Himalayan sundowners

Our Christmas Eve arrival into Bandipur was one filled with excitement amongst the locals. Not due to the date, because most are either Buddhist or Hindu. And not due to our presence - although that should have been reason enough. Right??

On the day of our arrival the town square of Bandipur was transformed into a Kollywood set. Kollywood being the Nepalese version of Bollywood.

Women in brightly colored saris gracefully swayed back and forth while the main characters, a romantic couple, danced in their midst. The locals were mesmerized. We would have been too, had the scenery not won out in stealing away our attention.

Mountains surrounded us on all sides, but we wanted to be closer.

After hiking up the nearest hill and deciding to stay to watch the sun set, I positioned myself far away from the others, wanting to spend that time alone. Staring out at the mountains, listening to the sound of the wind, I couldn't have been more at peace. I reflected on different aspects in my life and wanted the moment to last forever.

Wrapped up in my own thoughts, though, I hadn't heard the group of Chinese photographers arrive on the hilltop until they beckoned me to become their impromptu model, because of where I was situated.

It took a moment to realize what they wanted of me, since they didn't speak English and my Mandarin is right on par with my other Chinese dialects: non-existent.

It worked though. With wild hand gestures, grunts and, on occasion, manually moving me into the correct position, they seemed pleased with the results. At least it appeared that way as they laughed wildly in, what I'd like to assume was, satisfaction while pointing at their display screen.

After all, who needs serenity anyway?