes

However, I'm taking it one step further - and began a new list!  So starting from June 2018, I decided that each month I would pick a topic that I wanted to learn more about or acquire a new skill. Doesn't have to be deep, or technical, it just needs to be of interest.

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” ―John Wooden

Now I read a fair bit and not only novels, but I wanted to actually focus on 1 particular topic. Coming up with topics is the fun bit (I love lists) and there are no restrictions.  Nothing is worthier than something else - unless there is a pressing need to learn about something. 

Which brings me to my June topic - what was it? Keeping Hens of course. Although I started reading up about hens when Coco arrived in late May, now that Thelma and Louise have bought our flock to three, I've been learning a bit more throughout June.  So as the month draws to a close, I'm summarising all I've learnt about chickens.  Am I an expert? Absolutely not, but hey I know more than I did and I can tell my Australops from my Hyline Bowns.  Just call me Julia the Chicken Whisperer. 

A list in progress - Acquire one new skill a month (in no particular order):

1. Identify the 20 most common birds found around Melbourne (I fancy myself a bit of a "twitcher")
2. What is permaculture all about?
3. Learn about healing crystals
4. What's all the fuss with essential oils?
5. Learn speed reading
6. How to make Jam/preserves 
7. Become a better photographer
8. Lean all the types of pasta and make some
9. Learn to tow a caravan
10. Learn how to crochet a mandala rug
11. Learn the history behind the art silos and do up an article
12. Learn about frogs and and building frog bogs
13. Learn about Buddhism 
14. Find out what Quantum Physics actually is


P.S. For July, I've decided to checkout birds.  Time to pull out the trusty binoculars.