Day Trip To Tirsuli

So this post is very late in the making. I had promised to write about my trip to Tirsuli, but almost 2 weeks have passed and I hadn’t written a word. I’ll do my best to capture the excitement of the trip, but I’m just going to admit now that you’ll probably get a better sense from looking at the pictures. Because I haven’t asked permission from all my friends, the pictures will only be up in the slideshow for a little while, so enjoy them while you can. (If you ever miss any of my slideshow pics tho, feel free to ask me and I’m happy to send you a link. I’m just super cautious about the internet privacy of my friends and family. See U of M, your ethics training does pay off.)

So the other day, I was out enjoying Kathmandu with a near and dear girl friend of mine when we ran into some of her friends. They told us that they were planning a day trip for the next day and that we should come along. I was hesitant at first, thinking that I had things to do the next day to help Didi and work I should being doing before I left for my fieldsite, but eventually I agreed to join them. I’m so glad I did.



The next morning, one of my new friends picked me up from my class on his motorcycle, which was super exciting in and of itself. After all, I don’t mind taking the long bus ride home, but how could I pass up a motorcycle ride!?! We met up with the rest of the group at a shop near my house. (I’ve since learned that several of my new friends own shops very near to my house, which is great because now I can stop and chat on my way home and as you all know chatting with friends just makes my day)

There were eight of us in the group, distributed on 4 motorcycles. We were going to take a day trip to another town just outside of the valley, called Tirsuli. To get there, we spent about four hours riding through the mountains on the bikes. It was so beautiful and so much fun. Everyone in the group is very sweet and fun loving, and they took advantage of every opportunity to stop and play. If you’ve ever seen one of those hindi movies with the group of college friends, you’ll already know a lot about my new friends. (I like to think of the adorable group of friends in the movie Jaane Tu Ya Na Jaane, which also happens to be my favorite Hindi movie.) On the route, we stopped to take pictures in front of the hills, we played in the waterfalls (even though the mountain water really is as cold as ice), and we tried to take pictures of each other as we rode along.

We also managed to do a lot of sightseeing in a short amount of time. Along the road, I accidentally scared my bike’s driver because as we climbed one hill I saw my first snow capped mountain and I was so excited and taken by the sight that I couldn’t help but let out a little squeal. Shortly after my mountain glimpse and some profuse apologies to my friend, we arrived in Tirsuli. We made a quick visit to the town itself, but we spent most of our time playing in the local dam. Then we went to the river and played some more. The boys were especially rambunctious in the river and ended up in a huge splashing match. Fortunately, they were gentlemen enough to leave us ladies dry.

On the way back from Tirsuli, we visited one of the palaces of the first king to unite Nepal into one country. We had arrived there later than we should have, so most of the buildings were closed, but we still toured the grounds and had more fun with the cameras. I think the pictures of us all sitting in a row at the palace are my favorites from the trip. Then we started racing home to try and minimize the time we’d spend in the hills after dark. We ended up spending quite a bit of time riding home in the dark and while I knew that Didi would never approve, I couldn’t have been happier. For years, motorcycle riding has held an almost meditative power for me, and adding the dark mountains, the cool air and a night sky like I’d never seen was intoxicating. Even two weeks later, thinking about that ride makes me smile from deep inside. I spent hours sitting on the back of that bike just taking it all in.

I wish that I could really make you appreciate the scene from that night, but nothing I could say would ever really capture it. I remember looking up and seeing some of the brightest stars I’d ever seen flickering in a field of darkness, only to realize that they were in fact the lights from homes high up in the mountains. But they were so high up how could I think they were anything but stars? And then I’d turn my head, and tilt it only slightly and find myself staring into a wall of stars more plentiful then anything else I’d ever seen. I’d never appreciated the night sky like I did then, when the only light to compete with them was the occasionally mountain “star”. And of course, all this while cruising along a crisp night on a motorcycle with dear friends. While I’d be lying if I said that life here was always easy and wonderful, I still enjoy days like these like they were the last bite of a perfect chocolate chip cookie. And my gratitude for my experiences somehow makes them all the sweeter.

Still, even on that perfect day, you should all know that I thought of you often. I’m finding that even in the happiest moments, the moments don’t mean as much until I can share them with the people I’m missing back home. Even as we rode, I thought about what I would write to you, and what special bits I would share for this person or that one. So mushy as it sounds, you are all really with me wherever I go. As always, I’m sending big hugs and happy days to all of you.

Best,
Sarah