How can a holiday of fifteen days have passed so quickly? Tomorrow will be the last day!

 More than fifteen monks went to their own homes in the Kathmandu Valley to visit family and join in the Dashain celebrations. They don’t celebrate like those who are Hindu by faith – but everyone in Nepal, regardless of their beliefs enjoys time off work with relatives and friends and the excuse to eat meat of every kind and play games!

 Some of the senior monks are out at the ping nearby: these are high rope swings hanging from huge four or six-legged bamboo frames. They are often located specially to swing out over high or seemingly dangerous places – so as you swing you fly into the sky over a massive drop, or out into space over the raging torrent of brown foaming river! The one near Vajra Varahi gompa must be the only one in the valley that swings over completely flat ground….

 A major event of every holiday is the picnic: food is cooked at the gompa – buff meat, potatoes, rice, deep fried bread (kapse), sweets, biscuits, sweet tea nd Tibetan tea….. Food and monks piled into a bus after puja to spend the day at the botanical gardens in Godawari nearby.

 Sack races, karom and cards, lots of running around, playing in the shallow stream (no ball games allowed in the gardens though)….all kind of diversions until dark, and then home for dinner. No one had to stay behind and help the cook this year – fantastic!

 Despite all the entertainment on days out, the rest of the time can drag a little – just like holidays all over the world. Some monks will be glad to get back to the routine of lessons and practice which fill all but two and a half hours a day (outside the hour for each meal). But then again – lets ask them that once lessons have begun!