Under a thousand stars in Nepal

Victor Loh recounts his journey to Dhading on an aid mission for Anglican Crisis Relief, Outreach & Support, Singapore (ACROSS). The full story titled ‘AsiaOne special: The thousand stars hotel in Nepal’ was published on www.Asiaone.com.

Few excerpts below:

Outside the Tata bus 1,000 metres above sea level, it was a different world. The rays shone gloriously behind the snow-capped peaks of the sacred Ganesh Himal mountain range, while the vegetation thick with dew glistened along the valley slopes partially shrouded in mist.

A slight veer off the path and it would most certainly be a deathly plunge into the picturesque landscape. This is what it means to be living on the edge literally.

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1,500 sacks of rice and dhal later, 14 Singaporeans gathered around a bonfire on Dec 31, 2015 to usher in the new year. I had the company of the Chimchok villagers who hosted us with traditional songs, dancing, and raksi – a traditional distilled alcoholic beverage made from millet.

After hours of merry-making, I quivered back to my tent, where I slept in for the past two nights. As I admired the stars in the night sky outside my tent in the frigid cold despite wearing four layers of clothing, I had flashbacks of the faces that I had seen.

I can only hope for them and their fellow countrymen, that there will be nowhere to go but up.

Full story in the link below:

http://news.asiaone.com/news/lifestyle/thousand-stars-hotel-nepal