The Truth About Unrest In Nepal & Spending Power of 1,400 USD
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The Truth About Unrest In Nepal & Spending Power of 1,400 USD
The Truth About Unrest In Nepal & Spending Power of 1,400 USD
用户3463用户34632025年9月20日修改
中文版本： 我与尼泊尔的缘分&尼泊尔暴乱真相 & 一万人民币在尼泊尔的购买力
My Connection with Nepal
Hi everyone, long time no see—it’s been ages since my last article, I really live up to the title of a “once-a-year blogger.” I’ve been more active on WeChat Moments or instagram or twitter, so many of my friends already know that I spent the past couple of months in Nepal.
I was incredibly lucky. On September 8, I flew from Kathmandu to Chiang Mai, just in time to avoid the outbreak of protests. From September 9 onwards, all airports in Nepal were shut down. If my ticket had been one day later, I wouldn’t have made it out. Even now, Nepal is still under daily curfew, and I hope life can return to normal soon.
During these two months in Nepal, my experience was wonderful: safe, peaceful, and surrounded by natural beauty. I landed in Kathmandu on July 8, stayed in the capital for ten days, and then headed to Pokhara. My first month in Pokhara had a lovely rhythm—teaching yoga in the mornings and learning music in the afternoons. After classes, I explored the area, hiked across nearby hills, and visited Begnas Lake.
Pokhara is full of lakes, the most famous being Phewa Lake. The tourist district, Lake Side, grew around Phewa, lined with restaurants, cafés, and guesthouses, where almost all travelers choose to stay. By contrast, Begnas Lake is quieter, more of a hidden gem for locals. Pokhara truly is a city made for slowing down and unwinding. If you love hiking, you can head to the trails; if not, there’s yoga, sound healing sessions, or music lessons right in town. And the best part? You can see snow-capped mountains from the city streets.
On August 23, a local friend invited me to his birthday celebration, and to my surprise, the venue was a welfare home. He and his friends have a tradition of celebrating birthdays with the children there, bringing food so the kids can enjoy a better meal.
The welfare home has 14 children—more than half suffer from eye diseases, and one has a leg disability. Since my very first job after graduation was in ophthalmology, the scene hit me hard. Their lives seemed so tough that I couldn’t hold back—I slipped a bit of money to their caretaker on the spot as a small donation. At the same time, my mind was already racing, thinking of ways I could support them more meaningfully, and that’s how the fundraising began.
On the 24th, I received the very first donation of 200 CNY (28 USD). By the 27th, after more outreach, contributions began to grow steadily. On August 31, the final donation of 550 CNY (77.2 USD) came in, bringing the total to exactly 10,000 CNY (1,400 USD) (thanks to the 40 donors, myself included). Given the limited time and manpower, we decided not to accept any further donations, worried that we wouldn’t be able to manage everything properly in one go.
On September 4, I exchanged the 10,000 CNY (1,400 USD) into 197,000 Nepali rupees. From the 4th to the 6th, I spent three full days with local friends purchasing supplies. On the 6th we were still out shopping, and that evening I caught the bus back to Kathmandu. Before I left, the teachers at the welfare home placed a tika on my forehead and draped two khata scarfs around my neck—a gesture that moved me deeply.
On the 7th, I was in Kathmandu helping a friend buy a singing bowl; on the 8th, at 3 p.m., I boarded my flight to Thailand. By then, protests had already broken out in the streets. My Indrive motorbike got stuck in traffic for 20 minutes 😂.
At airport check-in, the staff asked me if there were protests happening outside. I told them I hadn’t seen much, but I was surprised that even a motorbike could be stuck for 20 minutes. At that moment, I hadn’t yet realized how serious the situation was. I just said I knew young people had started protesting because social media was banned. The staff shook their heads and said, “It’s not about the social media ban—it’s because of government corruption.” Back then I didn’t grasp the full picture, but now everything makes sense. I’ll explain the details slowly.
These two months in Nepal were both peaceful and busy for me. In the final days, I spent nearly all the donations on supplies, fixed the water system, and got the washing machine installed (it had apparently been donated before, but was never hooked up). The children’s basic needs are now secured, and their lives are a little better than before.
The timing was almost too perfect—the protests didn’t affect the welfare home, because we had just stocked up on food. But later, when I saw photos shared in Chinese community groups and by friends, I was shocked. In Pokhara, New Road near the music school, the visa extension office, even the supermarket where we bought supplies, all had been smashed or burned in the riots. Hard to believe that just a few days earlier, I had been shopping there myself.
Before the supermarket was burned, we were still there on September 6, buying supplies and grabbing food at the entrance 👇
This is what the supermarket looked like on September 9 👇
I can only sigh once again: I was truly so lucky—maybe I’ve been blessed with good fortune since childhood.
Timeline of Nepal Unrest
September 4, 2025 (solar calendar)
The government issued a notice to regulate social media, and on the same day released a list of banned platforms.