Journey to Saping

I will be spending about a month in a rural village teaching English. Like I shared before, I used the website Workaday to find the school that I would be teaching at. If you are interested, you can check out the post here. The school is located in the small village of Saping. Saping is a three-hour bus ride from Kathmandu and then a 2-3 hour hike to the village (depending how fast you hike and how much stuff you have)! Uttam, the founder of the school also has a guesthouse named the Innate Pension. The guesthouse is located in Dhulikhel which is about 1.5 hours from Kathmandu. All money earned from the guesthouse goes back into the school and the village. (The website also tells about the school and the village) In order to get to Saping, I first traveled to Dhulikhel and stayed at the guesthouse. I planned to spend one night in Dhulikhel and then travel the rest of the way to Saping with Uttam the following day.

Views from the hike

The day I left Kathmandu, I  found my way to the local bus station (Ratna Park). In order to get there, I traveled by a very crowded “Microbus” which only cost me 20 rupees (which is equivalent to 20 cents). The bus station was a little confusing. I thought I had to purchase my ticket before I got on the bus and I kept trying to figure out where to do that. It turns out you just pay on the bus. After showing the name “Dhulikhel” to a group of people, a very nice man walked me to a bus, spoke to the driver to make sure it was the correct bus and I got on. (I took a screen shot of the emailed directions and used it throughout the day) I realized how lucky I was to have a seat with a space for by backpack. The bus got so crowded that people were sitting on top of it!

On the way to Dhulikhel on a very crowded bus

After about an hour and a half on the bus, I made it to Dhulikhel. I was charged 100 rupees ($1.00) for the bus ride. It looked like everyone else was paying a little less, but I was not sure. I asked about it later and learned that I should have just paid 55 rupees. Most people I have met are so kind and honest, but there have been a small few that try to charge more because I am a tourist. Once I got off the bus, I had to walk about 15 minutes to the guesthouse. The guesthouse was lovely. I was able to finally meet Emma, who I had been corresponding via email since I had been in Thailand. Emma is a volunteer from Australia who has been staying at the guesthouse and helping out with the emails. I also met Nanee who cooked me a delicious Nepalese dinner and made me a lovely cup of tea.

Innate Pension

My bedroom at the Innate Pension

Dhulikhel was beautiful and it felt so good to be out of Kathmandu. The air felt so much cleaner and there was not dust everywhere. I finally felt like I could actually breathe!

Dhulikhel

Dhulikhel

It was really nice to stop in Dhulikhel first before heading to Saping. Emma and Nanne were able to help me with all the logistical stuff. They were also able to fill me in a little bit about the school and village so that I would know what to expect. I also decided to leave some of my stuff at the guesthouse because I knew that I would not be able to carry it the following day. (I had also left some stuff at my guesthouse in Kathmandu but it was not enough.) The next day, I met Uttam and we set off for Saping. We needed to take a bus to the town of Dologhat which is where we would start our hike from. We got to the Dhulikhel bus stop to find extremely crowded buses. Uttam asked if I minded riding on top and I decided to just go with it even though I was terrified.

Dhulikhel bus park

Crowded!

I have gone hang gliding in Switzerland and skydiving on Oahu both of which were way less scarier than riding on the bus. We drove on beautiful yet winding mountain roads. I was so scared the bus was going to tip over!  However, after about 30 minutes I relaxed and was able to enjoy the stunning scenery.

After I relaxed a bit!

Uttam sitting on top of the bus

When we got to Dologhat we started our hike. We were directly in the sun, going straight up hill, and my bag felt heavy.  I panicked for a moment however, I found my groove and it got a bit easier. I also told Uttam I had to listen to my iPod for motivation to get up  the mountain. It felt a little funny listening to Eminem as I walked through tiny villages, but it was what I needed.

I think I am going to die!

The hike was absolutely amazing and even though it was challenging at times (because of my bag) I loved it! I saw so many beautiful sights, different landscapes, and interesting villages.

Uttam

Scenery from the hike

🙂

I also saw a lot of homes that were destroyed due to the earthquake.

Earthquake damage

Earthquake damage

We made it to Saping just as it was getting dark. I was a little concerned because a couple hours before, Uttam had shared with me that there are leopards in the village and you cannot walk at night. When I brought this up to him he said we didn’t have to worry because there were two of us.  Apparently leopards only attack single people!  In Saping, I instantly started to meet amazing people. We ate an incredible dinner with Uttam’s family and I slept great!

Scenery from the hike

I woke up in the morning and started to get to know the adorable and sweet children at the school!

little cuties!