The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.

Are you a list-maker? A list-follower? Or a little bit of both?

During this time of sheltering in place, we’re slowly but surely (well, sort of) checking off a list of things to do. To complete. To put to rights, if you will. Mind you, there will always be chores around our place, but for two people who love to travel there is also a list of places we would love to see — whether we write them down or not. But instead of clipping pictures from the internet of where we want to go, we’re showing you four places we’ve loved in case you want to add them to your bucket list. Here are four places with the Sams Stamp of Approval — places we’d love to see again.

Nepal

In Nepal, take a bus out to the mountainous regions near Dhulikhel where you most likely will see people working and living productively but simply as they build homes of mud and rock and gather branches of greenery to feed their animals.

But also take a tour of a shrine where you can observe people in worship, hike to a monastery, or add your prayers as your move your hands across the prayer wheels.

Viet Nam

Drive out to the country to see rice fields in various stages — from planting to harvesting — by the most dedicated people happy to share their craft with visitors.

Then board a cruise ship and sail into Ha Long Bay where you get swallowed up by the hauntingly dark limestone karsts of various sizes and dimensions. We’ve found no better place in the world to watch morning unfold.

Morocco

Visit Marrakesh during Ramadan, if you can, to see Koutoubia Mosque laid out with prayer mats and to listen to the five-times-daily prayers emanating from the speakers overhead.

But don’t miss any of the medinas in the cities you visit, be it Fes or Marrakesh or Tangier. In the narrowest of quarters as well as in open markets, you’ll find spices and dried veggies lined up ready for purchase and for creating true Moroccan cuisine back home.

Romania

Of course, Bran Castle is on your must-see list, but not just because it’s known as Dracula’s Castle. In fact, Drac may not have even been there. Go see it for its beauty and history, winding passageways and secret rooms. You may even find that the story of Vlad the Impaler is just enough horror to fill the day!

But if you get the chance, put Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, on your sightseeing list. Celebration days feature young ones in native dress and all the music and beer you could ask for.

If the coronavirus quarantine has given you even more time to dream of in terms of destinations yet to see, share them with us.

We’re writing in pencil these days, not sure where to go next or what will move up to the top. Lists can be fun, but tentative!

Rusha & Bert

This post is part of a series of one-word prompts for April 2020 called Discover Prompts by WordPress. Enjoy!

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.

For more than fifteen years, we’ve been part of a team — a Habitat Global Village team — that builds houses in international locations. It’s work, of course, but it’s also a rush — working together with people from the U. S. and Canada, problem solving on location, falling in love with families who need and deserve a good home, and bonding while traveling and immersing ourselves in another culture, another time.

One of Bert’s earliest team experiences came together as a part of Habitat International‘s build in Hanoi with former President Jimmy Carter, a strong advocate of Habitat for Humanity and the continuing work of the Carter Work Project to provide affordable housing around the world.

Since then, we’ve expanded our tours — and our builds — to include homes in Belfast, Northern Island; Nepal; and Lesotho. And we worked for a week in Bucharest, Romania, to renovate a school.

In Nepal, we were greeted royally with firm handshakes, a few hugs and leis made of marigolds hung around our necks.

Our team worked on two houses, one in a community setting where extended family also had houses and one on the side of a steep mountain. Each had its challenges. Each had its rewards.

On some days, all we accomplished was hauling heavy rocks from a quarry below up the mountainside for the build.

Although we didn’t complete the build while we were there, our closing ceremony included the presentation of the key to the door and hugs with the homeowners.

The Lesotho build lasted only one day since there was a coup against the country’s leader, and all Americans had to be evacuated.

But the work went on, even without our team, and three lovely children (whose parents died of AIDS) and their uncle stood proudly for a picture in front of the house they were leaving for the house we were building of concrete block, mud, and love.

In Bucharest, we learned new skills — from how to tear out paneling while avoiding mold to how to re-plaster classroom walls. But through it all, we learned to trouble shoot and communicate with project managers who mostly spoke Romani. (In addition: they loved the Big Orange UT hats we brought from home!)

The team’s last build went on without us, since we felt we couldn’t haul rock or wheelbarrow loads of dirt anymore. We missed the work, but joined the group afterwards to tour Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temples.

The team has stayed intact, even through sicknesses, personal trials, and our inability to do what we could do twenty years ago. And, if the coronavirus hadn’t caused upheaval in travel all over the world, we would have re-assembled for a home build in Amman, Jordan, in March 2020.

What keeps this team together besides friendship and a love of international travel? Dedication to a worthy cause benefiting worthy people.

Home is the nicest word there is.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

And so it is: our love of providing homes for people all over the world keeps this team going — hopefully, for many years to come.

Rusha & Bert

Check out how you can be a part of a Habitat Global Village team and build homes for deserving people. We guarantee you’ll fall in love!

This post is one of a series of one-word prompts for April 2020 called Discover Prompts by WordPress. Enjoy!

Photo taken high above Kathmandu where we could clearly see the city below. The broken stones we saw then may foretell what this city may be now — broken in many ways.

Could be that we’ve had Nepal on our minds lately, but the word for the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken just seems appropriate for that country right now. Not that we have any additional news.  But just looking through our pictures taken in 2011 makes us realize that what we saw then may not even be intact after the April 2015 earthquakes.

What we remember, though, is all positive when it comes to our memories of a Habitat International build in a village about 45 minutes from Kathmandu.  We watched as the homeowner took a pick ax and broke up the rock in the quarry on his property.

Homeowner in Nepal breaks up stone from a quarry on his mountainside property

Broken pieces were “daisy-chained” up the mountain where stone cutters continued to shape stones into building blocks for a stone-and-mud home.

Stone cutter breaks up rock to form building blocks for a new home in Nepal

And then those broken and shaped stones formed walls for a new home for a young couple and their daughter.

Adding doors and windows to a new home in Nepal constructed of stone and mud

May that circle be unbroken as we continue to help others around the world.

For more entries in the WordPress challenge this week — Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken — click here.

Tangled wires in the Thamel District of Kathmandu, 2011

But we were unprepared for what we saw tangled around poles on every street corner: wads and wads of wiring!  No wonder blackouts were common even then.

And there’s no telling what this scene is like today after the April 2015 earthquake.  Even more tangled, probably — and in more ways than one.

To get even more tangled up, click here to view all the postings for this week’s Travel theme: Tangle.  

Durbar Square, Kathmandu, before the earthquake on April 25, 2015.

It was four years ago that we fell in love with Nepal.  We traveled to the other side of the world with 12 companions all with the same goal: build two Habitat for Humanity houses near Dhulikel (about two hours from Kathmandu) for two deserving families.  But we never knew our lives would be forever changed by the experience.  Nor could we have predicted that an earthquake on April 25, 2015, would tug at our heartstrings as we mourned Nepal’s losses.

Eyes of Boudhanath Stupa

The New York Times brought the devastation to our living room with an article on April 26 by Ellen Barry: “Earthquake Devastates Nepal, Killing More Than 1,900.”  But even as we write this post, the toll mounts as reported by Thomas Fuller and Chris Buckley: “Earthquake Aftershocks Jolt Nepal as Death Toll Rises Above 3,400.” 

Something in Barry’s article truly hit home:  Bert and I had been there with our Habitat for Humanity group and toured three of the four now-demolished UNESCO World Heritage Sites — “Bhaktapur Durbar Square, a temple complex built in the shape of a conch shell; Patan Durbar Square, which dates to the third century; . . . and the Boudhanath Stupa, one of the oldest Buddhist monuments in the Himalayas.”

Temple in Bakhtapur — is it standing? (Still searching for pictures on the Internet to find out.)

We remember visiting Bhaktapur on our second day in Nepal when families worked together to sift and lay out grains on huge mats.  Following us around were ladies carrying strands of beads over their arms — until we finally gave in and bought necklaces whether we needed them or not.  People seemed happy that we were there. And we, in turn, felt their pride  — in their community and their buildings which, we learned, bore signature carved wood decorations not seen in many other parts of the world. But now, much is gone.

Ornately carved window, Bakhtapur

In Bakhatapur and in Kathmandu, sites we saw in 2011 are now damaged beyond repair or gone altogether. Like Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple in Kathmandu where centuries-old craftsmanship of the Nepalese people in this once-frequented house of worship have turned to rubble. A loss that may never be regained. (For more before and after photos, click here.)

Demolished: Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple, Kathmandu. Photo: Niranjan Shrestha, Associated Press: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/25/world/asia/nepal-landmarks-before-after-earthquake.html

Losing temples, however, is more than just the loss of artistry. Whole communities in Nepal now find themselves without buildings that once were unifying forces.

Like this temple in Kathmandu where we happened upon a group of women lined up to pay homage to the gods they worship.  One by one the women entered the temple, laying down strings of marigolds or setting plates of food in and around the ancient altars. We wonder now if the earthquake’s devastation has created more than a physical loss.  Has it marred, at least temporarily, the spirit of a people known for time-honored traditions? Will the people return to worship?  And where?

Women bringing tributes to a temple in Kathmandu

Even more devastating than the destruction of cultural icons though is the loss of human lives.   And, for us, this loss in Nepal, a country struggling with many issues, has had a profound effect.  It’s the people, you see, that bring us pause: like those who greeted us cordially, placing marigolds around our necks and smearing red paste on our foreheads.

Women of Nepal greeting us on the site of one of our Habitat builds.

It’s the families we met.  And the stone masons who directed our work.  And the children at the job site who trugged up the mountain to get to school each workday, but came back to play with us in the afternoon.

We’re also wondering about the school kids at Bhabishva Ujjwal Primary School in Kavre, about 45 minutes from Kathmandu — children who sang for us and showed us their classrooms and made us feel welcome.  Did the earthquake affect them?  Their families?  Their teachers?

Schoolchildren in Kavre, Nepal watch as we pay a visit to Bhabishva Ujjwal Primary School.

We’re watching, Nepal.  We’re reading whatever we can get our hands on and checking for tweets and Facebook posts.  We’re listening for news of rescue efforts in Nepal and Mount Everest where hikers were caught in a deadly avalanche.  And we’re supporting you with contributions through the Red Cross, UNICEF, Save the Children, and Habitat for Humanity, among others.

We’re thinking about you.  A lot.

The daughter of one of our Habitat homeowners dressed up for the dedication ceremony.

For we mourn Nepal and wonder what more we can do.

Namaste, Nepal.

For more information:

Barry, E. (April 25, 2015). “Earthquake Devastates Nepal, Killing More Than 1,900.” New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/world/asia/nepal-earthquake-katmandu.html

Godlasky, A. (April 27, 2015).  “How to help victims of Nepal quake.” USA Today. Retrieved from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/25/nepal-quake-how-to-help/26361193/

Fuller, T. and Buckley, C. (April 26, 2015). “Earthquake Aftershocks Jolt Nepal as Death Toll Rises Above 3,400.” New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/27/world/asia/katmandu-nepal-fear-loss-and-devastation.html?ref=todayspaper

“Nepal’s Landmarks Before and After the Earthquake” (updated April 27, 2015). New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/25/world/asia/nepal-landmarks-before-after-earthquake.html

The Habitat for Humanity house we worked on was situated on a steep mountainside on plot of land belonging to one family; therefore, several houses stood alongside each other on a ridge.  At the base of the mountain was a stream where family members gathered to do laundry and fill jugs with water.

This photo shows the grandmother doing her laundry after she had bathed and re-wrapped her garments around herself.

Woman in Nepal filling jug with water from stream at base of mountain

Then she slowly, painstakingly, climbed back up the mountain with laundry in tow and a jug of heavy water on her hip.

Woman carrying laundry and jug of water

We watched briefly as another family did their laundry in a small body of water and then afterwards spread their clean clothes out to dry.

Family doing laundry in Nepal

On a hike we took to a monastery one day, we saw this woman bathing at the public bath. We couldn’t help but wonder how cold that water must be, yet so necessary to keeping clean.

Woman in Nepal bathing in public bath area

As we hiked further, we saw another woman finishing her bath alongside the trail.  She seemed quite skilled at bathing and cleaning herself without ever revealing much of her body.  A series of wrappings and re-wrappings helped her preserve her dignity and privacy.

Woman in Nepal bathing alongside hiking trail

For more examples of Travel theme: Clean, click here.

If you would like to follow Oh, the Places We See, just click on the Follow box in the right-hand column.  We’d love to have you travel with us!

First, as tourists in Bhaktapur, we snapped this early-morning photo of a woman standing on the threshold of her home, broom in hand, preparing for Sunday visitors who might pass through her village.

Second, when we arrived two days later at the site of the Habitat build, two women next to our vacant lot stood upon the threshold of their brother’s house  — watching and waiting — anxious to see what we were all about.

Finally, when our two weeks of work ended, we stood at the threshold of the home we had built — adorned with celebratory strings of marigolds and touches of red on our foreheads thinking of the future for the family who would live here.

For more expressions of Threshold, click here.

My husband and I joined a Habitat for Humanity International build in Nepal along with twelve other people during the summer of 2011.  Most of us were from our hometown of Knoxville, but we didn’t know each other very well before we left.  However, there’s nothing like building a stone and mud house together that’ll help you make connections in ways you never dreamed possible.

Morena Constantinou and Susan West of Knoxville pass rocks up the mountainside in Nepal.

The task was simple yet arduous: move the rocks from the quarry down below up to the house site on the side of a mountain.  And then get going on that build! So, we spent the majority of our time forming daisy chains and heaving heavy chunks of rock day after long day.

It wasn’t all painful, though.  We sang songs, danced a bit, and thoroughly intrigued all the Nepalese who probably thought we were pretty silly.  And we were.

But connecting with the family and new friends in Nepal was just as rewarding as bonding with our team who had traveled halfway around the world to make a difference!

In this last picture, you can see me standing beside the foundation and partial wall of the house I worked on.  A stack of rocks we hoisted from the quarry lies beside the house. But something I never expected happened: I had to connect with a stray goat and get him to wander off so we could continue the work!

Here I am with the red tika that had been placed on my forehead standing amidst a pile of rocks near a mud house talking to a goat! Ah, connections!

Oh, the Places and People and Animals We See!

For more on Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Connections, click here.

Want to know more about how you can build around the globe with Habitat for Humanity International?  Click here for more information.

Just take a look at the pictures and select your favorite by posting a comment below or on Facebook.  We’re in the home stretch and will be making our final selections this weekend.

Here are three photographs for the red category.

Today’s Vote: RED

1. Welcome to Nepal

Upon our arrival in Nepal to build two mud and stone houses for Habitat for Humanity International, we were greeted by ladies dressed in red bearing strings of marigolds to lay around our necks.  Surprisingly, they also brought a red gloppy concoction which they scooped up and smudged onto our foreheads.  Namaste, they said.  And then we knew.  We weren’t family, of course, but we were as welcome as any Americans could be.

2. Simply Elegant Tapestry

It was difficult to find something understated in the Hermitage (St. Petersburg, Russia), but this simple, yet exquisite, red tapestry was as classy a piece as any we saw.  Simply elegant.  Simply divine.

3. Dancers in Breaux Bridge

Standing still next to a guy wearing a red Peace, Love & Cajuns shirt and a lady brushing by in a crimson swingy, swirling skirt was no easy task for a neophyte photographer.  In fact, just about everyone at the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival (Breaux Bridge, Louisiana) was movin’ and groovin’  — unless they were busy racing mudbugs and “suckin’ dem heads!”

Please take a minute to vote in the Comments section below.

If you missed any of the previous entries, here are the links to those posts.  There’s still time to help us decide!

Help us decide: Capture the Colour 2013 — GREEN

Help us decide: Capture the Colour 2013 — WHITE

Help us decide: Capture the Colour 2013 — YELLOW

Help us decide: Capture the Colour 2013 — BLUE

Many thanks for your support and ideas!

Rusha and Bert Sams

Each day, we post three photos on one of the color themes required by the challenge:  blue, yellow, white, green and red.  At the end of the week, we’ll take your suggestions and select one of each color to submit.  Please vote by leaving a message in the Comments section at the bottom of this post or on Facebook.  And thanks to all of you who have done so!

If you’ve missed the first two, here are links to those posts:

BLUE: http://ohtheplaceswesee.com/2013/09/22/help-us-decide-capture-the-colour-2013-blue/

YELLOW: http://ohtheplaceswesee.com/2013/09/23/help-us-decide-capture-the-colour-2013-yellow/

TODAY’S VOTE: WHITE

And here are today’s entries for the category WHITE.  (There are FOUR this time — we had a hard time deciding!)

1. Stonecutter in Nepal

When we joined a team from Knoxville to build stone and mud houses in Nepal for Habitat for Humanity International, we met several men busy at work planning the foundation, finding the right stones, digging the mud for the mortar, and cutting the cornerstones.  This stonecutter remained quietly aloof for about three days as he wasn’t sure what to make of us.  But as I “talked” to him using facial expressions and hand gestures, he warmed up to me and even allowed me to hand him suitable stones.  When he nodded that I could finally take his picture, I didn’t hesitate.  This photo, of a stonecutter dressed in white, remains one of my prize takeaways from the experience.

2. Southern Magnolia in Full Bloom

Sometimes the best pictures can be found in your own backyard.  This creamy white magnolia blossom showing off its ever-increasing shades of brown as it reaches maturity just begged to be photographed.

3. Terra Cotta Warriors Facing the Light of Day

In Xian, China, unearthed Terra Cotta Warriors are housed in an enormous windowed structure resembling an airport hangar. When we visited, natural morning light was just beginning to stream into the room, changing the stoic, stone gray figures to white sentinels ready for visitors in awe of this amazing archaeological find.

4. Reconstruction

At the site of the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is  an area called “the hospital” where shards are put together like an enormous 3-D puzzle.  As pieces form warriors or horses, the reconstructions (like this one standing in the white light) may be able to stand on their own, as if they are waiting for someone to find the final pieces to make them whole again.

P. S. Please leave us a comment below and vote for your favorite!  Check back tomorrow for our GREEN entries.  Thanks!

Rusha and Bert Sams