Another Hollywood movie star might feel strange in a remote and impoverished area of Nepal, but actor Orlando Bloom seemed perfectly at ease.

A recent UNICEF-supported visit to Nepal took Mr. Bloom on a four-day journey to various programme sites in the western districts of Kaski and Chitwan.

Accompanying Mr. Bloom on the trip were UNICEF Regional Director Dan Toole and UNICEF Representative in Nepal Gillian Mellsop. Besides touring UNICEF programmes, he visited Chitwan National Park and Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

In Kalika village, Mr. Bloom's forehead was smeared red with the 'tika' with which local women had welcomed him, and he wore garlands of flowers they had given him upon his arrival with the guests from UNICEF.

"There was a time when we could not walk alone on that hillside, where the villagers used to throw their dead babies," one resident told the visitors. "They said their spirits used to haunt the hills. Not any more. Over the years, with improved health, there are no dead babies being thrown over the ridge and no more spirits wandering these hillsides."

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