BCIT Civil Engineering students Ryan Kroeker and Casey von Hahn spend most of their time in Burnaby, British Columbia, studying with the BCIT School of Construction and the Environment. This summer, however, they’re in Kathmandu, Nepal. Ryan and Casey are working as Earthquake Engineering Interns, helping the area become more earthquake resilient. They are blogging about their experience. To find more of their stories, click on Casey’s byline above or this link.
June 17, 2017
Ride for Refugees is an event that occurs all over the world to help spread awareness for refugees. This year’s event in Nepal had over 300 people bike around the Kathmandu valley to raise awareness and donations for incoming refugees. Two others from our hostel joined us in the event, starting in the morning at the old architectural area of Durbar Square. From here it was a 4 hour long adventure.
The ride started by going through the dusty busy streets of Nepal and ended in the beautiful farmlands beneath the mountains of the valley. This really introduced us to the beauty and nature of the Kathmandu valley, as well as the lifestyles of the people within it. The tricky part about riding in the city was dodging sleeping dogs and wandering cows on the road. Once out of the city, we got to see buffalo herds, rapeseed farming, temples, and the famous cycling Kung Fu Nuns. The Kung Fu Nuns consists of a group of over 500 Buddhist nuns, pedaling 4000km from Kathmandu, Nepal to Leh in India to raise awareness about human trafficking.
Hopefully some of the photos justify the beauty of the valley of our small adventure. We are planning to continue exploring the valley and eventually outside to see some of the more remote areas of Nepal and its beauty to offer!
