School picnic at Dakshin Kali

The occasion of the first year students completing their measurement classes (see below) coincided with Tsering Art School's annual picnic. I associate picnics more with summer than fall, but the cooler weather makes for a less sticky experience. But perhaps not less wet.

The school rented out the grounds of a “resort” in an area called Dakshin Kali, just outside the Kathmandu Valley proper. As you can see, the hotel has a pool, which along with the semi-remote location seems to qualify the use of the word “resort.”



There is for some reason a large number of Buddhist monasteries in the area, one of which you can see in the photos here. A few of us walked down there to admire the amazing collection of wall paintings, all finished within the past two years.



The rest spent the day as you see here – playing various kinds of games, swimming, and eating.

There was a very large amount of food, including a small 10:00 breakfast of curried beans and chappatis, a 13:00 lunch (pictured) of fried chicken, a stew of dried buffalo, tofu, curried veggies, rice, and fruit yogurt, followed by a dinner at around 18:00 of mostly leftovers.

It was a very long day, with a 06:30 gathering and a return to Boudha at about 19:30. The chance to interact with my classmates in a different setting was a wonderful experience, and I think we all got to know something new about each other.

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