Nepal is a land full of natural wonders. The icy mountain ranges are its diamonds while the lush green jungles are emeralds. The cool, soothing breeze that sweeps from these landscapes feels like a shimmering radiance emanating from the country's own treasure chest.
On December 25, I finally got to experience all of this for myself. My school organized a trip for Grade 9 and 10 students to Switzerland Park and Dahachowk, also known as Indra Daha. Since my school rarely organizes such tours, I was thrilled when my parents agreed to the reasonable excursion fee of Rs 300. After nearly nine months in the ninth grade, my classmates and I had been wondering if we would ever get an outing; when the notice finally arrived, we were on cloud nine.
My small group of five friends had been planning for this trip for six days before it happened. I volunteered to bring a digital camera and a picnic mattress along with other essential stuffs like snacks and beverages, of course. And regarding the bus seats, we chose to sit at the very back of the bus since we were five friends.
On the morning of the trip, my dad dropped me off at school at 9:15 am. As I grabbed my backpack, he told me to have a great time and make sure to take plenty of photos. He also advised me to carry a mobile phone with my class teacher's number saved just in case of getting lost and so did I. My friends had already arrived at the school. We were all quite excited about the trip.
The school bus started to move when it ticked 10 am. It was alreaday abuzz with chit-chat, mostly about that day's destination. The first 30 minutes were filled with non-stop chatters but the atmosphere shifted when some friends put on a mix of classic Nepali and Hindi songs to which a few of our friends started dancing. Some were found using their phones, some were singing, while a few were busy playing games. As for me, I was just enjoying the passing view through the window. As we began to approach Kalanki, the site of the evergreen forest lit up our face. The bus began winding up-hill which reminded me of going to my village many years ago via the Sindhuli Gadhi route. On the way, we saw a stupa whose name I didn't really notice. The cool bridge made us feel calm and relaxed.
Nepal is a land full of natural wonders. The icy mountain ranges are its diamonds while the lush green jungles are emeralds. The cool, soothing breeze that sweeps from these landscapes feels like a shimmering radiance emanating from the country's own treasure chest.
The bus stopped beside a temple on a hillock. There were a few stone steps that led to the top of the hillock. There was a huge bell which we rang three times before we climbed down the hillock. Then we lined up in pairs and headed toward a small park dedicated to Kaji Kalu Pandey. The garden was neatly decorated and appeared well managed with stone pavements. There stood a monument of Kalu Pandey who was one of the King Prithvi Narayan Shah's most trusted men and advisors. The statue was built at the order of KP Sharma Oli during his premiership. The students of our section stood in front of this statue for a group photo. We also explored the Daha Chowk, the View Tour - a vangate point from which we could see a huge part of the Kathmandu Valley.
From the very top of this tower, we could see the mesmerizing view of the Himalayas and feel the soothing and cool air on our face. This made me, and most of who were present, set their worries of life aside and, left us engrossed in this paradise. At this point, we were already feeling hungry and then descended. We were led through a black-topped road where some of us even bought kulfis along the path to enjoy. After 10 minutes' walk, we came across a beautiful site with a pond named Indra Daha, surrounded with temples, paatis and pauvas and many meadows.
A legend has it that, during the Satya Yuga, Indra, the King of Heaven, descended to Earth, and tied his elephant to a golden tether to bathe it in the Indra Daha. This sacred site is located in Chandragiri Municipality-1, roughly 5 km north-west of Kalanki, Kathmandu.
I immediately spread a picnic mattress on the ground we thought was the best spot to enjoy food and chill out for some time. After opening all our lunch boxes, we ate pasta, chowmein, paneer rolls, fruits, French fries, donuts, honey sandwich and boiled eggs. We recorded a few videos of the surrounding, too. A lot of time had already elasped by without our knowledge. When our class teacher called us together, we thought the fun was soon going to be over. Against our presumption, the bus we boarded led us to another hillock where a big crowd of people were enjoying picnics and hanging out. This hillock was much larger with the grass turning yellow due to dry season. The view was panoramic and almost all parts of the Kathmandu Valley could be seen from there. However, it was not so clear, apparently due to afternoon haze and pollution. We had still loads of fun playing swings and badminton, etc.
Finally, we heard our teacher's call to return. The journey home was just as lively as our time at Switzerland Park, with the bus abuzz with laughter and stories of the day.
(Panjum is a ninth grader studying in Medha Secondary School.)
(Nepalkhabar encourages students to send in their articles on any issues of their interest. The article should be around 500 to 700 words in English and sent via [email protected]. We will select, edit and duly publish them in our blog section.)
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