looking for a job in KTM?

I never seem to be in the right place at the right time.

I looked for a job in Nepal and nothing came up. There were vague offers of teaching or office work but it never panned out. To be honest i didn't really want to spend my time filing or or standing in front of a class repeating A is for apple.  I want to do some kind of work I can be passionate about, something that has a purpose, rather then just a pay check.

Eventually the money ran out and i had to come home. The day i arrive back i see this job advertised. Sattya is one of the few organisations in Nepal I wouldn't have issues working for. They have a great mission, a motivated (if somewhat intimidating) director, and the most important and rarest quality is that they are legit. It isn't just some cover for trying to make a buck.

I'm not saying they'd give me the job even if i'd been in Nepal but its so annoying that I only ever seem to find things i really want to be involved in when it is not an option. If you are reading this from Nepal and your into media and mentoring you should check out the job... in my opinion its the best job going this year in Kathmandu.

Nice to hear...

I recently did a photography workshop with Carolin Weinkopf. Before then I had no idea about things like f. and shutter speed. I am not claiming to know a whole lot now but it was a great workshop and I learnt a lot of things. A few times since then I even tried shooting in manual. The results are pretty mixed but I feel like I have more of an idea what makes a good photo.

I missed the last day of the workshop as I had to come to Pokhara to get my mendi done for the wedding. The other day when I was on facebook one of the guys from the class messaged me and told me Carolin had used one of my photos in the slide show of the best work.

I didn’t actually take this during the class and it was taken on auto but it is nice to know she still liked it. Here are some more i took at Shivaratri. Forgive me if i posted these before, things are a bit hetic at the moment.

Nepal Tattoo Convention - artists, tatts and love

Last week I did a story on the Nepal Tattoo Convention in Kathmandu. It is running as part of Digital Om’s Mountain Madness in April. I am really bummed that i won't be able to attend (not that my wedding isn't more important but I’ve wanted to get a tattoo in Nepal for a long time).

I headed off to Pokhara to have a look at Anand’s Tattoo and Piercing because I had heard from a few people that the guys has some skills and that he is willing to work with you to design something cool. I am a terrible drawer and my visualisation skills are a little lacking  so i was glad when he told me he likes to work with people to design their tattoos together. I am thinking about something small like four of these across my ribs:

I am not sure where i found this image. If i stole it from you please let me know so i can link to you.

I was a bit nervous to go to a tattoo parlor. I don't know anything about tattooing. i had this horrible feeling i was going to make an idiot of myself by asking something stupid. i was not expecting to get a lesson in love. We were chatting away, it was a pretty standard interview... how long have you been tattooing, how did you get started, what are you favorite things to tattoo? No Pulitzer  prize coming for me I promise you.

But then Anand starts talking about his wife and how she helps in the shop. He told me about how they met when she was still in school and they married young. "When I was 21 i suddenly thought shit i am married. i stopped acting like a kid then. I have a family and they need me," he said. The guy was so genuine and honest that it made question some things. A week later I am still thinking about it.

 

Anand and his wife, in their shop in Pokhara

Anyway, if your in Pokhara and looking for a tattoo you should go see Anand. He does great colors and his shading work isn't too shabby either. If you can't get down to Pokhara he will be in KTM for the convention. Anand has already taken a number of session bookings for the convention but he has spots left. To book a tattoo with Anand’s Tattoo and Piercing contact them on 9846036018 or email ananda_koo@hotmail.com

 

 

Tattoo pictures borrowed from Anand’s Tattoo and Piercing

Nepal Tattoo Convention

Dates: 22-24 April 2011

Venue: Yak and Yeti, Bagh Bazaar, Kathmandu

Contact: info@nepaltattooconvention.com

Holi - it isn't so bad...

I understand why some people don’t like Holi, there is always some jerk who takes things too far. Drunken idiots on bikes, people throwing dirty water and eggs, I saw one guy pull out a huge kukri when his wife got hit by a water balloon. It’s really shit to deliberately harm others.

 I was lucky I had three protectors on Holi: Mero Budda, Baabu and the barber from our street.  I tried to get some good pictures but it was impossible to take my big DS-90 out without it getting wet. These photos are from my Olympus Tough. It takes terrible photos but it will not break!

Saturday morning some friends joined us and we formed a defensive gang to take on the kids in our street. We armed ourselves with bottles of water, a few water balloons, and color. We wandered up Puknajol, chatting with our neighbors and teasing their kids. 

People started to get a bit rough so we advanced into Thamel where things were friendlier. Goras and Nepalis danced and sang in the street. Everyone exchanged colors. We were crazed, painted, wet and covered in eggs. It was a beautiful morning and we were the kings of Thamel… until the Cops turned up and shut the whole glorious thing down.  With a waving of sticks and some pushing they sent us back to our hotels and homes.

We stopped for a drink (tinta pepsi,yota Miranda) and everyone lost their enthusiasm. Our wet clothes were cold, the egg in our hair started to smell and I realized I looked like I had a beard with black paint covering half my face.  It was time for a shower so we headed back.

By the afternoon Pucknajowl had changed from a fun community festial to a feirce gauntlet. Tall buildings line both sides of the street and kids and old ladies were perched on roofs and balconies with buckets of water. Young boys on bikes in the main chowk bristled with hostility and brandished eggs. We were reduced to a scrambling pack and made a sprint for home. Six grown adults against children, old women and some teenagers… I am not sure who won but there were casualties on both sides.

It was time and we broke up the crew, Baabu went home to his mum, the Barber headed off in search of more colors and kids to cover and we lazily climbed into bed and shared some ice-cream.

Two months in KTM

Poush Ansi. My first assignment at work.

 

My new grandma.

 

Bratabandha. My first experience with real Hindu culture. 

 

 

The Swasthani Purnima at Sankhu

Police at Martyr's Day

Somewhere to start...

Bideshi, seto keti, khairi, buddi - words i'd never given much thought before but now i'm starting to identify with them. When i am walking in the street, or at the market, or at work, or my budda is on the phone, I know if i hear these words I am probably the topic of conversation.

Recently things have changed a lot for me. I moved to Nepal, a new country, to a new city, Kathmandu, got a new apartment, a new budda, new furniture and a new job. Everything is different, exciting, busy, crazy, distracting and strange. 

It isn't just the cultural divide between me and, well basically everyone i meet, Every thing is different. I went from 20min hot showers in Australia to bathing from a bucket with cold murky water in Kathmandu ; And this has been one of the easier adjustments. Trying to organise a traditional Hindu wedding in Nepal when you don't speak Nepali, have a less than basic understanding of Hindu culture and haven't even been to a Hindu wedding, has been a bit of a challenge!- I should clarify, we aren't actually married yet. We are one of those MODERN COUPLES that shame their Nepali mothers by sharing a house before they get married. He calls me wife to avoid awkward conversations with our landlord or the guy who delivers the paani, and the date is set for April so don't judge us too harshly.

I thought I would start a new blog so I had a place to make sense of all this confusion. I like to write and i want a record of this time because things are moving to quickly for me to commit it all to memory. So Huncha badar will be where i share  my story as a new bideshi buddi in Kathmandu. It won't be all personal, I'll share plenty of photos and news about the events i attend as a travel writer. I will try to mix it up for you so it doesn't get too boring.

So why huncha badar? There isn't really a great reason. I had two options for a blog name. Maya and milk tea or huncha badar. Maya and Milk tea are the reasons i stay in Nepal... but i thought that might be a bit too romantic and love struck so I went with Huncha badar.

For a long time huncha was the only word i knew how to say in Nepali. I said it all the time, even when things weren't ok (then i would say huncha chaina). When you can't communicate with anyone you being to cling to the only words you know. Eventually my budda taught me the word for monkey, something he will probably regret because i then started calling him huncha badar.