Team Cooper Nepal Re-Build Project Diary - Sunday 27th March 2016

Sunday 27th March 2016

*More pictures will be added when Parentals get home*  :)

We both had a reasonable sleep last night. Getting up at 6.30 we showered and went for breakfast which consisted of a buffet with a selection of fresh fruit, cereal and accompanied with bread, nam and croissants. 

We met our guide Ram downstairs at 8am, our 4x4 was loaded, our cook and porter joined us and we set off on our journey. Kathmandu was busy with lots of poor and damaged buildings all around, but it was hard to say whether or not it was earthquake damage. As it's the dry season, everything is very dusty which made it often hard to see in front. The sun is there but blocked by so much dust in the air.

 

We head out of Kathmandu and drive slowly on the Nepal/India highway. The road is very windy and steep and we are held up many times. This is the same road we took to Chitwan in 2012 after we had completed Everest Base Camp.

After a couple of hours, we leave the highway and head into the mountains. An hour later we stop in a town to get vegetables before leaving the road and continuing on a dirt track.

Around 12.30pm we stop in small town for lunch where we have the traditional Daal Bhat (rice with curried vegetables and pickle) which tasted good.

Ram and the others sat elsewhere, but Ram came back after lunch to chat. We learnt that he had been with Ace Himalaya for 7 years now but was also studying in commerce. He really enjoys his work at present as a guide but would like to go into banking later. Soon it was time to get back in car and head, still a long way to go.

For the next few hours, it becomes very bumpy and tricky, especially when the track is narrow and you meet a convoy of trucks and buses. Children wait at the side for their school bus, it is exam time.

Passing many villages you see the destruction of the earthquake, there is clearly so much work to be done.

Goats, cows, chickens and children roam the roads. Stopping at the last small town for a drink we see a house more or less on its side. No one was in at the time, which was good.

After a nine hour journey, we arrive at Prem's and Ram's village and we see 2 of the new houses, Ram shows Prem's family home that was badly damaged by the earthquake, no one can stay there now. His brother lives nearby. Collecting the camping equipment at the 2nd house, we head for final destination and camp is set up next to house number four that we will work on. We sit at an old couple's house and are given the traditional red dot on forehead and flowers while we wait on tents being set up. 

We later talk to Ram about Nepal, the politics of the country, the work to do on the house etc.  We learnt that it was only in secondary school that Ram learnt English, but now English is part of the schooling from grade 1.

There is no water here and it is brought up in metal canisters.  While waiting for tea, lots of family members arrived, not sure if they stay at the house or came to investigate us as they rarely see foreigners.  We have tea around 7pm and during this we witness a huge thunderstorm, power is switched off and we eat by torch.  Our cook had made lovely soup followed by omelette, noodles and veg which was lovely.  While we ate, the old woman ground up maize for animal feed which increases the milk they yield whilst the old guy settled to his out door bed.

Once we have finished out tea it's after 8pm and we say goodnight and head for our tent.  We will have breakfast at 7.30am to start work just after 8am.

Our first day has been dusty and tiring but also interesting.  The real work however starts tomorrow.

We go to sleep listening to bugs chirping and the old guy coughing and spluttering.

Team Cooper Back in Nepal Re-building Homes Destroyed by Last Year's Earthquake in the Gorkha Region!

Compassionate people of the world....I love Geology....but as fascinating as earthquakes are, they really do suck balls for the people unfortunate enough to live on the surface of the boundary of two massive tectonic plates, in this case the Indo-Austrailian and Asian plates.  Strain on the boundaries of tectonic plates is the reason we have the Himalayan mountain range in the first place, but unlike 50 million years ago when the Himalayas were first formed, today we have settlements and people  living in the mountains as well as climbing them.  

In response to the horrific earthquakes in Nepal in 2015, the Parentals are off on a new mission to help rebuild homes destroyed by the 2015 quake that completely flattened whole villages, killed thousands and affected millions.  This will be done through the company Ace the Himalaya, more information of which can be found at their website. 

Anyhoo, as I wrote the piece that went along with their fundraising campaign, I figured I might as well just copy and paste what I wrote for their GoFundMe campaign.  :)

Roy and Gail Cooper became very fond of Nepal and its people after their trek to Everest Base Camp in October 2012.  The Nepalese people made this trek possible with their amazing assistance on the trek and Roy and Gail developed a strong affection towards their people.  

On the 25th April 2015, Nepal was hit with the most devastating natural disaster since the 1934 Nepal-Bihar Earthquake.  An earthquake that would prove to be the deadliest day in recorded history to strike Mount Everest.  Also known as the ‘Gorka Earthquake’, over 8,000 people were killed with several thousand injured and millions affected.  A major aftershock on the 12th May led to another 200 deaths with a further 2,500 injured.  

This level of devastation would be difficult for any country to recover from, but for one such as Nepal where people already struggle to get by; the past year has been absolutely horrendous.  Many villages in the region were completely flattened and families have been forced to spend their time since living in temporary shelters.

Roy and Gail are currently in Nepal to take part in rebuilding a family home and whilst they are away, I am raising money for them to present to the village at the end of their trip.  They left on Friday and travelled to Kathmandu before taking the incredibly dusty and bumpy 9-hour journey to the Gorkha region. Their guide Iran has been really friendly and very informative. En-route to the Gorkha region they have been stopping at a few of the worst hit villages in the earthquake zone so as to see the true level of devastation that this earthquake caused. Almost a year on and the air is still grey....even in the hotel in Kathmandu.

They are working in the village as I type this, and are sleeping in a tent in someone's garden and living very basically, which I guess is a great way to appreciate what these people have went through, to a little extent at least. Despite living with so little, the villagers have all been really lovely. :)

Approximately £250 each of their total holiday cost will go towards materials but it takes approx £3600 to build a nice strong house for a family.

They have travelled to the Gorkha district of Nepal to help build a home for Chitra Bahadur and his family.  

“Chitra Bahadur lives in Ward No 6 Ratamate village of Arupokhari Village Development Committee (VDC) in Gorkha district.  His family of 4 includes he himself, his wife, daughter and son.  He is the only one in the family to earn something as his son is away from home and doesn’t have an income to help the family.  He is a poor farmer who earns very little from his farming and doing things here and there. There is no one to help him.  He completely lost his house during the earthquake and now lives in a temporary shelter which he built from Rs 15,000 (£105).”

The more money Team Cooper raise, the more they will be able to help both Chitra and his family build a safe, strong home.  Depending on how much they raise, it might be possible to help other families as well.

At this time, there is no closing date, but the quicker money is raised, the faster Team Cooper can help contribute as much as possible to the vital rebuild of the Bahadur family’s village.  

Roy and Gail would love to be able to present a collection of as many donations as possible from compassionate individuals to the Bahadur family and their village, no matter how big or small.  Whilst they are away, along with the GoFundMe campaign, my sister Cat and I area also collecting donations and will be having a raffle in our pub in Arbroath, The Fisherman's Inn. All donations are gratefully appreciated.  :)

You can follow the rebuild progress from their trip on Team Cooper's Adventures on Facebook, as well as on here. www.facebook.com/CoopersMountainAdventures.

Huge thanks to everyone that helps us with our goal.  Jennifer xox

Morrocco trek 2014

Morrocco trip 2014
After our successful trek to Everest BC we take on the High Atlas mountains in Morrocco

It was quite a noisy night with frogs, bugs etc. About 3 am was awakened by stones being moved and water irragation getting started with a rush of water. Up at 6 breakfast and away by 7.15 before sun gets too hot.
We have past through many Berber villages. The woman busy washing clothing in streams and bringing in hay on backs.
Children start school age 7, school day is 8 to 5 with hour for lunch.
We stop for lunch and break in the shade just after 10. Mint tea is so refreshing. Well after a filling lunch of pasta sardines and salad we settle for a while (5 hrs in fact to avoid strong sun.
We then had an hour walk to our camp for the night. Scenery has changed from terraces with crops to stoney and juniper trees.
Tomorrow morning we set off early as doing a high peak.https://www.facebook.com/CoopersMountainAdventures

Morley's Earth Day Hideaway!: Did You Know Just How Little the Scottish Government Gives to Mountain Rescue Teams? More Funding Needed to Ensure the Safety of Walkers in the Scottish Highlands.

Morley's Earth Day Hideaway!: Did You Know Just How Little the Scottish Government Gives to Mountain Rescue Teams? More Funding Needed to Ensure the Safety of Walkers in the Scottish Highlands.

Team Cooper - Chitwan National Park

So after our epic trek, we figured that we'd finish off this adventure with some fun in the jungle.
We are on our way to Chitwan National Park and the roads are mental!! On the highway and the lorries just go anywhere they want...and there are huge craters in the road with very steep drops surrounding us. I definitely think we'll be thinking twice before we moan about the roads at home again. Haha.

Everything is so stoury as well, with every tree covered in dust. It was sad to say goodbye to our group last night, after what we've accomplished over these last few weeks, it was definitely a case of making friends for life...and thankfully social networking makes this so much easier. We now have a guy from Australia with us for this next part of our adventure.

At one point en route to Chitwan, our car stopped as there was a broken lorry or an accident...which is very common. Which is so easy to understand given the state of the roads. With the sun getting high in the sky, and the temperature rising...the car is getting very warm and stuffy.

 

 

 

After about six hours drive we leave the Nepal - Indian highway and head left towards Chitwan.

 

We arrived at the lodge that we are to be staying in for the next couple of days just on the outskirts of Chitwan National Park We made it in good time for lunch, which was perfect as we were feeling rather peckish.  It was quite relaxing just to sit and chill and learn a little about Chitwan, its a shame we are not allowed to stay inside the park which was the original plan.

We stayed here till 3pm before heading out to go on a tour of the village where we leaned about the local people and their culture.  It's sad to say that their culture is disappearing, despite the fact that they still live in clay huts.  

 

 

 

On the clay walls around the doors, you can see the markings from last years Diwali celebrations ( Hindus in Nepal celebrate the Diwali festival with bright lights, gift exchanges, fireworks, and elaborate feasts to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of light and wealth. This year it will be celebrated on 13th Nov)

The entrance to the left is the kitchen and the small hole is where chickens stay.

 

  

Inside the kitchen there is no smell of animals, and this young girl was happy to let me see inside.

As you can see very basic, but clean. Evening meal is being prepared.

All the young ones help in the daily chores. This girl showed me how they husk the rice after drying.

They were very inquisitive  about Alistair

 

After walking through the village, looking at crops etc we headed down to the river and sat with a beer as the sun set before heading back for our evening meal.  Watching the sun set in such a beautiful and peaceful place was an amazing experience.  

We then headed back through the dark to the lodge where our evening meal would soon be ready before the evening show of dancers.

 

We sat and chatted to an American couple and enjoyed a pleasant evening with them just listening to all the wonderful sounds of the jungle that surrounded us before heading off to bed at 9.50pm.

Friday morning, its 7am and time for a shower...which sprays pretty much anywhere apart from the body

Breakfast is at 7.30am before we head off on our Elephant Safari at 8am...something we've really been looking forward too. :)

Its a short drive down to where we meet our elephant, we share a mini bus with a very excited crowd of Chinese people with all their camera gear.

We are put with our elephant with an American couple, as there is 4 people per elephant.

It was amazing being up close and personal with an elephant, but a bit uncomfortable at first, which one would expect...but you soon get used to it. :)

We see so many different animals, and it's so amazing to see them all in their natural habitat. Animals that we saw included monkey's, deer, crocodiles and birds.

We then go down the river ( where crocodiles doze) to where the elephants get bathed...to then get bathed by the elephants, something that they really do seem to enjoy!! :) It was fun, as you can see from the expression on my face, haha, and I got soaked right though. Good thing it's so warm.

We stay here for a while before going back to the lodge to have a shower

(although I think the elephant gave a better shower than the actual shower!!) and to dry before lunch and afternoon trip in a dugout canoe on the Rapti River, also a trek through jungle in the hope of seeing one horn rhino etc.

 

 

The canoe trip was great but to prevent boat tipping you had to be very still and the little wooden seats were hard. Our guide was very good at spotting many birds and able to tell us about them.

Our walk through the jungle was hot and humid, lots of termite hills and tracks. There was a couple of noisy groups ahead which spoilt the chance of seeing the larger animals.

Our guide suggested we stay back later to see if we would be lucky (A group the day before saw many) we stayed till the light started disapearing and only sign of rhino was a pile of dung and scent of urine.

We headed back in the very limited light to the elephant nursery where not only did we see elephants of different ages, we saw wild boar. After this visit we head back for dinner and chill, before bed.

 

 

 

Well its Saturday morning and we have early morning call for breakfast. We are leaving at 7.45 to head back to Kathmandu and our flight home this evening. After breakfast we say thank you and farewell to the staff.

Our journey goes well for the first few hour with some good views.

 

Being in Kathmandu we have certainly learned just how things really do just go with the flow...although we wish that the traffic flowed just a little bit smoother.

Traffic jams are something that is part of day to day living here....which was a bit of a nightmare when we got stuck in one on our way to Kathmandu after leaving Chitwan. We got stuck in a MAJOR jam about 20km from Kathmandu with the traffic all the way to the city. This was not good when we only had 6 hours before our flight and our cases were still at the hotel and weren't packed...nor had we checked in to the airport. EEP!! The police informed us that there was a very long wait and that we were on the only road!!

 

After about 3 hours we reach the outskirts of Kathmandu, but find the traffic goes all the way to the center. On hearing this our driver decides to go the back roads to save time. It also gives us views of people working in the fields.

 

 

 

 

We pass Swayambhunath temple popularly known worldwide as the  Monkey Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thankfully though, after this little blast of stress, we made it in time. I guess people go through this all the time when visiting Kathmandu, and I suppose it's just normal for the people who live here!!
We arrive at the Raddison where I shower repack cases before leaving for airport.
I'm sad our adventure is over, but not to leave the dirty, noisy city of Kathmandu

We arrive to the very busy airport in plenty of time to do a bit of shopping and some coffee.

Hope you have enjoyed following our adventure, thanks for reading

Everest Base camp day 15

Lukla to Kathmandu
Up early 4.30 am and no washey hot water, we need to go for breakfast at 5am. We learn at Breakfast we are waiting on a call to "say get to airport" as flights are leaving Kathmandu.
We have breakfast and not long after we get that call and off we go to airport. Its a short walk and we are soon there. It is very chaotic here at the airport, dont know whats happening ( this is a daily occurance) Bags are grabbed at security, does not matter whos, then we go down to departure where males are seperate from females.
They asked if I smoked and carried a lighter then looked in top pocket of rucksack. And off I go to wait on our plane comming in we are flight 3 with Tara air. Its not long and its here, the turn around is about 3 mins so we have to move quickly. Because of weight and takeoff guide Roy will follow on next flight.

 

 

 

 

 

After the air checks we are on our flight back to Kathmandu which was pleasant and lasts 20 mins and we are back in busy smelly Kathmandu, our trek is officially over.

 We will meet tonight for a farewell dinner with Roy.