In just a few days, I’m leaving Nepal. Where has the time gone?

The past month and a half has been action-packed with weekend trips, wrapping things up at work, attending events, and taking part in all the beautiful festivals of Nepal. It’s been so much fun and tiring at the same time. I’m really trying to make the most of every last moment here. It doesn’t feel real that I’m leaving so soon – it’ll probably hit when I’m at the airport, hugging my wonderful friends goodbye. Oh goodness, my stomach wrenches just thinking about it.

The true highlight of the past couple of months has been becoming part of Helika’s family. Jenny, Ganga, Riya, Manisha, and Romy feel like sisters to me, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have them in my life. We spend a lot of time together – I go over to their homes, we play games, lounge around, go for walks, go shopping and sightseeing, and, of course, eat delicious food.

A couple of weeks ago, it was Jenny, Ganga, and Helika’s birthdays – all within one week – so we decided to take a trip to Sukute Beach. It’s actually a river, but probably the closest thing Nepal has to a beach! The sisters don’t get to take vacations very often, and their excitement was contagious. The “resort” was tucked into the jungle along a wide, winding river, with pools and game stations set up everywhere. We had a blast playing cards, table tennis, Ludo, and the famous Nepali game Carrom Board. The highlight was definitely the three-hour white-water rafting! I’ll remember that experience for a long time – racing down the river as our energetic guide shouted instructions, occasionally throwing a couple of us overboard just for fun. We took a break on a sandbank to play games and go swimming (I was the only one in my boat who knew how to swim). The safety standards were questionable, but the vibes were high!

A huge part of what allowed me to become so close with Helika’s family was being invited to take part in their festival traditions. September and October are packed with celebrations – the city truly comes alive, and it feels like life here leads up to these moments. I’m so grateful my internship overlapped with this festive season!

Let me share a bit about the two most significant festivals I experienced:

Dashain

Dashain is the most important and largest Hindu festival in Nepal, lasting for fifteen days. It commemorates the victory of good over evil and honours the Goddess Durga. Families come together, share delicious meals, and receive blessings through the tika ceremony, during which elders apply red tika and jamara (barley sprouts) to younger family members.

Kathmandu Valley suddenly became much quieter for a couple of weeks – government offices closed, most local shops shut down, and the traffic lessened as thousands of people traveled to their ancestral homes to celebrate with their relatives.

My Dashain experience began about a week before the main festival, when Helika, Riya, and Manisha took me shopping for my first kurta, since it is tradition to wear new clothes on Dashain’s main day. It was wild – the streets were packed, traffic was next-level, and I’d never seen shops so crowded. Kurta’s were flying off the shelves! A few times I had to wait outside because the rooms were so tiny and stuffy that I started feeling anxious. Despite the chaos, I was thrilled to be part of it all. We spent the entire day wandering from shop to shop until we each found the perfect kurta. I absolutely love mine.

Living in Patan, the old Newar district, is an amazing place to be during the festival season. I witnessed Gan Pyakha, the Astamatrika Dance – a 350-year-old tradition where eight masked dancers, each representing a different goddess, perform rituals to remove negative influences in the city caused by evil spirits, ghosts, and fears. I also saw the Kumari, the living goddess of Patan, emerge from her temple home to give blessings to visitors.

On the main days of Dashain, I accompanied Helika and her sisters to their relatives’ homes, where I was graciously included in all the ceremonies. Everyone was so kind, explaining the significance of the rituals, sharing food, and giving me blessings for the coming year. We played a betting card game for hours, where I continuously lost until my wallet was empty! The days were long, my heart was full, and my eyes were heavy.

Tihar

The Festival of Lights! Leading up to Tihar, all of my Nepali friends told me it was their favourite festival – and now I understand why. It lasts five days and celebrates the bonds between siblings, animals, and deities through puja (worship), light, colour, and ritual. The city becomes radiant with bright, flashing lights covering buildings. Driving around at night is pure joy – every neighbourhood is illuminated and hosts street parties where everyone gathers to dance. Each day honours a different animal, such as crows, dogs, and cows, which are blessed with red and yellow tika.

On the first day of Tihar, the Goddess of Wealth, Laxmi, is worshipped. We went to the DEPO office in the morning to do puja, creating a small rangoli to welcome Laxmi and bring good luck and prosperity to the office for the coming year. In the evening, I went to Manisha’s house with Helika and Jenny, where we prepared marigold garlands, oil candles, and made a large rangoli. The footprints in the photos represent the path for Laxmi to follow from the door outside to the shrine inside. I also got to wear my first sari, which was such a special experience – I never realized that a sari is one long, beautiful piece of fabric expertly draped around your body. I felt like royalty in the heavy, intricately embroidered fabric.

The final day of Tihar, Bhai Tika, celebrates the bond between siblings. Sisters apply a seven-colored tika to their brothers’ foreheads, praying for their longevity, followed by the brothers returning the blessing and giving gifts. This ritual was so beautiful and colourful – easily one of my most memorable days in Nepal. All of us siblings together, giving blessings, playing cards and Carrom Board (I’m finally getting a little bit better at it), eating food, and listening to music. I’ve become close with Sabit, Helika’s older brother, and after giving tika to me, he hugged me and said, “You are my sister now.” It made me want to cry.

Gosh, I feel so grateful for all the experiences I’ve had here. I’ll miss being goofy with Riya, bickering with Jenny, getting fashion advice from Manisha, feeling Ganga’s protection, playing with Romy’s daughter, and, of course, feeling the unwavering love from Helika.

This past weekend, I took a trip with Helika – a belated birthday present. We hiked through villages and jungle paths, rode bikes up rocky, dusty roads, stayed on a beautiful farm in a Tamang village, looked up at the stars in the clear night sky, sat packed like sardines on a local bus for three hours, and reminisced about memories from the past five and a half months.

The relationships I’ve formed here have made such a profound impact on me, and I know these connections won’t disappear once I get on the plane. I’m so blessed.

It’s not goodbye forever, it’s see you again. I love you Nepal.