No More Beef For Me Ever Since Nepal Trip

WARNING: Bloody, gory images ahead.

I've obstained from beef ever since I returned from Nepal in October 2012. And here is the story of why I've come to such a decision.

It was the annual Dashain Festival and the historical Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu was a hive of activities.

People were queing up to enter the temples:

Peddlers were selling their wares:

Even the soldiers were practising their march:

We bumped into a couple dressed so authentically and brightly that we couldn't stop taking photos of them.

When they started harassing us for money that Angie was forced to give them some. If they had asked for more, I would have asked them to perform every pose in the Kama Sutra to get our money's worth, kidding.

As we were walking around, I saw a calf tied to one of the statues in front of a temple, but did not pay attention to it:

Soon we saw a group of people gathering around the calf and so we climbed to the top of one of the monuments to see what was the gathering about. It was a slaughtering ritual in conjunction with the Dashain Festival.

I was told that there will be numerous slaughtering done during the Dashain Festival that the roads will be flowing with the blood of the slaughtered animals.

The chants started growing louder and louder. I could not see what was happening because the crowd was blocking my view.

From where I stood, I could see a guy with a big gurkha knife walking to and fro in the middle of the crowd. I saw him lifting the glistening blade and with a swift chop, whatever that was there was dead.

Thankfully I didn't get to see the exact moment when blade met flesh because the crowd was hindering my view. Otherwise I think I would have puked.

The crowd started to disperse immediately after the public slaughtering.

From my vantage point I could see that the headless calf was still writhing on the floor. And the poor animal was so afraid that it had dirtied itself.

The image that compelled me to abstain from beef. 

I've abstained from mutton and lamb for more than 8 years due to a health scare - I had heavy heart palpitations after consumming mutton that I thought I was going to die.

No pork for me either because it causes tape worms to grow and live happily in my gut.

I'm also allergic to seafood, especially that of the crustacean type.

Now that beef is also on my list of abstained meat, leaves only chicken and fish that I can consume. No wonder my mum complaints that I'm a fussy eater.