I feel overwhelmed again by the view outside my window. I have a little balcony, and I couldn´t resist taking a photo even though it is dark. Machhapuchhare (the fishtail) is hiding in the darkness. It is a great feeling knowing that the fishtail mountain is there. Sharing the photos below. It feels sacred, and I understand religion in this moment.
Machhapuchhare, the fishtail mountainPokhara
They say I have been lucky. Yesterday, the fishtail wasn’t visible. Now, of course, it cannot be seen. I’m getting up early to see the mountain at sunrise.
Despite the long journey from Stockholm to Bangkok, the trip went by very quickly. By chance, I ended up sitting next to ‘neighbour travellers’ who had previously visited Nepal. I got a crash course in the religious ceremonies practiced there. They had missed seeing the rhinos—and were also surprised that such exotic animals exist in Nepal. I hope I get to see them.
We had a few detours in the airspace, and I couldn’t resist following our route on the map. We flew south of Ukraine, crossing over the Black and Caspian Seas in the Middle East. The floods in Bangkok have receded, and there is only light rain.
Naturally, many thoughts crossed my mind when I learned that Nepal had been struck by a natural disaster—a massive flood triggered by a glacier collapsing from one of the Himalayan peaks. Worried friends wondered what I would do. Climate change was cited as one of the causes behind the flooding resulting from the collapse.
Unfortunately, the event did not receive much attention in Swedish news, even though thousands of people lost their lives. Here, the news cycle revolves around Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine. A Russian attack on the airport in Leipzig, Germany, served as a reminder that we need increased vigilance throughout our society.
I have started following ‘The Kathmandu Post‘ to understand Nepal better. As you know, I care deeply about animals and nature. Nepal is home to exotic wildlife such as elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers, and leopards. Nearly a thousand human lives are lost each year, which naturally creates conflict between humans and animals.
Anyway, we live in the here and now. My trip is reasonably well-planned, but given the heavy rainfall and other natural disasters, I know that changes may arise along the way.
Even though I live alone, my days are intense and eventful. A friend remarked with surprise, after spending a couple of weeks at home without her husband and children: “Anna, you must have so much to do. I have never had such hectic days as I have now while being on my own.” I laughed, of course, but on reflection, it felt like she was right.
Domestic flights
I have had a couple of days off and traveled to northern Sweden with a friend within the family. I asked if she wanted to come along, and she did! The propeller plane felt unfamiliar—a small yet substantial aircraft. A Fokker 50—very important, according to the pilot.
Fokker 50
It was perfect to have company. It also felt like a little taste of Nepal, I thought. From Hemavan, the Norwegian mountains were visible in the distance, with a dusting of snow on the peaks. Hemavan had plenty of both Norwegian and Swedish cars. It actually felt a bit like Glommen Brygge in Fredrikstad, Norway—especially when I woke up this morning to see thick fog over the lake, just like in Fredrikstad. Ryfjället wasn’t visible at first, but then the sun slowly warmed the morning, and the mountain shone once more in all its glory. It was also the first morning with a light frost, I was told.
Ryfjället
It has been about ten years since I was last in Tärnaby. Even longer since I went downhill skiing. I suddenly found myself longing to ski when I saw some ski gear in the hotel lobby. It might turn out to be a good winter, as there are plenty of rowan berries this year.
I felt I wanted to write down my impressions while they are still fresh. I am happy to have this diary. I sent the photo of Ryfjället above to Professor Thapa, and, of course, these must be small hills to him by comparison.
Autumn.
The photo above is from earlier today. This evening Stockholm. Looking forward so much to discovering beautiful Nepal.
I am now starting to be able to visualize my trip. It will be an adventure, and I must be prepared. There is a certain freedom in traveling alone even though I will now be visiting friends. People tend to be curious and want to speak with me. And I with them! If you travel in pairs or in a group, you mostly end up talking to each other.
Sometimes unexpected events appear on my computer. Like today, when some kind of algorithm found music for me that I really loved right away. The small symphony orchestra, and especially the piano, reminded me of a concert I went to in Malaysia under the Petronas Towers. Yes, exactly, under the two towers on a Sunday morning. There were many of us waiting in line for the performance, and a couple from the Philippines started talking with me while we were waiting. They studied architecture. We became friends on Facebook, but after my ID was hijacked, we lost touch.
Today, I am curious about what kind of music and theater I will experience during my trip. This song is in French. It will also be exciting to see if there are French influences in Nepal and India. In Vietnam, France has left their mark.
A perfect song for the people in Nepal. When you do not have a house anymore 🙏🏼
It didn’t quite go as I had planned. I never got that cozy feeling of reading and preparing for the trip to Nepal and India in peace. I am so used to reading up on different subjects that I hesitated for a second, but then I realized that I can read while travelling. Life doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to. There are no government guarantees – like in so many other life situations. The Strait of Hormuz, I thought, I blame the Strait of Hormuz. It already felt a little better.
It is a bit absurd to set off on a trip and think about how you can travel without crossing the war. Ukraine is very close to me. Sometimes I travel by bus and meet refugees from Ukraine who travel for free. A distributional policy issue was brought up by a friend who believes that all refugees should be allowed to travel for free. Without thinking, I replied that Sweden is very close to Ukraine and that it might as well have been Sweden that was invaded. It is a very unique situation.
I am starting to look forward to my voyage, and I have a lot to prepare. There is no train from Kathmandu, so I am traveling by bus or plane to India. What should I do for Professor Thapa? I got this nice gift below a little over 20 years ago. Dala horses are nice, but I have rarely been to Dalarna. I still have a few weeks to look.
I hope I will find the plant that contains Reserpine. How come it grows in India? It is nowadays sold in health food stores. It is fascinating that plants can have such powerful pharmacological effects. However, there are much better pharmacological alternatives today than Reserpine to lower blood pressure and also for various anxiety conditions.
It is in the middle of summer in Sweden. Tropical sunny days mixed with rain. The ground is so hot that the rain evaporates immediately when it hits the lawn, which makes the humidity close to 100%.
Summer is perfect for short trips. I traveled by train to Gothenburg during the day to meet some friends. They prefer cliffs to sandy beaches and wanted to visit the Swedish west coast. Like me, they like to travel. There were direct flights from Barcelona, Spain, to Gothenburg. I travelled by train from Stockholm.
Interestingly, when I booked my train ticket, I automatically took into account that traveling would mean delays. Later, it turned out to be true. The weather was perfect with sun and blue sky. It was soothing to see green meadows and fields pass my train window on the train to Gothenburg. On the way back, deer grazed in the meadows at dusk.
It had been a long time since we had seen each other, and it was a lovely reunion. The funny thing is that we got to know each other when I was in France – not Spain. 30 years ago. I understand a little Spanish, but we speak French. My friend at that time was her little sister. She could not join due to her family in Spain.
HAGA – and the photographer is Pepe
We walked through Gothenburg and ended up in Haga. Life is often depicted in pictures, and I also wanted to photograph the gigantic cinnamon buns that were made for Instagram.
Giant cinnamon buns!
At the café, we tried to catch up after our last meeting in Barcelona. We laughed, and as usual, we understood each other despite some language barriers. They wanted me to show them my best secret spot in Gothenburg. Since we didn’t have much time, we took a taxi to Saltholmen-Långedrag. They laughed at me as I tried to stop a black Tesla that later turned out not to be our car – kind of universal humor where words are not needed.
Coffee time
The sea was the same, and the boats were where they should be. Here, too, there was a ready-made motif for social media. A perfectly polished boat that was moored right next to the restaurant. It was hot, and we cooled off with cold drinks. In the background, the song ‘Macarena’ by the Spanish pop duo Los del Río was playing. It seemed to be the end of a sailing course, and all the participants danced the Macarena to the greatest delight of my friends.
Dinghy sailing
The week before, I had seen on the news that a luxury yacht belonging to Putin had passed Gothenburg. It felt better to see dinghies sailing. We started to get hungry, and we found our way back to the city center again. The market hall was tempting, but we ended up with a pasta dinner right by the equestrian statue of Karl IX (kopparmärra).
Pasta.
My Zaragoza friends continued north along the west coast. I went by train to Stockholm – a truly wonderful little summer memory – Le temps est bon. Let’s go, Spain! ⚽️ 🇪🇸 ⚽️ 🇪🇸 ⚽️
