Nepalese Jungle Livin' - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

January was our first month in Asia, and we spent it in Nepal with 2 other teams – Team Unveiled and Team Awaken Depth. We lived in Kathmandu at the beginning and end of the month, with 2 smaller villages in between – Urlabari and Dun-dun-gee, the second being quite remote.

I fell in love with a group of kids during our time in Urlabari – surprise surprise! This little band of 5 boys – Soraj, Sangam, Sonam, Milan, and Rohit – stole my heart completely. We met them the first day on the soccer field behind our house, and they hung out for a while afterward playing guitar with us on the porch. Soraj and Milan begged us to come to their houses and meet their families, so we did that as well. Over the next week, we would play soccer with them (or watch actually – they wouldn't allow us to get in on the game because they were playig for money, ha), and other silly games like hot potato using marbles. It was so much fun getting to know their personalities and just loving on them. Urlabari was one of my hardest places to leave because of them.

Then we headed on to the tiny little jungle village of Dun-dun-gee where I would encounter the hardest manual labor I've ever done, which all-in-all happened to be my favorite World Race experience to date.

Getting there – We first took a bus about 30 minutes outside of Urlabari, followed by a ride on a truck-like thing for about 15 minutes, and then a hike into the mountains for about 3 hours with all of our packs and gear. We crossed the river 14 times or so, which was quite interesting at times with the current and the water level, but also insane amounts of fun. Flip flops had to be rescued from the current multiple times, and one of my squadmates took a tumble mid-river crossing. The scenery was gorgeous – I can't even describe it in words, so I won't.
School – Right now, the nearest school is a 3 hour hike each way, and requires the children to cross the river. Many have died doing this, and they must all wear ID tags around their necks when they go to and from. It's an intense journey for a little child to have to make every day, so it was a great honor to help build a school right there in their own village for them. We moved heavy cinder block bricks from a truck by the river up mountainsides and across streams to get them to the school site (we are now pros at assembly lines). We also helped clear land around the school (I got to use a machete-type thing, and bonded with some village women in the process despite our language barrier – so much fun) and mix cement/lay bricks. Pastor Reuben is hoping to open the school within the next few months. Hardest I've ever worked in my life, and so worth it.
Village life – The village is made up of about 60 people, and there are no roads – just steep and narrow paths up and down the mountainsides for walking. We stayed at the home of Pastor Reuben's parents, which was an awesome experience. There was no bathroom – not even an outhouse or a hole in the ground, so that was fun. We had no electricity, took baths in the river, had bonfires every night, and went electric fishing – quite the experience. You bring a generator with you and stick electric rods in the water to stun the fish, then grab them once they're zapped. We got to have the village church experience where we led worship and Ali gave a word, while men and women sat on the floor on opposite sides of the church. And some of us walked around from house to house with Pastor Reuben handing out snacks to the kids one evening.

Here are some other highlights of the month from our time in and around Kathmandu:

Monkey Temple – This is a huge Buddhist temple complex in the city and up on a mountain where, you guessed it – monkeys run around freely. And sometimes get way too close. I got one of them to high five me, but he quickly bore his teeth and hissed me away afterward. The people here don't believe the temple was constructed with human hands, but instead rose out of the earth on its own. It was fascinating to see the worshipers doing various rituals to honor their gods. Although beautiful, it was very dark and hollow-feeling. We did a prayer walk around the grounds, just praying for Jesus to open eyes and reveal Himself to the precious people there.
Thamel – This is the touristy area of Kathmandu, where you can find many restaurants and souvenirs. We spent time in coffee shops, bought lots of wintry clothes, and I got my nose pierced (sorry Mom and Dad). It's a cool place just to hang, but many of us sensed the spiritual darkness there. There were tons of people begging, mostly little children, dressed in scant amounts of clothing, especially given the cold temperatures. Definitely a place desperate for the light and love of Jesus.
Flight around Mt. Everest – I figured this was the only time I was guaranteed the chance to see Mt. Everest, so I jumped on it. We took a small plane along the ridge of the Himalayas, and it was absolutely breathtaking.
Elephant safari – A group of us had the opportunity to stay at a resort (note: that term is used very loosely here) in Chitwan where we got to see a cultural dance show the night we arrived. We even got to participate at the end, which was quite entertaining. 🙂 The next morning, we set off on a safari through the jungle on elephant back, where we saw deer and a black rhino up close along the way. At one point, our elephant heard some other elephants fighting in the distance and started running to find them. Our "driver" quickly put her in check, but that was definitely the most exciting part.
Bungee jumping – Never thought I would do such a thing! But since Robin was heading home at the end of the month, we decided to have one last hurrah. We traveled a few hours outside Kathmandu to jump off of a 160 meter bridge over the Bhote Khosi River – and we did it twice. Once to canyon swing (the tallest one in the world, with a 7 second freefall = terrifying), and then to bungee. Insane.