A Temporary Pseudo Ex-Pat

Given that this is essentially a travel blog, and that I have not been travelling, I can excuse myself for letting this blog lie idle for the best part of two months. At least that is my excuse. Being settled in one place has given me the opportunity to just be and live and work rather than the roaming that peppered my life the last two years. When you are constantly on the move, exploring different places, meeting new people, eagerly soaking up the culture, there is a bounty of stories to choose from - when you are living like a pseudo ex-pat, it is easy to settle in to daily life and then the streets that once seemed alien and exciting are just the way home.



You soon get used to living in a place that once seemed so different. The piles of rubbish in the gutter, the cries of vendors pushing bicycles full of fruit, veg or household goods (not dissimilar to sound of the rag-and-bone man pushing his cart through my neighbourhood in London), the incessant nocturnal barking of dogs, the stench of waste floating up from the river - these things all become familiar, become part of the local neighbourhood.



I live in Thapathali, a neighbourhood in Kathmandu on the banks of the Bagmati River across from Patan (also known as Lalitpur) which is actually another city.


Life in the city continues to be noisy, dusty, crowded and polluted. The traffic can be pretty ridiculous during the day (although with the ongoing petrol shortage, there is a noticeable decrease in the amount of vehicles on the road at the moment), and then not long after nightfall, the streets empty, as even in the capitol city everything shuts down. The early night mentality is compounded by the lack of electricity which, for most people, leaves evenings lit by candlelight and of course, no TV, music or other electronic entertainments that are taken for granted elsewhere. You can also find the quieter side of the city by simply diving into the back streets off the jammed main roads.

my local cobbler in one of the back neighbourhoods

Kathmandu and Patan are full of a lattice of tiny lanes, some paved, some not, some incredibly picturesque, which you could easily be fooled into thinking were pedestrian thoroughfares until a motorcycle comes beeping through or even a little Maruti/Suzuki taxi (no wonder they are all so small).


I've taken to going for walks around the maze of little winding alleyways behind our house - partly as I hadn't been getting any exercise sitting at my desk all day and partly to get to know the neighbourhood a bit. (Not leaving the house for days on end made me start to feel like I wasn't in Nepal at all!).

As with any place one spends an extended period of time in, existence takes on a different shape. I rarely do any sight-seeing. It is easy to stop noticing the small temples at every turn or not bat an eye at walking out into the chaotic traffic when crossing the road (it is the only way to get anywhere). When you are a 'foreign' local, you soon find the ex-pat community, where life could be considered a bubble compared to that of a Nepali living in the city - but a life it still is. Who is to say it is any less 'real' just because it is accompanied by certain comforts? There is a new food delivery service, clearly geared towards the ex-pat community - Foodmandu (a bit like Pink Dot in the States) that picks up food from the fancier restaurants and delivers it to your home (although I haven't used it yet). Computer repairs, dental appointments, plumbers, where to find good cheese, dinner parties (and planning the use of the oven around the load shedding/power schedule) all contribute to the feeling that I am home. At least for now.

A little over a year ago I wrote a post about Kathmandu as I started to get to know it. It is interesting to see what I saw then compared to now: http://mirandatravelsblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/march-in-dusty-city-of-gods.html

Staying Power

The life I currently lead lends itself to flexibility. The lure of the warm tropical beaches of Kerala has been outweighed by the practical considerations of how much more productive I can be if I stay in Nepal. Aside from having easier access to translators, I am very much enjoying my living situation and appreciating being in one place for more than ten days - something which hasn't happened much in the past two years. Thanks to the gracious hospitality of my host, Dries, I am given the luxury of having the choice to stay in a place where I can continue my work until Sophie comes back in March for the second shoot.

So, I have decided to tough out the Kathmandu winter - although as I write, I am in Jhapa for a few days visiting Nisha who is here over the winter, warming myself in the milder Terai climate of south eastern Nepal (near the Indian border of Darjeeling).

Winter in Kathmandu is actually not as bad as it might sound (and certainly no where near as cold as Jumla which is now covered in snow), for although it is very cold at night and in the morning (I can see my breath when I wake up) and we don't have heating, the days are usually bright and sunny and surprisingly warm in the sun. It makes such a difference to be able to walk out in the sunshine and feel the warmth on your face.

And the longer you stay in a place, of course, the more you see and find out about it. I plan to write more about living in this magical, manic city as I learn more myself, seeing it through the eyes of a semi-resident as opposed to tourist or traveller. I am sad that I won't be making my journey to south India, a place I still feel so strongly compelled to continue exploring (as well as seeing friends there) but I am accepting that you can't do everything all at once. Not if you want to do it well.

Posted some photos from November's shoot in Jumla on the Shakti blog:
Images of Urthu-Chautara
Images of Ghodasin
Images of Tatopani

Cold & Hot Winter - Kathmandu to Kerala

I am a filmmaker. It has been something I have found hard to say, and one could argue that I haven’t actually made a film yet, but we are well and truly deep into the process now and I have a stronger sense of purpose than I have had in years. The shooting went amazingly well (check out the Shakti blog for more information about the shoot and photos). We have moved into the next phase of reviewing and organising all that we shot in our month there. Sad as I was to see Sophie leave, it signified the turning point in this project and a monumental moment for me as we had done it. All the planning of the last year was leading up to Sophie coming to shoot and now we have done it, it is completed - wrapped. The first, big step in production process. We are truly out of pre-production and making this film happen. It was a proud moment for me. The idea in my head, like a seed planted, is starting to grow.

Now I am settling in to my temporary home and office in Thapathali, Kathmandu. I have the good fortune to have a recently acquainted old friend, Dries, who lives and works here and seems quite happy to have me as a housemate for a spell. It is nice living in Kathmandu as opposed to staying. Winter is setting in and the ‘load shedding’ or rolling blackouts are becoming more a feature of life. But this house has an inverter and wi-fi, so I can work at all times on the long desk in ‘my room’. The living room has an enormous fireplace, so we can combat the cold nights with cosy, festive evenings by the fire. Being quite a sociable chap, there are often people staying or folks round for dinner or drinks so I well and truly feel like I have a life. And I’ve especially been enjoying the kitchen – cooking and dancing in it.

As I have said before, in spite of the dust, pollution and traffic, Kathmandu is a great little city. And I am enjoying getting to know it on a more local level – going to the vegetable market or calling the plumber. I am clearly bound to Nepal for a number of years with this project and the thought is appealing. My Nepali is coming along, albeit slowly. I had thought I would improve more in Jumla but being with Sophie the whole time, we spoke English. And Nisha, our production everything girl, has really come a long way with her English, so my practising was certainly more intermittent than last time.

During my time here – before the cold really does send me to the beaches of Kerala – I am going to focus on reviewing interview footage and sequences with dialogue. Although I am beginning to understand a little Nepali, I certainly can’t translate the hours of talking we have on film. I am essentially making a foreign language film. Over the coming weeks I plan to work with people here who can speak good enough English to help me understand enough that I can work on it.

So I shall spend Christmas and New Year with friends in Kathmandu and then head south to India in the early weeks of January. The idea is to rent a place in Kerala for 6-8 weeks, to again, settle one place for long enough to develop a routine and work productively. Somewhere warm and near a beach… I have a lot of work to do before Sophie comes back in a few months for the second shoot, so I might as well do it in a lovely place – I just need a room with a desk, constant electricity, internet access and a swimming beach nearby. I suspect the warmth and beauty will be a creative inspiration and I certainly feel drawn to spending more time down there so this will be the perfect opportunity.

Happy Birthday to Mirinda!

Our second day in Jumla happened to be my birthday. We were settled in our rooms at Pooja Pattarasi Hotel in Chautara where we were to be based for the first half of shooting. This is also my Jumla family, the people and community that I have forged bonds with over the past year and a half. We had the warmest welcome when we arrived and were covered in garlands of marigolds and red tikas across our foreheads as soon as we arrived in the village.

My birthday was our first full day of shooting and the first time that I felt like I was actually ‘directing’. We were up at the crack of dawn to shoot Rama’s morning routine and the day wound round the twists of village activities from there. Rama was also making a buckwheat cake for me, so of course, we shot that too. By the evening, we’d been shooting for over twelve hours and now the festivities were getting underway.

I didn’t really know what to expect as I was under the impression that people don’t really celebrate birthdays here, but that was certainly not the case. The upstairs room where we held the training in May was set up with a table and my birthday cake with what seemed like far too many candles on it. On the white board behind, in big letters ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MIRINDA’ and the date. A chair placed like a throne at the table with a cloth over it and I was ushered into my seat facing the room of smiling faces seated on benches and chairs.

Everyone started clapping and I was instructed to light my candles. Rama had to come to assist me as it was taking me so long to light them all. And all the while, the clapping continued. Eventually my cake was ablaze, I made a wish and blew and a garbled rendition of Happy Birthday to You was sung. All very birthday and incredibly sweet. What I wasn’t expecting was what came next. One by one, everyone in the room came to wish me happy birthday, giving me a red tika in ever increasing smudges on my forehead and cutting a piece of cake and feeding it to me. I soon realised that I was supposed to also feed them a slice. Soon half my face was red and half the cake was gone – half of it in my tummy.

Singing and dancing followed and then the rakshi was brought up. More singing, more food. It was a really special birthday. The effort everyone made was incredibly moving and half the village came to wish me well. I don’t think such a fuss has been made of my birthday in a long time. Combining the evening’s festivities with the full day of shooting, when I went to bed, I knew I would sleep well. It was a wonderful day. And I was a director.

Whirlwind tour of Tihar

I arrived back in Nepal a fortnight ago and I've barely had a moment to catch up with my thoughts or words on the page. Sophie, my partner in Shakti Pictures and DP/co-director on the film project was due to arrive a week later, just in time for Tihar Festival and there was much to do to prepare (not to mention helping my friend move house).

I must admit, it is great to be back. Had a few Nepali classes in an attempt to dust the cobwebs off what I had learnt earlier in the year. Made sure all our travel arrangements were confirmed and an array of other bits and bobs to ensure that once Soph arrived, all would run smoothly. And shopped for my friends new house and house-warming party!

To her credit, after a 24 hour journey, Soph managed to take it all in her stride and showed only a mere hint of jet lag. The hustle and bustle (illuminated during festival time), noise and dust and sheer quirky madness of Kathmandu didn't faze her. It was good timing, as once the festival was underway, there were less people and traffic in town as people return home to their families.

Tihar is the festival of lights and all over Kathmandu, shops and homes string lights and lay out little oil candles to coax Laxmi to bless their homes. In the meantime, groups of enthusiastic children make a tidy sum from going from house to house singing and dancing - doing incredibly elaborate routines, I might add! One boy in particular clearly has access to music videos. He was impressive to say the least. Think Nepali folk dance mixed with breakdancing - not something you see every day!

this beautiful piece of artwork was on the street made of grains, rice and petals

Tihar lights adorn the whole city.

We did a manic drive-by viewing from one side of town to the other,
just to get an idea of the festivities

On the Friday of Tihar we flew to Pokhara where children continued to busk the neighbourhoods and lights make it feel like Christmas. I was able to introduce Sophie to my family at Bishnu Lodge and EWN. But days later and we were on the move again - in car bound for Nepalganj (11 hours).

I write now from a darkened room in Nepalganj, probably disturbing the sleep of my production team, but I wanted to send out a brief update before we disappear into the mountains of Jumla where internet accessibility is somewhat limited.

If and when I can (power, net & time permitting), I will be doing blog updates that are more specifically about the shooting experience on the Shakti Pictures blog.

Road Trip

Once again, the time slips by so easily and suddenly I'm on the verge of another phase of life. My few months in California slipped by and now I am back in Nepal.

Before I left, I had the opportunity to go on a short road trip with my Dad who was visiting from London. While his intrepid wife rafted and camped down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, we took a drive from there to Oakland, stopping at a couple of California's finest National Parks.

Here are some pictures...

double rainbow at the Grand Canyon

Hoover Dam

me in Death Valley (by Dad)

Yosemite

Two days after my Dad left Oakland, I flew out of San Francisco to Hong Kong and then Singapore en route to Kathmandu. A wonderful holiday road trip before beginning my journey back to Asia to start shooting the film in Nepal.

Minor updates

In lieu of more tales of adventures, for the time being, there are some photos of my time in Jumla on the Shakti Pictures website and a posting on the Shakti blog about postcards...