Traveler's Trial: the Dreaded Rolling Blackouts of Nepal

Prayer flags wrapped around a tree at a temple in Lumbini

Did you know that the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was born in what is now Lumbini, Nepal? It’s true. One of the world’s great spiritual teachers entered this world just a few kilometers from where I later spent a long, sweaty night questioning my own spiritual progress during a one of the dreaded rolling blackouts of Nepal.

Rolling Blackouts and Enlightenment (Lumbini Edition)

When you visit the birthplace of the Buddha, you expect some spiritual discomfort. Soul-searching. Reflection. Maybe a mosquito bite or two. What you might not expect is the kind of spiritual trial that comes from lying completely motionless on sweat-soaked sheets in a 100-degree room with no AC, no fan, no breeze. No hope.

Because for the next four hours, there is no electricity.

Welcome to rolling blackouts—Nepal’s unintentional meditation retreat for the over-comforted traveler.

In Lumbini, we had two blackout periods a day: one in the afternoon (when it was hot), and one at night (when it was still hot). This meant eight hours a day of thinking about your life choices while slowly sticking to the mattress like a human pancake. You haven’t truly pondered the impermanence of existence until you’ve done so at 2 a.m. while praying for a breeze that never comes.

And yet—this is normal in much of Nepal. The infrastructure can’t always keep up, and electricity takes scheduled little naps. It’s just something you learn to roll with (along with your sweaty pillow).

You might think to yourself that you should just make sure to charge all your 87 devices while the power is on. Maybe you should even bring a battery powered fan. Well . . . don’t! The problem is that the infrastructure can’t produce enough electricity to fill the demand. So, try to lower your own demand to support the struggle.

Charge only what you need. Embrace the sweat. Because travel is about getting out there and discovering how people who are not like you live. And many of those people, have rationed electricity. You’ll survive.