Global Exchange Reality Tours is partnering with Not For Sale to bring together aspiring individuals to travel to Nepal and to inspire and mobilize participants into the international abolitionist movement. Nepal has faced major political upheaval and civil war for over a decade. With the strife over, democratic processes restored, many sociopolitical and economic changes are happening. It is an exciting time for the country and yet there are many challenges. Within the framework of Buddhist and Hindu culture, our delegation will meet with individuals and organizations involved with political change, human rights, environmental stewardship, and fair trade and community development. In addition our delegation, lead by Thomas L.Kelly will foreground the roots causes of human trafficking in Nepal, as we meet with those who have been freed from sexual slavery and with those who are fighting human trafficking. The delegation will start in Kathmandu and travel to the porous border to the South where people are smuggled into India.

DAILY ITINERARY

October 3rd: Sunday.
Arrive Katmandu, and transfer to Hotel Manaslu. Orientation with Thomas Kelly.  Welcome Dinner at Bhojan Griya, means House of Food. Taste authentic organic Nepalese food and enjoy simultaneously local folk dances and songs. Nepalese cultural décor and artifacts bring past and present alive. The House dates back over 150 years. A renovated 4-storey building originally belonged to the royal priest of the King of Nepal. Bharat Bassnet, owner of Bhojan Griya will join us and share his views about organic farming.

October 4th: Monday.
After B’fast, meet Step Nepal Director Jyotsana Shrestha and Neela Thapa for a briefing about Female Sex Workers employed at cabin and dohari restaurants, massage parlors, garment factories and working in the slum areas, etc. We’ll then bus to visit locations, speak to the girls and gain an insight into their lives.
In the late afternoon, we’ll bus to Hanuman Dhoka, to meet Deputy Superintendent of Police, (DSP) Gita Uprety, head of Crime and Investigation Department for Women and children. If there are Human Traffickers in custody, we’ll  get a chance to ask them questions.
Dinner at Fire and Ice.

October 5th: Tuesday -The Dance of Shiva.
Early morning guided tour by Thomas Kelly and  Professor Makunda Aryal of Pashuaptinath, a Shiva temple complex filled with Himalayan yogis and where the last death rites are performed by Brahman Priests alongside the funeral ghats. Thomas will lead us in a 15-minute meditation and pranayama session at  the Gorakhnath temple. Meet Hindu Yogis known as Sadhus and witness their bodies with Tilakas.  A Sadhu’s body is a map of the Hindu universe, for the body is a microcosm of the cosmos. Like a canvas, the color and painted symbols aid in purification, inspire, and  brings to mind the timeless divine beyond body and form. The body is used to tell stories. As the sadhu works towards an egoless state, he becomes the very symbols he’s painted…whether it be Shiva, Vishnu, or Rama, the colors refer to esoteric inner visions and possible alchemical states of consciousness. The real goal of a Sadhu is to achieve an attitude of non-attachment and transcendence of the physical body. *Note, photographing Sadhus is okay but expect to tip them.

Visit Maiti Nepal, home to rescued girls from the brothels of Mumbai. Lecture by founder, Anuradha Koirala.  Lunch at Dwarika Hotel, recipient of UNESCO award for art restoration.  Bus to Maiti Nepal Hospice Center. Lecture at center. Chance to hear stories from trafficked girls. Bus back to Hotel. Dinner at Hotel.

Oct. 6th. Wednesday - The Tibetan Side of Town: Dharma and Drama.
Early wake up call. Bus to Boudha, one of the world’s oldest Buddhist pilgrimage sites. We’ll perform three koras (circumambulations) around the stupa with hundreds of Budhist pilgrims. Audience with a renowned Rinpoche (a reincarnated lama). After a refreshing tea, return to bus and  visit General Paper Industry, (GPI), member of World Fair Trade Organization.   Lecture by owner, Milan Bhattarai,  tour work place followed by  village and school visit . Presentation by tour members at school. Return to GPI for lunch. Bus to Nava Kiran Plus, (NKP) home to children living with HIV aids. Lecture by Rajiv Kafle, president of  (NKP). Bus to Gangabu Bus Station; meet Neela Thapa, Programme Officer/ STEP NEPAL, supported by Family Health International (FHI-Asha project) visit Drop In Center for Sex Workers and Clients of Sex Workers. Return to Hotel Manaslu.  Meet for dinner at Him Tai.

Oct. 7th. Thursday.
Following b’fast, lecture at Hotel by Ms. Tsering Dolka Sherpa, Sneha Samaj and Kamala Moxtan FHI/CHBC (Community Home Based Care)  Programme Officer: CHBC teams provide comprehensive care and support services including symptom care, pain management, TB screening, referral for VCT, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) referral and support, referral for other necessary Continuum of Care (CoC) services and ART support. The Community and Home Based Care (CHBC) services are PLHIV-friendly due to flexibility of accessing individualized care either at one’s home or at a community (where the PLHIV is not stigmatized just by seeking that service). They deal with symptoms that overstretched hospital based staff often overlook. They take time to talk to the clients and understand the unique barriers based not only on the individual, but also the family and community. CHBC teams visit clients on an as-needed basis for asymptomatic clients not yet requiring ART, monthly for those on ART and very frequently for symptomatic or bed-ridden clients. More importantly, CHBC teams reinforce the concept of “positive living” with psychosocial and spiritual counseling. With the client’s consent, they gain insight into the entire family in the home setting and also build the capacity and skills of family members in taking care of the PLHIV at home, assist in schooling for infected children etc. In addition to strictly home based activities, CHBC teams assist PLHIV support groups with networking for sustainability, income generation and skill building activities. They also invest in reducing stigma and discrimination in the community by coordinating awareness raising activities. The CHBC team members are working at a minimum pay including restricted travel allowance. They have been providing services to more than 2,200 PLHA through sheer determination, love for their neighbors and passion to serve those infected by HIV.

Bus to CHBC sites to witness their work.

Lunch at “Garden of Dreams” and “Garden of the Six Seasons,” this magnificent neo-classical garden is typical of the wide-ranging interests of the remarkable Rona aristocrat. A Statesman, scholar, linguist and connoisseur of horticulture, art and literature, the field Marshall created a masterpiece that, in its design and literary allusions, is inextricably linked to the collections of books about gardening, architecture, and literature in his impressive library.   Lecture by German architect, Goetz Hag Muller, mastermind behind the renovation work of the Garden. Afternoon free to shop. Dinner at Chez Caroline. 

Oct.8th. Friday.
Bus to Bhaktapur. Tour of medieval kingdom of 200,000 farmers. Bus to Nagarkot Hill Station. Overnite at Vajra Farm House with  Himalayan views. Evening  lecture on Nepal’s new republic and its challenges by Sambu Lama.

Oct. 9th. Saturday.
Bus to Patibangjang, walk 30 minutes to Lama Dorje Lakpa Hotel.
Visit Maiti Nepal Prevention Center. Visit with 20 girls at center and hear their stories.
Overnite in Chisopani-Lama Dorje Lakpa Hotel

Oct. 10th. Sunday.
Trek three hours downhill through Shiva Puri National Park to Sunderjel. Meet bus amd transfer to Hotel Manaslu. Pack for travels to
Southern Nepal and Temple Tiger. Dinner at Hotel.

Oct. 11th. Monday.
Travel by comfortable A/C coach to Hetuada over Damin pass,  to Hetauda and settle into  GWP center. Meet Mahesh Bhattarai, GWP in-charge.
GWP is involved in running outreach programs for female sex workers on East-West highway. We’ll visit outreach programs, talk to truckers/clients of FSW. Overnight at GWP center.

Oct.. 12th. Tuesday.
Visit GWP projects in village area. Travel by Bus to Birgunj to visit Maiti Nepal Transit center. View sentinel project policing flow of potential trafficking across Nepal/India border. Overnight in Birgunj. India/Nepal border town.

Oct. 13th. Wednesday.
Bus to Chitwan, cross Rapti River in dugout canoes. Settle into Temple Tiger and enjoy afternoon elephant ride to view Greater One-horned Rhino. Talk about Tigers by head Naturalist Jitu Chaudary.

Oct. 14th. Thursday.
Nature walk by Jitu Chaudary. Elephant briefing. Canoe ride to view Ghariwal and Maugars (river alligators and crocs. Evening at leisure.

Oct. 15th. Friday.
Breakfast and transfer to Bharatpur, Flight back to Kathmandu. Shopping. Wrap up dinner

Oct. 16th. Saturday.
Departure for home

Cost: $2,100

Price Includes:

How to Register:
We must receive your application and a non-refundable deposit of $400 two months before departure (2nd of August). Payments by Mastercard or Visa are welcome.

This trip will be as diverse as possible in terms of race, age and life experiences. In some cases, a limited number of partial scholarships are available for low-income applicants.