Saturday at Manakamana

By Y Gurung

We had purchased 3 tickets to Manakamana for Rs 500 each, inclusive of return cable car fare, to travel on Saturday 4 December 1999. Our bus should have left at 7:00 a.m, but the bus finally arrived at 7:30 a.m. and we started our journey some fifteen minutes later.. After a short tea break on the way, we reached our destination around 10:45 am and we were shocked to see so many buses and cars already parked at the main entrance gate. Our shock turned to fear of the possibility of us having to spend a night at Manakamana, as it was the last thing we wanted to do, and the bus staff had asked us all to be aboard latest by 5 pm to return to Kathmandu. And we were beginning to doubt if we would make it on time.

Manakamana Temple

Not wanting to waste any more time, we just slowly moved along with the queue and were glad to finally have reached the main entrance hall; however, our joy did not last for long as inside the departure hall there was another serpentine queue of at least 150 people with the older people and ladies with infants seated in the few seats that were available. There was hardly any chance in cutting the queue to join someone you know, as uniformed guards appeared to control the line at the hall area. Just after 1 pm we three together with a couple and a gentleman boarded the cable car which I must say was a very worthwhile experience for me because at least I had the opportunity to finally sit down. Then for about 10 minutes of the journey we could see the beautiful village life of the people, their homes, cultivation and of course the natural beauty of Nepal.

After boarding off we bought a pair of pigeons for Rs 150 and then hastily walked to the colorful brick road slightly uphill of approx 300m filled with small shops and restaurants selling pigeons, roosters, goats, hot meals, beer/liqueurs, plenty of handmade decoration items and pooja samagri. When we arrived at the Manakamana Devi Temple, there were 2 queues - one for live offerings which was shorter but ended just outside the temple and the other to pay respect inside the temple, which went quite a long way. We quickly took off our shoes and also left our bag with the boys who later charged us Rs. 20 for their service and began yet another line of queues. I stayed in the long queue while my wife and daughter rested by the temple eagerly and patiently for the queue to move along. This queue moved at a tortoise’s pace which we all later realized was that just near the temple there were always some people cutting the queues which is the normal and easy way for some. A young man in front of me and a lady seemed to had seemed to had had enough of this Nepali way and thus continuously moved around the temple queue to ensure that nobody took the short cut. Although they were doing this voluntary service, he later told me that he had to encounter numerous occasions in which people of all ages and gender were trying to cut queue as hundreds of people were awaiting for hours. But the system that appeared to work is that if you knew somebody in the queue, one could easily join the person’s queue as the person in the queue would say that the friend had been also waiting nearby for hours etc. or some reasonable alibi.

At the main entrance of the temple were 2 uniformed policeman to control the people trying to enter without staying in the queue. Still some managed to get through. Inside the temple were 3 Magar Pujaris who were reciting the holy ‘mantras’, asking names of people for pooja/bhakal, giving the ‘prasad’ and allowing us to pay respect to the Devi with our bhog. These Pujaris were so nice and friendly, talking to all in a gentle way, even after having sat there for many hours, that all my day’s weariness of standing in queue vanished. And I personally began to feel peaceful and happy. We then set freed our pair of pigeons to freely joining the other pigeons of the temple and took some photographs.

It was now 4:30 pm and our thought was to buy something to eat, as my wife and I had only had a glass of tea for the whole day. So, we bought some selroti and biscuits and again joined another huge return queue. The cable cars usually stop their operation at 5 pm in the evening, but to meet the huge Saturday crowd, thanks to them, they were operating extra hours. But as we reached the bus stand at 6:30 pm our bus had left without us.

Fortunately we found another bus, paid Rs 70 each and arrived Kathmandu around 10:30 pm and went straight to sleep. Everyone who asked my about our day at Manakamana I replied, ‘It has a day of queues’. But we three certainly had a lovely day together.

Hole-In-One at Fulbari

By A Staff Reporter

The Executive Golf Course of the Green Canyon Country Club at The Fulbari Resort, Pokhara, saw its very first Hole-In-One yesterday Monday January 17, 2000. The afternoon weather was sunny, balmy and clear on the green Canyon above the Seti Gorge when fellow golf pros and aficionados witnessed this very first feat.

The exotic golf-course at Fulbari Resort.

The proud achiever of this commendable feat at the 189-yard, par-3 hole, number 13, is Jhamling Ghale

This hole is a signature hole! Although it is only 189 yards from the tee, which theoretically is an amateur hole, there are two 110-meter deep gorges to negotiate before reaching the green. Players have to utilize a driver during windy days.

Ghale had used his wood number five to execute this perfect shot. This wisdom resulted in the ball landing only two and half feet before the hole. Then the ball rolled into the cup.

Ghale was playing with Sunny Shrestha, K.C. Gurung and Roop Lama of Royal Nepal Golf Club (RNGC).

The Management of the Fulbari Resort presented Ghale with a souvenir Shaligram as a memento of his record-setting achievement.

Wedding under the water

By A Staff Reporter

Success in tourism depends upon innovating new ideas and offering new packages to the visitors.

Thailand and several other countries are probably at the forefront of innovating things to attract more visitors.

The latest is the underwater wedding off the coast of Trang, a rather sleepy city in the southern peninsula of Thailand later this month.

According to the Thai International Airways, thirty couples from all around the world will get a chance to have an unique opportunity to experience the underwater wedding. This is the third such wedding Thailand is observing.

What may be interesting is that not only those who wish to marry on that specific date, but also those who want to renew their vows are eligible to participate. The Airlines will select the eligible couples and to add charm to the wedding, Thai Airways will bear All the expenses for the couples. r

Fuller in Kathmandu

By A Staff Reporter

Millard Fuller, the founder and president of Habitat for Humanity Internatioal (HFHI) arrived Kathmandu yesterday on a three-day visit to Nepal. Fuller has received international recognition for his work in advocating decent, affordable housing for all.

During his visit, Fuller will inspect activities undertaken by Nepal Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization affiliated with the HFHI. He will also observe the model houses built by this organization at Naya Gaon, Kaski.

Nepal is the 55th country to join HFHI in its effort to eliminate poverty housing worldwide. In the past two years, the HFHI support to Nepal has resulted in building more than 110 houses in four regions. The Nepal branch of HFHI also plans to expand its programmes to serve the poor in all five regions and three geographic areas of Nepal.

The main objective of HFHI and its affiliated organizations worldwide is to build modest houses on a no-profit, no-interest basis, thus making homes affordable to families with low incomes. Fullers efforts towards this had been recognized in September 1996, when President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour offered in the US.

So far, more than 70,000 families from around 1,300 US cities and 65 countries have benefited from this movement.

Norwegian embassy opened

By A Staff Reporter

In order to strengthen its ties with Nepal, Norway established a residential embassy in Kathmandu last week. Amidst a function organized at the premises of the newly established embassy, Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek formally inaugurated the embassy of Norway in Nepal.

On the occasion, the Norwegian Foreign Minister referred to the establishment of the embassy to further consolidate the already existing friendly ties between the two countries. As the friends should be close to develop friendship, the residential embassy had been opened, he remarked.

Diplomatic relations between Nepal and Norway was established in 1973. Presently, Norway is the third largest investment partner to Nepal.