{"id":426,"date":"2013-11-19T10:03:00","date_gmt":"2013-11-19T10:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.littlewanderingwren.com\/2013\/11\/himalayan-necklace-oh-the-stories-it-could-tell.html\/"},"modified":"2018-08-24T17:24:32","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T10:24:32","slug":"himalayan-necklace-oh-the-stories-it-could-tell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.littlewanderingwren.com\/staging\/8794\/2013\/11\/19\/himalayan-necklace-oh-the-stories-it-could-tell\/","title":{"rendered":"Himalayan Necklace – Oh the stories it could tell!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/div>\n
Do you ever wonder…?<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span>I <\/span>bought a necklace<\/span>\u00a0in India last year…\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span>It is well traveled.\u00a0<\/span>O<\/span>h, the stories it could tell!\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
L<\/span>ike\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
W<\/span>here was it made?\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
(I was told it was local from the foothills of the Himalayas…<\/i>)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
W<\/span>ho made it?\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
D<\/span>oes she\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
(I<\/span>n my mind it was made by a lady,\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
hopefully not a child…\u00a0<\/i><\/span>and certainly not a man.<\/i>)\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
E<\/span>ver wonder who bought the jewellery?\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
O<\/span>r think<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
‘Where in the world will it will end up?’<\/b><\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
I fell in love with this necklace,\u00a0<\/span>seeing it as a connection to our 16-year-old son,\u00a0<\/span>
\nwho was on exchange at an Indian boarding school,\u00a0<\/span>and as a memory of\u00a0<\/span>
\nmy Indian Adventures…<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Like the crazy twenty hour journey, I took just to reach him…\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
On an overnight sleeper train from Jaisalmer<\/b>\u00a0to Jaipur<\/b>,\u00a0<\/span>leaving my girlfriends,<\/span>
\n\u00a0and traveling solo,\u00a0<\/span>for a six-hour\u00a0train ride to Delhi.<\/span>A mad taxi ride across Delhi, to the Airport,\u00a0<\/span>popping my anti-nausea pills to stop disgracing myself,<\/span>
\n\u00a0like an overindulged teenager,\u00a0<\/span>after a night on the booze…<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span>A flight to Dehradun <\/b>on some obscure Indian airline,\u00a0<\/span>with a load of school kids wonderingwhether any of them were friends with my son,\u00a0<\/span>
\nbut then remembering he didn’t yet have any friends in India…\u00a0<\/span>
\nOr so he said,<\/span>
\n(not entirely\u00a0accurate as it turned out!)<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span>Hitching a lift from the airport with an incredible\u00a0Canadian<\/b>\u00a0woman\u00a0<\/span>
\nwho was teaching English to street kids,\u00a0<\/span>and welcomed me in her taxi,\u00a0<\/span>
\nwhen mine was nowhere to be seen.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span>Stopping at her house\u00a0<\/span>meeting her Indian housekeeper’s children<\/span>
\nwho she was paying to attend an English\u00a0language primary school,\u00a0<\/span>
\nthen travelling on,\u00a0<\/span>alone,\u00a0<\/span>up into the clouds,\u00a0<\/span>
\nfor a further hour into Mussoorie: ‘the Queen of the Hills’\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
and<\/span> finally arriving at the hotel…<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rokeby Manor<\/a><\/b> was a very welcome sight.\u00a0<\/span>
\nOur room (my son was allowed out to stay with me)\u00a0<\/span>was filled with lovely Himalayan decorations.\u00a0<\/span>We got him a haircut, at the hotel salon,\u00a0<\/span>he had been there eleven weeks by the time I arrived\u00a0<\/span>and was like a shaggy dog!\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The food at Rokeby’s Emily’s cafe was amazing,\u00a0<\/span>not like this was the best food ever, ever, ever\u00a0<\/span>but this was a welcome mixture of Western and Indian food\u00a0<\/span>you know for those moments when you never want to see a curry again,\u00a0<\/span>and I was assured, safe to eat…\u00a0<\/span>I was still recovering from a good dose of Delhi belly.\u00a0<\/span>(As I did the entire month in India!)<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

So I bought the necklace from the hotel giftshop.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
I loved it’s bright colours,\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
the rough stones\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
and the fact that buying it, supported the local community.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0It came with me on the rest of my travels.<\/span><\/div>\n
Would it’s creator be pleased to know\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>in the <\/span>UK<\/b>,\u00a0<\/span>
\nI wore it to\u00a0<\/span>Kensington Palace<\/a>,<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
hidden\u00a0deep\u00a0under layers of clothes for a cold Christmas carol service?<\/span><\/div>\n
Or that this was the necklace I was wearing when I sang\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
“The hills are alive with the Sound Of Music’ in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Switzerland<\/a>,<\/b><\/div>\n
or that I wore it cycling in\u00a0<\/span>The Netherlands<\/a>?<\/b>
\n
\n<\/b><\/div>\n
It came to the Czech Republic<\/b> and visited the nuclear bunker museum<\/span><\/div>\n
It rose to the occasion at\u00a0Barcelona FC,\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
when we cheered on Messi to score three goals\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Oh yes, that was a good trip…<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And when the holiday was all over,<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0it came back to our routine life in Australia,\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
and joined me on the school run, walking the dog,\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
watching sports, and at the supermarket…<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
I do wear it a lot!<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
It seemed to go with everything,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
or maybe I should say in Melbourne,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
everyone wears a lot of black\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
and it often seems the perfect jewellery to brighten a dark outfit…<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

BUT then it broke!<\/span>
\nI was left with a whole load of happy memories,<\/b><\/span>
\n\u00a0and beads all over the place!<\/b><\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>In a previous life this would have been no drama, as there would have been a lady at the Jade Market in Hong Kong,<\/b> or\u00a0across the Chinese border<\/b> inShenzhen,<\/b>\u00a0who would restring\u00a0<\/span>and mend,\u00a0<\/span>good as new,\u00a0<\/span>for next to nothing<\/span>!<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>But in Melbourne? Where to go?<\/span>
\nIf I had needed to have some high quality pearls restrung,\u00a0<\/span>or maybe it was made of precious stones,\u00a0<\/span>that would not be an issue,\u00a0<\/span>but a whole pile of\u00a0artesian beads?!!!<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>Time to call in an old friend,\u00a0<\/span>visiting from Hong Kong,\u00a0<\/span>used to my strange requests\u00a0<\/span>
\nto help me fix things in Australia\u00a0<\/span>that once seemed so easy in Asia…<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n


\n<\/span>So my necklace flew to Hong Kong …<\/span>
\nAnd was fixed by a little lady somewhere in HK or China,\u00a0<\/span>I’m not sure!<\/span>
\nMy friend sent me a picture of herself wearing it for a night on the town,\u00a0<\/span>maybe Lan Kwai Fong<\/b>\u00a0<\/span>or maybe the Kowloon Cricket Club,\u00a0<\/b><\/span>I\u00a0forget where.\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0Then she returned it home to me!<\/span><\/p>\n

So now my necklace is back on the supermarket run again…<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>Oh the stories, it can tell!<\/span>
\n<\/span>I do wish it would tell me about when it was made,\u00a0<\/span>
\nand who made it…<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>‘<\/span>W<\/span>ould they be\u00a0surprised to know that it has travelled around the world and now<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lives in Australia?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Woul<\/span>d they be thrilled to know how many many\u00a0<\/span>people comment and say<\/span><\/div>\n
‘Nice Necklace?’<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Postscript!<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Last Sunday I wore it to an Art Exhibition,\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
over champagne and\u00a0canopies,<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
a lady leant over<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
‘Nice Necklace’ <\/b>she said!<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
‘Did you get it in Nepal<\/b>?’<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Nepal?????, I replied,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
‘No, I got it in India…’\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
and told her the story…<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
‘Well, I have some earrings that would match perfectly,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
I’ll give them to you!’<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
I can’t wait to meet these new earrings from Nepal<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
I wonder what stories they could tell?!<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\n

Have a lovely week!<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>PS Update from Rokeby Manor (click comments below to read more)<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Hi,
\nI’m Monish, the Guest Relations Manager at Rokeby Manor-Mussoorie. This necklace was bought from a local Tibetan handicrafts store. I was told by the lady who sold it to us that they buy the beads individually, an assortment of beads and semi precious stones, and then they are beaded into beautiful necklaces such as yours. She must have been in a very pleasant mood when she was beading your necklace as it is very beautiful indeed.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n