Picture of Shirley

That day, I was on my own. I wandered around the city, aimlessly, and feeling free.    

 I decided to take a boat trip to Barahi Temple. I headed to the lakeside. 

 A man approached me,"Hire a boat?" 

 I nodded,"Yes, to the temple." 

"That takes one hour, 180 rupees with a boatman." 

"I don't need a boatman, I want to paddle it myself." 

"No, we don't hire to singles. If you get drowned, nobody will notice it."  

Hiring the boat alone cost 140 rupees, I didn't really mind paying 40 more rupees for a boatman. (HK$1=10 Rup) 

"Alright, I'll hire a boatman as well."  I jumped onto the boat.    

My "boatman" was a young kid, shy at first glance.  With a few strokes, he skillfully led the boat out of the dock. 

"What's your name?" I asked. 

He scratched his head, didn't understand my question. 

"How old are you?" I asked again.  

"How old..." He scratched his head again. 

I pointed up two fingers of my left hand and five fingers of my right hand, said "I'm 25 years old (that's not my actual age. But I needed to make it easier to understand), and you?" 

He thought for a while, searching for a word. "Seven," he uttered the word.   

As the boat drifted further away from the dock, the paddle seemed to become heavier and each stroke took more effort.    

There was another paddle on the boat. I got it, inserted the blade into the water, and started to paddle.  

He cried out, "No." 

I laughed, "No problem."  ("No problem" is very often heard in Nepal and he understood).    

I tried a few paddles, and asked him if I paddled in the right direction.  He nodded and smiled,"Thank you."   

We paddled together until we reached the temple which was in the middle of the lake.   

My little boatman docked the boat.  He held the boat steady for me to get off.    

With his chin resting in his hand, he sat quietly on the boat while I was shooting photos.  

I took out candies, one for him and one for me. Wearing smile and sharing food is the best way to blend with the locals, I learn it from past years of travel.   

Then I handed him my camera, asked if he could take a picture for me.  I saw a brief excitement flicker across his face.  After showing him which button to press, I sat by the boat and started to pose.  

He acted professionally. He asked with body language if I want a whole body shot or a close-up. 

(unfortunately, he pressed the release button too gently. The film didn't get exposed.) 

Not far away there was a young girl with her family.  She said she would like to have a picture with me.  

I asked help from the seven-year-old little boatman again. This time the picture was well taken.   

Then I asked if he would like to take a picture with me. We sat on the boat, holding a paddle in our hands and smiled at the camera.  I watched the playful look on his face, that moment he looked like a child. 

It was soon time to return. We paddled back slowly.  In the middle of the lake, he sang me a song. (When I returned home, I listened to the CD album I bought in Nepal. Surprisingly I found that song on the album) 

When it was not far away from the dock, I asked him to put his paddle aside and let me do the paddling.  He said no at first, then he gave in. 

As I was paddling, I looked at him and asked if I did it correctly.  He smiled and nodded approvedly, "OK, OK." 

I enjoyed the boat ride, and I knew he liked it too.

With only trivial effort - a smile, a little care and a little respect, it’s not difficult to make yourself and others happy.