Travels in Nepal #12 An amazing school playground

Playing cricket in Nepal

While on the trek in Nepal last January we spent a hour or so at the school in the village of Monjo. I was utterly amazed at the view from the school playground. This was impressive in the extreme. There would have to be very few school yards anywhere in the world with such a stunning view.

In the first decade of my 35 years of teaching I could look out the window of my classroom and see a magnificent view of the Flinders Ranges. Living so close to this “chain of rugged mountains” – the words of explorer Matthew Flinders – gave me a lifelong love of these ranges.

In the last decade of my teaching career I could see Australia’s largest river, the River Murray, from the playground of the school where I taught. This was a good view , but nothing like the view in the Himalayas.

The view may have been out of this world but teaching in the school would be a huge challenge. This village is a long way from anywhere. The physical effort of moving around these mountains is demanding. The conditions in the school are very basic with very few teaching materials.

But yard duty would certainly be inspiring.

Related articles:

• Trekking from Phakding to Monjo

• Travels in Nepal archive

• My photo gallery

• The Flinders Ranges archives

• Article about captain Matthew Flinders (an early Australian explorer)