How my Journey started?

Hello everyone, I would like to welcome all of you to my blog. Today, for the first time, I have tried to write something on my blog. I hope that you will like it and give me some suggestions.

I would like to start with the small incident of 1989 before I came to Pokhara and engaged for the last 23 years in the tourism industry in Hotel Restaurant Service. On the way back home, I found a big pot of water jar in big Dokos (bin like structure made of bamboo), big teapots, tea plates, vegetables, and tent items. Which they were caring on the back. There were few Nepali guides and others were porters, along with them were 20-25 people with brown hair and blue eyes with their backpacks, carrying walking sticks in their backs, walking in a camping trip from Kathmandu to Hetauda. It took around 20 minutes to get to my home and I was enjoying the walk and talks with them. Tourists gave me huge candies, cokes I was so happy because I only knew Peepalmat and Pustakaries (local candies) and I was getting something new to taste. I could only understand little English at that time. I had to try hard to do any reading or speaking practice. One of them said, "English is International Language, Please, Learn English very carefully that helps you in your future." I was touched by that. In those days children of the rich could go to Kathmandu in boarding schools and speak fluent English. I was lucky to be able to go to school even though it was just a government school in my village because my other 7 brothers were not able to go to school at all. Getting this inspiration from the same visitor I'm sorry I couldn't get his name and address that time, otherwise, we would have met for the second time. I wrote the inspiration in the diary of that day which was I had to study hard make my English fluent and then apply for a 5-star hotel with a swimming pool and restaurant. Today, I have been involved in the tourism business for 23 years on the banks of Fewa Lake, underneath the beautiful ranges of Himalaya in a beautiful place like Pokhara. I feel very lucky that I am able to fulfill my dream.

Now I want to tell how I was able to get into this industry. With the same inspiration, after the SLC of 1996, I was admitted to Saraswati Multiple Campus in the evening shift. I thought that I would work from morning till noon and continue my studies in the evening but being from a poor family and not having a well-paid job I was not able to take my studies as I wanted. In the same year, I was able to take a 6-month course in Food & Beverage service from "EXPANSION HOTEL TRAINING CENTER" from Ravi Bhavana, where I did 3 months of theory training and 3 months of practical training at Baishali Hotel in Thamel. With the certificate in hand, I was rejoicing I had the chance to apply in 5 Star Hotel called Soltee Crown Plaza in Kathmandu. But, because of my poor English language, I was not selected. I was very sad. But the next month, when I was in my hometown, Chitlang. I met Mike Frame, (Founder of Mike's Breakfast Pvt.) on his way to Kathmandu from Kulekhani, near my house. Till that time also I just knew very few English words like Namaste How are you? He greeted me and said, "Namaste, Malai sanchai chha. Tapailai kasto chha?” He replied, "I was surprised because a foreigner spoke Nepali fluently. In our short conversation, I discovered that he also rented the sister branch of Mike’s Breakfast Pvt. Ltd. in Hotel Fewa, current Hotel Phewa & Mike's Old Kitchen, (www.fewahotel.com). He got to know that I had received a little bit of training about food and beverage service, he was interested to give me a job in his company either in Kathmandu or Pokhara but only if I wanted, he came to Nepal as the first group of Peace Corp. from the United State of America in the beginning. He said that he loved Nepal very much and spent many years in Nepal. Before his death, he had traveled to 68 districts of Nepal on foot. For the first time in August 1967, I decided to go to Pokhara, paying the fare of NPR. 65 I boarded the Kathmandu to Pokhara bus from Thankot. Since then I am in Pokhara at Hotel Fewa and Mike's Restaurant. It was just an old hotel, the rooms were being built, the restaurant's table and chairs were being built, the older siblings before me were busy, my work started the next day after a wonderful meeting with Mike, I became an employee of Hotel Fewa & Mike's Restaurant. I was so happy to be in a new place with a new environment, seeing lots of Tourists in Lakeside.

So with my first inspiration, my effort, and the help of Mike, I got into the industry. I loved the field and I worked as labor without salary for the first 3 months but I got free lodging and flooding. I got the opportunity to learn more about life, after three months of serving many people from many different countries, most of them were American because of good relation of Mike and his friend from different Peace Corps groups, NGO’s and INGOs’. I was very happy because I dreamed of a 5-star hotel with a swimming pool in my diary and finally I achieved something more than I dreamed of. I would like to thank  God for giving me this chance in my life. And I wanted to keep a record in today's blog, let family and friends know about me and my experiences, so this is for part 1, I will bring my next experience in 2nd part.

Thank you,                                                                                                                                 Surya Gamal