‘The entire place smelled of incense and spices’ One of the members of the expedition, Kiran Honeysett (Year 11), recalls the vivid sights and sounds of Nepal. His account was written before the earthquake struck A s we stepped out onto the tarmac in Kathmandu, we experienced a wave of heat, sound and smell crash over us. This was the moment we realised how different
NEPAL An inspirational country struck by tragedy
Nepal really was. First we felt the sun pouring its light down on us, warming our backs and helping us loosen up after the full day of air travel. The next thing we experienced was the sound: the seemingly normal sounds, such as people talking, or cars, had been turned up to a huge volume. The most obvious was that of the car horn: this was an almost continuous noise that continued well into the night. Then came the smell: the entire place, it seemed, smelled of incense and spices. We made our way from the airport to our hotel in a convoy of trucks precariously carrying our luggage on their roofs. As we drove, we gained our first impression of life in Nepal. In a relatively small city of only 2.5 million it seemed everyone was out on the single stretch of road that we were driving along. The city was not at all as we expected: the houses were all built up with bits and bobs, here and there. We arrived at the Gangjong hotel and the rest of the evening was a blur of administration followed by an introductory meal at a local restaurant. There we were given a selection of beautiful foods, which conveniently adjusted our palettes to the Nepalese cuisine in elegant style. The next day began with a very brief flight to the town of Pokhara. This was followed by a drive to the site where we were to begin our trek from Phedi to Dhampus, a small village populated by the Gurung ethnic group, a people who have lived in the area for thousands of years maintaining their farming traditions. We trekked up through farms and forests, taking in the stunning views of the mountains and the green valley below. At Dhampus, we stayed in a small hostel with a perfect view of the Annapurna range opposite, which made for one of the most exquisite sunrises I have ever experienced.
Miss Joanna Woolley
I n October half term, 2014, 43 Dulwich boys and six staff visited Nepal on a Geography and Religious Studies expedition. We returned having had an incredible experience and with many memories – but little did we realise how precious these memories were to be. A few months later, Nepal has been hit by not just one, but two devastating earthquakes, on Saturday 25th April and Tuesday 12th May 2015. These quakes reached magnitude 7.8 and 7.3 on the Richter Scale and the country has been shaken by multiple after- shocks. At the time of writing, official records state that 8,000 lives have been lost and 18,000 people have been injured. But having experienced the remoteness
These earthquakes are the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since 1934. After hearing the devastating news about the first earthquake, staff and pupils were moved by the unfolding disaster. Those of us on the expedition had seen Kathmandu, trekked in mountains around Pokhara, and been on a jungle safari in Chitwan. We were inspired not only by the breath-taking geography and religion of this amazing country, but also the generosity of the Nepalese people that we met along the way. This personal experience and link with Nepal has meant that our Dulwich boys have shown real generosity of time, spirit and dedication to helping the relief effort by raising money and awareness for this cause. Taking into account Upper and Lower School cake sales, donations, a mufti-day and a Sunday chapel collection, Dulwich College has been able to donate more than £3,300 to the UK Disaster Emergency Committee.
and poverty of this country, we know this figure will sadly no doubt rise in the months to come.
Pictured : Fundraising for the Nepal relief effort included selling specially decorated cakes (above) at cake sales (following page). Also shown over the page are members of the Dulwich expedition and one example of the wildlife they encountered.
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