Peak of success

Nicole Theriault's nine days in Nepal

Story by Nuttaya Muneerat
Photographs by Grammy Grand

You're a famous singer and you have the world at your feet. You've just finished recording a new album and you're on the lookout for an unusual location for your album sleeve art and music videos. So where's it going to be? Norway? Ecuador? Belfast?

For Nicole Theriault, the choice wasn't easy. Initially, her team thought of India - the colourful country would have made an ideal backdrop to Nicky's new album On the Way. But the singer had other ideas.

Having already been to India twice, Nicole - who is an avid traveller - instead headed north to Nepal, a destination she had never visited before.

"I think it's great when I get a chance to visit a new country," she said, adding that Nepal would now be high on her list of regular travel destinations. "It's not too far from Thailand and I always wanted to see Mount Everest."

on the move

Nicole spent a total of nine days in Nepal shooting the music videos and cover photographs for her new album. Easy work? Not according to Nicky.

"When we work abroad, it's a constant race against time - we are basically filming and travelling at the same time," she said. "When we found a good location, we filmed very quickly because there are so many beautiful landscapes in Nepal and we didn't want to miss any."

However, Nicky did manage to take time out to absorb some of Nepal's Buddhist culture as well as squeeze in some shopping.

"I mostly stayed in Katmandu, which captures the essence of Nepalese tradition and religion," she said. Nicky also visited the colourful markets at Tahmel Road, famous for its cheap but traditional goods. One thing that did perplex Nicky at first was the continual sound of car horns. However, she soon realised that when driving along the sharply twisting roads of Nepal that this was essential to avoid accidents.

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Nepal is its snow-covered mountains, particularly the Himalayas. Nicky revealed that she had already conquered the mighty Mount Everest - but only in a helicopter.

According to Nicole, the Nepalese welcome tourists with open arms and a happy "Namansatae" ("Hello"). They were particularly interested in her production and watched the process with interest. In fact, so many of them turned up to watch her that Nicky often couldn't tell who was in her team and who was the audience.

She made some new young friends as well. "The kids weren't shy," she said. "Many of them sat with me to look through my photo album."

journey's end

At the end of her visit, Nicky was definitely charmed by Nepal's cities and culture, but also by the many natural wonders the country has to offer. However, it didn't impress her enough to become her top choice for travelling because she loves diving, and Nepal is land-locked.

"My favourite place is the island of Bali in Indonesia - the diving is great," said Nicky. Of course, she does love diving in Thailand and concluded her interview with Student Weekly by commenting that while tourists should continue to appreciate the natural wonders of places such as Nepal and Thailand, they should also protect them for others to appreciate.

Vocabulary

have the world at your feet (idiom): used to describe the fact that a successful person can go anywhere they want or do anything they want
sleeve art (n): same as 'cover art' - the photography for the cover or booklet of a CD
initially (adv): first
backdrop (n): the scenery surrounding an event
destination (n): a place to which somebody/something is going or being sent
race against time (idiom): the need to get something done very quickly
absorb (v): to take something into the mind and learn or understand it
essence (n): the most important quality or feature of something that makes it what it is
distinguishing (v): to be a characteristic that makes several things different
conquer (v): to succeed in dealing with or controlling something
charm (v): the power of pleasing or attracting people
land-locked (adj): a country surrounded by land