From Kathmandu to China – Together for Nepal
Greetings from Yiwu, China…
Hope you guys are well and trading great.
It has been a hectic, slightly stressful and quite emotional week.
Last week I was writing from Kathmandu, where the whole country is still in shock following the terrible floods. I tried to describe what it felt like being there as the scale of the disaster slowly became clear.
If you missed it, you can catch up here.
Since then, it has been a crazy week—but somewhere between Kathmandu, Kolkata, Guangzhou and Yiwu, we finally managed to Make a Plan.
Our Together for Nepal Appeal is now underway. More about that below…
Meanwhile, I took the infamous early-morning Buddha Air flight from Kathmandu down to Kolkata.
Up at 4am!
Regular readers may remember that the last time I took this flight, I rather foolishly turned down the offer of cotton wool—and ended up with a burst eardrum. This time, when the cotton wool appeared, I didn’t hesitate. I stuffed the stuff firmly into both ears.
The views from the right-hand side of the plane were absolutely beautiful. Clouds lay far below us like a wispy white sea, with the Himalayan peaks rising through them like islands. At times, we seemed almost close enough to skim across the tops.
It was breathtaking—but I couldn’t stop thinking about the human suffering and disruption hidden in those valleys beneath us.
Waiting for me at Kolkata Airport was, of course, Mr Chatterjee—our man in India.
I spent three days with Mr Chatterjee and his son, Distranta. When I arrived at the factory, the entire staff came out to welcome me. Such lovely people.
The factory is in Serampore, outside Kolkata, on the banks of the Ganges.
Serampore is noisy, hectic, bumpy and congested. Stressful is not really the word… But in contrast to all that noise and chaos, Bengali people are incredibly kind and thoughtful.
Mr Chatterjee and his family recently moved into a new apartment in a riverside development called The Alcove, and they were kind enough to put me up there.
On the tenth floor, with views across the Ganges and lovely gardens below, it felt like we had finally found a peaceful corner of Serampore.
Hopefully it will stay that way—although people in this part of India do seem to absolutely love noise and joyful chaos, so I’m not entirely sure.
After three days of mixed calm and stress—in which I also somehow managed to put my back out—I found myself hobbling through Kolkata Airport to catch one of the rare direct flights between India and China. Mr Chatterjee escorted me to the airport.. always an emotional farewell.. but I will be back soon with a full AW team.
IndiGo from Kolkata to Guangzhou, arriving at 4am. It was an interesting flight and not very busy. Only Indian travellers…and me. Most of the passengers seemed to be young urban guys—IT and AI experts, I’m sure. I know the type. Brain drain to China, perhaps?
From Guangzhou, I took the morning flight to Yiwu. This one was completely full, and I found myself crammed in among African, Russian and Arabian businesspeople—all heading towards the extraordinary trading city that is Yiwu.
At the airport, Coco was waiting for me.
Finally back in China—and hopefully time for a little rest before the next adventure.
Although perhaps not…
Coco and I are about to set off on a long-planned road trip into a part of China where hardly any foreign visitors go. We are searching for a town of almost fabled gemstone artisans.
If we actually find it, I’ll tell you about it from there next week.
Together for Nepal
After everything I witnessed in Kathmandu, I felt very strongly that Ancient Wisdom should do something practical to help.
So, for the next seven days: Every Nepal-made product is at least 20% OFF.
And Ancient Wisdom will donate a further 20% of the product value to Nepal’s Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund.
20% OFF • 20% DONATED • 7 DAYS
This is not a capped donation. The more Nepalese products we sell, the more money we will send.
We will publish the final amount raised and confirmation of the transfer when the appeal is complete.
So please, if you are able, take a look at our Nepal ranges. There are singing bowls, incense, Lokta paper gifts, felt products, clothing, ritual items and many other beautiful things—all made by people and small workshops across Nepal.
You will receive a genuine discount, help us send immediate support to the disaster fund, and—just as importantly—keep fresh orders flowing back to Nepal’s artisans.
The donation helps Nepal now. The reorders support Nepalese livelihoods afterwards.
Sometimes, when something so terrible happens, it is difficult to know what any of us can really do.
But perhaps this is what Ancient Wisdom can do best.
We can bring together our customers, our teams and the wonderful products made by Nepalese artisans—and turn ordinary business into something that genuinely helps.
From the quiet Himalayan peaks to the joyful chaos of Kolkata, and now the endless trading streets of Yiwu, this week has reminded me just how connected we all are.
Thank you, as always, for reading—and thank you especially to everyone who supports our Together for Nepal Appeal.
Let’s see what we can make happen together.
Have a wonderful weekend.
