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Imagine doing good while you travel, like really good, volunteer type helping rebuild communities good. Now imagine your role is to capture all that good work in photos and video to share it with the world and inspire others to do good. That’s what Jeremy Bannister, our author for this edition of You’ve Been Where? did. Here he shares his journey with Aussie Action Abroad helping small communities in Nepal.
After reading this you’ll probably want to go too (we know, we did) so check out the Aussie Action Abroad website here and start planning your own volunteering adventure.
We love hearing about the travel experiences of our friends, family and readers of AllAbroad. We pick up so many tips and find out new places to travel. We thought you might like to hear about their adventures too. So in this section we turn the website over to you, our travel family.
Read on for travel tips from the people that help inspire our adventures.
Who are you and what do you do for a living?
I’m Jeremy Bannister, a Professional Photographer.
Where is home?
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
Where have you been? When did you go?
The most recent country I travelled to was Nepal in June/July this year
Who did you travel with?
I travelled with Aussie Action Abroad, a Ballarat-based charity.
What were the highlights of your trip?
The highlights were working directly with small, remote communities rebuilding housing and improving educational facilities in regional schools. Kathmandu is also an amazing city as it hasn’t been destroyed by western influences.
What did you least like about your trip?
It sounds corny but I enjoyed everything about the country.
Do you have any funny stories from your travels?
It takes a few days to become used to the chaotic driving. We had a memorable trip back from the Gorkha Valley. I had just got mobile phone signal and was talking to the family describing how our bus was overtaking four trucks, on the wrong side of the road, on a tight winding mountain road – and no-one was particularly fussed. Unlike the west, the traffic somehow works.
What were the locals like?
The locals were extraordinarily friendly, welcoming and appreciative of the help we were providing.
What was the food like?
The food was wonderful, especially the dal bhats and momos. The only average dishes were those that were too much influenced by western tastes.
Did you learn anything about yourself or the world on this trip?
Nepal is still suffering from the devastating earthquakes in April 2015 and it unfortunately feels like the world has forgotten about their plight.
Would you recommend others travel here?
Nepal should be any adventurous traveller’s list as it not only has extraordinary, beautiful scenery, it is challenging, exciting, surprising at every turn and inhabited by friendly, tolerant people.
Do you have any tips for people thinking of travelling here?
Like so many third world countries you do have to be very careful to not drink the water and to be sensible about where you eat (most street food is fine). Be aware that it is a mainly Hindu and Buddhist country and to observe and respect their customs.
Half the fun of travelling is to embrace the way other cultures live. Don’t go expecting western-style fast food in Kathmandu, it just doesn’t exist. The Thamel district in Kathmandu is the best place to base yourself as it has a wonderful variety of shops, restaurants and café’s, a wide variety of shops, plenty of traditional architecture and most shopkeepers speak some English.
If you’re interested in volunteering in Nepal check out Aussie Action Abroad here.
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