Wheel of Death

One of the most ingenious items I saw while in Duradanda was something we lovingly called

 “The Duradanda Wheel of Death”

(insert ominous voice with reverb here...)

It’s made of 

...wood...

....bamboo...

and

...twine...

....

That’s all. 

And of course I went on it. 

 

I felt like I was flying. I was a little sad because the Arizona State Fair was had just begun as I was leaving the country. I was missing out on greasy food, midway games, and scary half put together rides where you feared for your life. 

Well we were in luck, we got our amusement park ride half way across the world in Duradanda, Nepal. 

I think my favorite part was the fact it was powered by teenage Nepali boys. They would stand on the sides of the platform and propel us around, and around, and around the wheel. We would be standing the town center plaza talking with the kids, playing games, laughing and talking. As we were standing there, there would be troops of kids clambering all over this mini ferris wheel. 

If we even glanced over at it, they would get all excited and ask, “You want?! You try!”

It took us a while to warm up to the idea of spinning around on a wheel made of twine. 

But I got over it, and enjoyed it. 

Probably one of my best memories from the trip, as terrifying as it was, just plain amazing. 

Where else in the world can you ride on a homemade ferris wheel, spinning round and round, with the Himalayas in the background? 

Namaste