Tibetan Settlement

I joined my fellow Australian volunteers Geoff and Michele when they went to visit Tashi Palkel, the largest Tibetan settlement in Pokhara, and  the Jangchup Choling monastery

a few kms out of town.

Once again, we put our lives in the lap of the gods, and the hands of yet another mad taxi driver.  But we hardly noticed, as the fabulous views of the awesome snow-covered mountains kept us enthralled. 

We didn't have long before we had to return for our afternoon's work with our Little Daffodils, so walked quickly past the traders with their beads and baubles, and headed for the monastery. We spent quite some time in the Monk's shop where we met a lovely monk who spoke excellent English, who educated us in what different objects were, and explained the stories of the beautiful hand written prayers on handmade paper, encased in engraved wood.  We bought some.

The highlight of the trip for me though, was spotting a tiny novice monk playing soccer with a small plastic ball, with his little sister.  They were having a great time, being very serious about their efforts, and totally ignoring the small crowd of tourists who had gathered to support them on.  I was taking a video of them when my camera battery failed!!

Written by Chris Fitzpatrick

Tibetan Settlement