the setting.

Imagine flying to Nepal. On a stuffy plane for 26 hours, you land in the city of Kathmandu. You leave the airport in a taxy and take in the sites of a busy Asian city. The buildings are aged, the streets are littered, there are potholes here and there. If you rolled down the window you would most likely take in the smell of burning plastic as people are trying to get rid of their garbage...


Walking to your hotel you see small boys on the streets in tattered dirty clothing fighting with each other. One of them catches your eye and calls out to you with his hands cupped together, begging for food.

The next day you head to a local bus; a rusty old school bus with crowds of people packed inside. Loud foreign music plays and vendors offer you local snacks. The heat is intense. You find a seat and settle in for a bumpy ride. As you climb out of the urban valley you head into lush green mountain forests; a sharp contrast with the drab greys of concrete in the city. You begin to wind through tall trees that give off a fresh invigorating scent. The breeze finally filters through open window and you find that the local music is growing on you. Maybe the rhythm of the bumps from the rickety bus is too.

The road winds its way along the riverside for a while until you reach a busy little town. You hop off the bus onto the dusty streets and you hear people calling you from all different directions, offering you a ride or food. There are men selling goats and women with babies on their hip. You try to avoid holes in the sidewalk as you make your way to the jeeps on the other side of the road.

You haggle for a good price to ride on one of these jeeps and you hop in the back of one of them. You may be the first to arrive but soon more and more and more people crowd their way on makeshift benches beside you. Their eyes are kind and they whisper to each other in Nepali, maybe wondering who you are. The jeep takes off. You grip the roofing and brace yourself for the bumpy ride as you head up the mountainside. Once again the forest greets you with a cool breeze and fresh air. The jeep winds up higher and higher and you enjoy the light filtering through leaves on the trees.

When the jeep reaches the top it comes to an abrupt stop. Everyone climbs out and you find yourself in a small town with cobbled streets. You walk past a barricade that keeps vehicles out of the town. You feel like you have just entered another world. Where are you again? An old Swiss Hamlet? The buildings are made of old dark wood and the storefronts are simple with painted signs and smiling shopkeepers inside. Everywhere children are laughing and playing together. There are families making yard from sheepskin, clusters of ducklings walking together, a grandma weaving a basket. They all greet you with kind eyes.

The town is built on a ridge and in the distance the mountains and valleys overlap into a purple mist. Far off in the sky you can see the towering peaks of the Himalayas, the snow caps as high as the clouds.

Welcome to Bandipur! Hope you enjoy a peaceful visit in this quaint little town. I hope you take long walks on the hillside. I hope you have Chai tea at the local cafes. I hope you pet some goats or maybe try to milk a buffalo. Maybe you brought a great book to read or a sketchbook to try and capture the jaw dropping scenery.

I hope one day you visit a little Children's home and never forget your time here : )