Winter in Nepal

Sunshine, freezing floors, fires and fresh-roasted peanuts – these are some of the features of a Nepali winter experience which feel different to the UK!  Last year was my first winter here, and now I’m rediscovering what it’s like – the joys and challenges.  We even recorded some winter experiences from UMN’s expat staff members which you can read here: https://www.umn.org.np/winter-stories .  Back at the end of November, my friend Clare messaged me from a field trip and staying at 2,300m (around 7,500 feet) saying: “I’m under two duvets with a hat, lots of layers and wearing my biggest down jacket” – at only 7:30pm!

On the streets we are getting lots of oranges and a return of carrots, sweet potatoes and saags (leafy greens).  A fun feature is freshly roasted peanuts – you get whole carts of them, roasted right there and served in a poke by a friendly person.  There are also red (and cream) poinsettia flower bushes (almost trees) rather than the small ones in pots which die off after Christmas – I love them but I never did manage to keep one alive! 

A big contrast is sunshine and the difference in temperatures between indoors and outdoors.  I don’t miss grey, wet windy UK winters one bit – it is a huge gift to have sun here almost every day.  So you see many people outdoors in the morning and daytime to warm up – drinking a cup of tea on the roof or street outside their home, standing in the sun.  Indoors is usually colder.  Many people have no heating or just a single heater. If you have a marble floor (like my flat in the hall, kitchen and stairs) then it becomes freezing at night!  And the bathroom too, since they are floored and lined with tiles. At night-time we frequently wear our coats indoors and often go to bed wearing extra layers.  Last year, I was intrigued that outside people would often light fires, not for cooking or burning garden waste but just to stay warm.  In villages, many homes use fires to cook too, and in winter this is really welcome (except for the smoke, which increases because you want to keep the windows and doors closed).  So, where would you prefer to live in winter?!