The rained-out picnic(s)
Since picnics are perhaps the best and cheapest form of togetherness on a nice day (or should I say that you want to get out, but you still need to eat) we are often trying to have them. But the weather can be unpredictable in this little town, so a couple have been rained out. (Not the one on my birthday, thank goodness.)
One day we headed to a large, grassy park on the other end of Pokhara for a picnic with our friends. It started to rain. Thankfully, there was a shelter.
And there were other picnickers who all crowded in with us.
It was a close proximity picnic! That's what kind of picnic it was.
Two kids who were remarkably small, and remarkably alone, joined us.
They were hungry. I gave them slices of apple and cheese, and the other picnickers gave them Nepali snacks.
I have to say, Indian and Nepali people put us picnickers to shame! On the train, families bring whole meals; tiffins of rice, dhal, veggies, pickle, even chapattis. And they sit and eat at ease on a moving vehicle, while I try to scarf down a samosa without staining my shirt. Jeepers.
The kids got in some games, though. A little hide and seek.
Some pole scaling.
Some got higher than others.
And then, when the rain slowed enough for us to make a dash home, it was time for a bout of badminton-racket juggling.
Which was pleasant for all.
It wasn't such a bad picnic after all.