Bringing Pics from Home. Drinking Chang

[mtncanyon]

Namaste. I have read that Nepalis like to see pictures from visitors homes. Im going to bring pics of my kids of course and the city but wonder if I should bring pics of the house and car. I dont want to flaunt the material things. Should I avoid those types of pics? Also, if invited to a Nepalis home to drink Chang would you do so? Ive heard it can be questionable for your stomach. Has anyone done this?

[yakshaver]

Yes, if you get friendly with Nepalis, bringing pics from home, of family, children etc is an excellent ice-breaker. Not house and car... Many Nepalis already think of you as an extremely rich person anyway... No need to flaunt it, from their perspective.

Chang, Tibetan Tea etc. The things we have to do... I usually sip a bit if invited, but just because I am an experiential kind of person. A bit of diahhorea doesn't kill people all that often.

As a cure I would recommend the Marpha Apple or Apricot Brandy. Good stuff!

[thesilvertops]

Pics of the family work well. We always take a small selection of pics of our family along with a few of places w've been. Great ice breaker.

Chang.... We always try to be sociable so we do drink it in moderation. We hope there will be no after-effects (sickness rather than drunkeness!) and we seem to get away with it.

And we like to have some apple brandy.

[Grummy]

A little off topic.

I sponser a little Sherpa girl who lives in Monjo, between Lukla & Namche. I would like to bring some presents from Australia. Any ideas of what would make good presents for her & her family when I visit in December?

[keanu]

i would say a box of chocolates for the girl, and may be some nice clothes for the parents coz i heard nepalese often use clothes as a gift. And not a bottle of champange/ flowers like we do in the west.

[mtncanyon]

Thats great Grummy. Im glad your going to meet her. What an experience!!!!!
Is apple brandy popular on the trek? Sounds good!!

[kiwigirl]

I stayed the night in Monjo last May on our way to Namche. one thing I noticed about the children was that they worked from a young age and I never saw them with toys. they do like sweets though as we gave them some when we were walking. :)

A little off topic.

I sponser a little Sherpa girl who lives in Monjo, between Lukla & Namche. I would like to bring some presents from Australia. Any ideas of what would make good presents for her & her family when I visit in December?

[Escher]

they do like sweets though as we gave them some when we were walking. :)

No! Don't give them sweets, it encourages begging, rots their teeth and the dental facilities are not good!

[Escher]

In the Annapurna area you will often see the ACAP minimum impact trekking guidelines printed on the back of menus:-

ACAP trekking guidelines (http://www.lirung.com/en/info_file/file015acap_e.html)

"Begging is a negative interaction discouraging independence and pride in the local youth. Please don't give money, sweets or other things to begging children."

You will encounter 100's of children all over the popular trekking areas who on sight of a trekker will rush over shouting "rupee, pen, sweet!" It is not a good situation if the majority of kids in these areas view trekkers as people to beg from. Gifts are much better given to schools, medical facilities and charities. Encouraging kids to beg from all trekkers does not help those kids in the long term. The culture of begging amongst children has been created by trekkers, and continues to be encouraged by some. My opinion is to actively discourage it if you can.

[Linwood]

For Grummy: I agree clothes are good. You could also bring art supplies for the little girl, like paper and colored pencils. Hair ribbons or colorful elastics...

And I also agree on the candy - big no-no - most kids in Nepal do not get dental care, so sugar is devastating.

As for chang, rakshi, or any other homemade brew... heck yes I'd do it (and have) and just hope there's enough alcohol in there to kill the bugs.

[kiwigirl]

there was a rice wine we had with dinner at Khumpu Lodge at Namche Bazaar. very strong stuff :)