High Altitude Mountain Sickness

Nepal is the country of captivating mountains. Amongst the world’s top 10 mountains, eight are in Nepal including the majestic Mount Everest – the highest peak in the world. It is estimated that every year about 70 thousands people from different parts of the world come to visit the mystique beauty of mountains cape. Some of them make their expeditions to climb high peaks.

Along with the exciting discovery of ecstasy of delight produced by enchanting beauty of Himalayas, most of the people suffer with high altitude mountain sickness too. It is due to the fact that they arrive from the low land. So here are some accounts which would be very much helpful for any enthusiastic pedestrian, explorer, climber, and hiker.

There are many ailments of sickness on high altitude viz., heat stroke, frost bite, blood clots, mental breakdown, etc. All these causes Aries by lack of oxygen. The typical symptoms of the climbers are headache, nausea and vomiting, and difficulty in vision.

Classification of Sickness of High Altitudes:
1. Acute Mountain Sickness: This sickness appears usually above 7-8000 feet after rapid ascent. The symptoms are the headache, dizziness, tiredness, drowsiness, chilliness, nausea, vomiting, yellow face in the beginning which is changed into redness (facial flushing), ringing in the ear (tinnitus), insomnia (lack of sleeping), etc. Sometimes retinal hemorrhages may also occur.

2. High Altitude Pulmonary Edema: It occurs above 3000 meters (9840 feet). The symptoms are in the form of fatigue, dry cough sometimes with bloody sputum, slight fever, etc.

3. high Altitude Cerebral Edema: This occurs at and above 1200 feet. The symptoms are in the form of increasing headache, rising sound in ears, visual hallucination, auditory hallucination, drowsiness, coma, and even death.

4. Chronic Mountain Sickness: It is also known as Monger’s disease. This occurs after long stay at high altitude. Symptoms are in the form of fatigue and redness in appearance. Death may occur from heart failure in prolong stay in high altitude.

5. High Altitude Retinal Hemorrhage: It occurs usually at and above 17,500 feet in some persons other than mountain people. Sometimes this hemorrhage can also be seen under fingernails. Epitaxis (nose bleeding) may occur in some person as well.

Preventive Measures and Treatment:
Most of the times, the sickness disappear when patients return to the low altitude or to the seal level. Mountain traveler should definitely carry a supply of oxygen. They should take adequate rest and sleep the day before travel. Food intake should be reduced. Alcohol and tobacco should be avoided. They should not climb hastily but should rest frequently because it takes time for acclimatization.

Guru Purnima – Teacher’s Day

Teachers come second after gods in the Hindu hierarchy of respect. The full moon day of July is thus allotted for special treatment to one’s tutors. Studens pay homage to their teachers and receive blessings from them in return. At a place called Vyas on the Kathmandu-Pokhara highway, special worship is performed to Maharshi Vyas, the saint who created the great Hindu epic, Mahabharat. Devotees flock to the historic Vyas Gupha, the cave where he meditated and wrote down the scriptures.

For Buddhists, the occasion (known as Dilla Punhi) is sacred as the day when the Buddha-to-be entered the womb of queen Mayadevi, thereby setting in motion the religions cycle of Buddhism. Religious functions are held in all Buddhists monasteries and temples on commemorate the day.

Mostly in schools and college teachers are worshipped and the students put tika and offer homage to their teachers. Today really is the teacher’s day where they will be gods for a day.

Nepal: White Water River Rafting

I am sure lots of the people have heard and may be experienced white water river rafting. To those who don’t know, “Rafting is journeying on the torrential river on an inflatable rubber boat. A trained professional river guide heads the rafting team. Normally, the river outfitter provides all the camping equipments and meals.”

As Nepal is the world’s second richest country in water resources, it has lots of rivers, and in a country like Nepal, a river trip is one of the best ways to explore a typical cross section of the county’s natural as well as ethno cultural heritage.

Nowadays lots of Nepalese people too are showing interest in white water river rafting. Lots of my friends have gone for the ride of their life and they always keep on telling their experiences to us. Even I am eager and someday I too will go to experience the fun of rafting even though I totally don’t know how to swim. I have tried several attempts of swimming while I go to my birthplace, Hetauda. There is the great Rapti river and in the winter time, we often go swimming but I don’t go to the depth areas as I lack the swimming skills, but I do enjoy floating in the water and just traveling long distances floating in the river. I can just only imagine how my friends have felt in their lifetime experience with white water river rafting.

I found the list of the raftable rivers in Nepal and they are:

Arun
Bheri
Bhote Koshi
Kali gandaki
Karnali
Marshyandi
Seti
Sun koshi
Trisuli

Newly Added are:
Tamor
Budhi gandaki
Seti karnali
Dudh koshi
Tama koshi
Balephi khola

Lots of white water rafting challenges does take place these days. I am sure those of the people who are interested in the rafting will enjoy a great deal if they visit Nepal.

Baudhanath Stupa Of Kathmandu

One of my favorite places related to the beautiful place and inspired by Buddha after Swayambhu is Baudhanath stupa. You can always find lots of Buddhist praying their doing their regular praying around the area and inside and outside the stupa you will lots of Tibetan artifacts in lots of shops for sale.

Baudhanath stupa is situated at Cahabil of Kathmandu district. This stupa is big and beautiful monument that stands on two-storied plinth. This temple has four Buddhas on four directions. Baudhanath is considered as a specimen of Lichchavi period according to mythical literature of Buddhist. This chaitya (stupa) of Lord Buddha was established in the form of loighe. There are a number of monasteries around the main sanctuary. There are many small manes (small round mobile structure which the prayers spin) and Buddhas around the circumference of chaitya. It is one of the greatest stupa in the Kathmandu valley. This place is important pilgrimage for Buddhist around the world. Different feast and festivals are celebrated in the courtyard of stupa or its premises. Baudhanath stupa was renovated by the king Pratap Malla in 17th century.

The structure really is huge one. There are three pyramid-like layers below the huge stupa. The part where there are lots of manes is the base and it is in circular form. Till you are in front of the gate of the stupa, you won’t find much of happening or peaceful place as the streets are crowded with lots of small shops where you will find lots of souvenirs as well as the shops which provide the daily need of the locals. Right after you reach the gate you will view the beautiful and huge structure of the stupa. Locals and Nepalese people can enter the premises for free whereas tourists are charged with a small price to enter the premises. Inside the stupa you will find lots of prayers here and there praying. Some might find it little bit strange as they pray lying on the ground and then standing up on the knees. Nowadays they have a wooden block placed where they roll over in front of the body and then get up on their knees. It’s the way of their praying. You can view the stupa close by getting up the pyramid-like layer up closer to the stupa. From there you can also view our national airport. Though the surrounding place is not so big, you will definitely find your day full of joy and excitement if you visit Baudhanath stupa

Swayambhunath Stupa or Monkey Temple

Swayambhunath Stupa is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in the area of Kathmandu. It lies over a small hill in the west of the Kathmandu. It the most amazing and beautiful structure up on the hill from where you can view almost all the surroundings of the Kathmandu valley. The monkey temple came with the monkeys found there. There are lots of monkeys wandering around on the way to the stupa. The hill is covered with different types of trees and green vegetation. The feeling you have when you go through the stairs is just so awesome and after you reach to the up hill you will soon find all your fatigueness which you got from the climbing relieved with the view of the big hills and mountains and the Kathmandu valley itself. Though the view of the Kathmandu valley is seen so disorganized as the urbanization is not an organized one you will find it interesting and just pleasurable to just view the scenarios seen from their. I personally suggest the nighttime to visit there as you will see all the lights from the houses and the level of pollution is less at that time.

Something about the Swayambhunath Stupa:

According to Swayambhu Purana, the entire valley was once filled with an enormous lake, out of which grew a lotus. The valley came to be known as Swayambhu, meaning "Self-Created." The Bodhisatva Manjushri had a vision of the lotus at Swayambhu and traveled there to worship it. In order to make the site more accessible to human pilgrims, Manjushri cut a gorge through the mountains surrounding the valley. The water drained out of the lake, leaving the valley in which Kathmandu now lies. The lotus was transformed into a hill and the flower become the Swayambhunath stupa.

Swayambhunath is among the oldest religious sites in Nepal. By the 5th century, it had already become an important destination for Buddhist pilgrims. The history of the site itself dates back to long before the arrival of Buddhism in the Kathmandu valley.
Although the site is considered Buddhist, the place is revered by both Buddhists and Hindus. Numerous Hindu kings are known to have paid their homage to the temple including the most powerful king of Kantipur (Kathmandu) - Pratap Malla.

So that quite covers about the Swayambhu stupa, the place that gives me peace in my mind and I find myself in serenity. I still remember going their around my exam time when my mind got disturbed. I just went there with my best friend Bishwo and we actually sat there with our textbooks. You won’t believe when I say that whatever we read there was on our question paper. Well that doesn’t mean that all of you guys should go there with your textbook at your exam time and whatever you read will be on your question paper. I would say it was just our pure luck. The point is I find that place too peaceful and I could concentrate my focus into studies when go there.

I Wonder Why People Still Smoke?

Loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs; and in the stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrific stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless. – King James I, in a decree banning tobacco from his kingdom, 1604.

I have been listening lots of advertisements in the radio and television since my childhood. They will have a beautiful slogan and an ad and at the end they will go on as, “Smoking is injurious to health!” Well I don’t see the point of making ads since it is injurious to health. I used to laugh at those ads at that time. Lots of the public places have the message in the walls as “Please do not smoke here!” too but no one even seems to care and read it, and those who notice it will just ignore it. I just collected some of the harmful facts that smoking can do to us. I hope this will at least encourage the smokers to quit and think twice before taking another stick.

The fight against tobacco and smoking goes back a long way. In 1604 King James I of England issued a decree banning it. In 1950s, researchers linked smoking to cancer but it took almost a full decade to convince doctors and still more time for the media to accept it. Cigarettes and smoking are present almost everywhere but the question is how much do we really know about this addiction?

A think little stick, usually white and barely 3.5 inches long, it seems very fragile, an unlikely guise for a killer. Researches have however shown that cigarette smoke contains over 4000 different chemicals with at least 43 known carcinogens (causing cancer). Listed below are some of the common ones:

Benzene: A colorless liquid, used as a solvent in fuel and in chemical manufacture. It is a known carcinogen associated with leukemia.

Formaldehyde: A colorless liquid, highly poisonous, used to preserve dead bodies. It is known to cause cancer, respiratory, skin, and gastrointestinal problems.

Ammonia: Used as flavoring in cigarettes. It frees nicotine from tobacco turning it into gas. Also found in dry cleaning fluids.

Acetone: Fragrant volatile liquid ketone and used as a solvents like nail polish removers.

Tar: Particulate matter drawn into lungs when you inhale on a lighted cigarette. Once inhaled, smoke condenses and about 70 percent of the tar in the smoke is deposited in the smoker’s lungs.

Nicotine: One of the most addictive substances known to man. It is a powerful and fast-acting medical and non-medical poison often used as insecticide.

Carbon Monoxide: An odorless, tasteless poisonous gas, rapidly fatal in large amounts. It is the same gas that comes out of car exhausts and is the main gas in cigarette smoke.

Arsenic: Commonly used as rat poison.

Hydrogen Cyanide: Used as gas chamber poison.

Smoking is especially hard on the lungs. Tar coats the lungs like soot in a chimney, causing cancer. Carbon monoxide robs the muscles, brain, n body tissue of oxygen, making the whole body and specially the heart work harder. Over time, the airways swell up and let less air into the lungs. Smoking causes a lot of disease and ailments that are not usually associated with the habit.

Below are some of the diseases caused by smoking:

Emphysema: The lungs rot slowly. People with emphysema often get repeated bronchitis leading to lung and heart failure.

Heart Ailments: The nicotine and carbon monoxide in each cigarette temporarily increases the heart rate and blood pressure, straining the heart and blood vessels. This can cause heart attacks and stroke. Blood flow slows, cutting oxygen to feet and hands. Amputation of limbs are not uncommon. Heart disease and strokes are also more common among smokers. Fat deposits narrow and block blood vessels, which leads to heart attacks.

Heartburn: Heartburn happens when acidic juices from the stomach spash into the esophagus. Smoking decreases the strength of the esophageal valve allowing stomach juice to flow backward.

Peptic Ulcer Disease: An open sore in the lining of the stomach or duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, are more likely to occur, less likely to heal, and more likely to occur, less likely to heal, and more likely to cause death in smokers than in nonsmokers.

Liver Disease: Smoking alters the ability of the liver to process drugs, alcohol, and other toxins for removal from the body, influencing the dose of medication necessary to treat an illness.

Crohn’s Disease: Inflammation deep in the lining of the intestine leads to pain and loose motions. Smokers are at a higher risk than nonsmokers.

Smoking also leads to premature aging. It wrinkles the skin; sallow the complexion; stains teeth, fingers, and nails; and leads to bad breath. Women may have early menopause and low reproductive fertility.

Smokers love hookah as this is best part of taste for them. The hookah bar is giving a new trend for people using flavored tobacco to smoke and making a new sense of taste.

Despite all these hazards known to people, they still keep on smoking. It neither satisfies your hunger nor does it do any good to your health, but yet we smoke our life and shorten our lifespan and we invite more diseases and more suffering to ourselves. I don’t know if there will ever be a moment where cigarettes will be extinct and people will tell their kids that people used to do lots of stupid things in the past and one of them is smoking. So be that parent and start avoiding smoking and encourage others not to smoke.

Patan Durbar Square

Like Hunuman Dhoka Durbar Square of Kathmandu there is another Durbar Square in Patan or Lalitpur. Patan does lie in Kathmandu valley as well. The most beautiful place full of craftsmanship artifacts is the Patan is Patan Durbar Square. It is believed that it was ruled by Kirates, Lichchavis, and Mallas. It is another ancient Newari architecture of Nepal. There are many temples made by the Malla kings. It is also known as Lalitpur and Yela De in Nepal Bhasa language.

The Durbar area has magnificent crafts of wood, stone, and metals. The palace contains three beautiful chowks (open area created by the surrounding small old buildings) and beautiful garden. There typical Nepalese style of two- to three-storied buildings. Magnificent wood carvings of the gates and windows can be viewed with a beautiful pond built by Siddhinarshingh Malla which is believed that it has been used for the bathing of the royal family and royal priest.

Patan Durbar Square is full of the most artistic and architectural temples, images, and monuments. All these artifacts reveals the art of Malla period. It is indeed one of our country’s prosperity and prestige. The most famous Newar artists and master craftsmen like Arniko, Abhay Raj, and Siddhi Raj were all born in Lalitpur. The palace is surrounded by a number of shrines and dabalis.

Personally, it is one of the favorite place of mine too. Couple of months back, we used to play basketball every Saturday and then after our game we used to go there in our bikes and relax there and forget all our fatigue and exhaustion created by the game. We just gather our group in one of the temples where we sit together and watch the beautiful scenario and enjoy the view and then return back home with a sigh of relief and peace in our mind.

Lumbini – Birth Place Of Lord Buddha

Like the Mount Everest another pride of Nepal is having been known as birthplace of Lord Buddha. I know many of the people do know about Buddha and Buddhism but majority of them wouldn’t know where Buddha was born. There were some disputes in the past which said the Buddha was born in India. It was nothing but the rumors but now it has been proven that Nepal is the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautam Buddha. I had been their while I was a small kid. I hardly remember the details but I am just proud to have been their even though I was a kid back then.

The birthplace where the Lord Buddha was born is called Lumbini. It is situated in southwestern part of Terai region of Nepal in Rupandehi District, Lumbini Zone. This is the holy place where queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautam who later was known as Buddha and found Buddhism. Buddha grew up and lived up to the age of 29 in his palace. So this place is one of the famous and religious places in the world. People from different parts of the world come to offering prayers and homage to this holy place. There is one Ashoka pillar with some writings in it that proves Lumbini is the birth place of Siddhartha Gautam Buddha. Lumbini is the symbol of peace, love, and friendship. In Buddha Purnima (full moon day when Buddha was born) many worshipers and Buddhists monk come to pray for long time peace in the world.

Being a holy place it has not only attracted the people from Nepal or other Buddhist but people from all over the world as well. Recently lots of construction has been going on in that area. Lots of the Buddhist countries like China, Japan, and others have built lots of temples in regards to Buddha around Lumbini. Buddhist or not once you are there, you will find the place to good to visit and will surely get some idea about Buddhism and know the history of Buddha of his childhood and his adulthood where he was a prince in his time.

Pokhara

Pokhara is the next popular city after Kathmandu in Nepal. It is just 200 kilometers away from Kathmandu city. The tourists who visit to Nepal will most often be going there. It lies in the western part of Nepal. Not even international tourists but national tourists from Nepal itself do go there for their vacation.

Pokhara is the gateway of trekking into most of the Himalayan ranges in Nepal. There are lots of beautiful places where one will find peace and serenity in Pokhara. The most famous includes the Fewa lake and David Fall with the picturesque Machhapuchhre Mountain reflecting over the lake also called as Fishtail Mountain in English. Other landmarks include Mahendra Cave, Mahendra Bridge where the Seti river can be seen so far downhill as just a line of white marking which is actually a big river. The Barahi temple is situated inside the Fewa lake, meaning there is a small island like exposure of the small hill near the edge of the Fewa lake where there is a beautiful template of Barahi, a Hindu goddess. Another temple of Bindhyabasini is also situated in a small island in the beautiful Rara Lake. We can find lots of Hindu devotees praying in these temples.

I always wonder what might be the specialty of Pokhara, then I end up having a long list of things we can view in Pokhara. It is worth making that list and no I am not providing that list here as I leave that to the people who wants to visit Pokhara. You should first be there to experience that majestic feeling inside you. You need not worry about the food and lodging once you reach there as there are lots of motels, hotels, restaurants and bars, and lodges around Pokhara. You will find more tourists than the locals there. The city is fully urbanized by the latest technologies available like internet service, telephone lines, satellite television channels, etc. which will make you feel like home and never make you out of contact from your actual homes. I am sure whoever visits Pokhara will have a lifetime experience and will remember those awesome moments for the rest of their lives.